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Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:17 am
by oobetimer
OMG! ..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19585433
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/09/13/ ... ware-china
Cybercriminals have opened a new front in their battle to infect computers with malware - PC production lines.
Several new computers have been found carrying malware installed in the factory, suggests a Microsoft study.
One virus called Nitol found by Microsoft steals personal details to help criminals plunder online bank accounts.
Microsoft won permission from a US court to tackle the network of hijacked PCs made from Nitol-infected computers.
Domain game
In a report detailing its work to disrupt the Nitol botnet, Microsoft said the criminals behind the malicious program had exploited insecure supply chains to get viruses installed as PCs were being built.
The viruses were discovered when Microsoft digital crime investigators bought 20 PCs, 10 desktops and 10 laptops from different cities in China.
Four of the computers were infected with malicious programs even though they were fresh from the factory.
Re: Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:22 am
by xenopeek
And that's why you build your own computers. And because it's fun
Re: Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:28 pm
by Beardedragon
I have bought two PCs, a desktop and a laptop. Both were wiped clean and Linux installed before they were even hooked up to a network. If you want to know why, the answer is Microsoft Systems are all buggy with security holes in all the software.
Re: Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:41 pm
by wyrdoak
xenopeek wrote:And that's why you build your own computers. And because it's fun
Easier than putting a bicycle together too.
biggest problem for me, I've just not been able to get that hard "thermal paste" that come preapplyed to the heatsink, to melt right and create a good connection, I end up scraping it off and applying real thermal paste from a tube.
Re: Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:46 pm
by DrHu
And the so-called trusted computing platform won't help that any..
Especially with foreign suppliers, however even if it were domestic it still wouldn't help.
- The vendor of a TPM-enabled system has complete control over what software does and does not run on the owner's system [4]. In some cases the vendor may choose to grant permission to the owner to configure hardware they have legally purchased. T
And that point about setting up your machine (computer) before connecting to the Internet is a good first step
--now all we have to do when buying a motherboard is to run a virus scan to check the suppliers: if we can. (again, usually Chinese, or other Asian manufacturers)
Re: Malware inserted on PC production lines, says study
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 10:44 pm
by Wiz Kid
This is why I use
http://www.dban.org/ to wipe out my hard drives before a clean install. It may take some time, but it's better safe than sorry.
I think a big motivation for this type of behavior is scamming people of their money. From what I hear in China they're willing to do almost anything to get a leg up on people, whether it's copying patents, working their people like slaves, cracking corporations, controlling access to the internet, etc. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth.