Security vendor
Kaspersky
Labs announced it has detected the first virus designed to infect iPod
portable media players. The virus, which has been named Podloso, is a
proof of concept program which does not pose a real threat. The virus is a file
which can be launched and run on an iPod, the company said in a statement,
published on its web site.
In order for the virus to function, Linux has to be installed on the iPod. If
the virus is installed on the iPod by the user, the virus then installs itself
to the folder which contains program demo versions. Podloso cannot be launched
automatically without user involvement. Once launched, the virus scans the
device's hard disk and infects all executable .elf format files. Any attempt to
launch these files will cause the virus to display a message on the screen which
says "You are infected with Oslo the first iPodLinux Virus". The company
stressed that Podloso is a typical proof of concept virus, which is created in
order to demonstrate that it is possible to infect a specific platform. It does
not have a malicious payload and is unable to spread on its own: a user has to
save the virus to the iPod for the device to become infected.
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