Monday, February 12, 2007
Malware on TomTom Navigators?
A Tech Blog recently reported that a user of the TomTom satallite navigator found two Trojan programs on the unit, W32.Perlovga.A Trojan and TR/Drop.Small.qp (some in the media and the TomTom company itself have been calling them viruses, but they are actually trojans). The navigator had been recently purchased and this was the first time that its owner, an experienced IT consultant with a clean, Antivirus-protected computer used the unit.
The TomTom company avoided the situation at first (or, giving them the benefit of the doubt, trying to figure out the situation themselves), but then released a statement saying "... a small, isolated number of TomTom GO 910’s, produced between September and November 2006, may be infected with a virus. The virus is qualified as low risk and can be removed safely with virus scanning software. Appropriate actions have been taken to make sure this is prevented from happening again in the future."
The only versions of TomTom found with malware on them are the GO 910 with software version 6.51. The trojans themselves are low risks. As TomTom software is Linux based, the trojans cannot do anything to the TomTom device itself, but may be loaded onto the user's computer and cause damage if they are running MS Windows. According to Sophos, users have been detecting malware on their TomToms since 2006 September.
A Tech Blog recently reported that a user of the TomTom satallite navigator found two Trojan programs on the unit, W32.Perlovga.A Trojan and TR/Drop.Small.qp (some in the media and the TomTom company itself have been calling them viruses, but they are actually trojans). The navigator had been recently purchased and this was the first time that its owner, an experienced IT consultant with a clean, Antivirus-protected computer used the unit.
The TomTom company avoided the situation at first (or, giving them the benefit of the doubt, trying to figure out the situation themselves), but then released a statement saying "... a small, isolated number of TomTom GO 910’s, produced between September and November 2006, may be infected with a virus. The virus is qualified as low risk and can be removed safely with virus scanning software. Appropriate actions have been taken to make sure this is prevented from happening again in the future."
The only versions of TomTom found with malware on them are the GO 910 with software version 6.51. The trojans themselves are low risks. As TomTom software is Linux based, the trojans cannot do anything to the TomTom device itself, but may be loaded onto the user's computer and cause damage if they are running MS Windows. According to Sophos, users have been detecting malware on their TomToms since 2006 September.
# posted by ShiYuanShuang @ 2:58 AM 
