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The real cost of cheap electronics is being revealed as
experts find that some of our most widely used gadgets are coming with unwanted
parasites. The Associated Press reviewed several cases where equipment made in
China came pre-loaded with viruses. All of these devices, including Apple
iPods, digital picture frames sold by Target, Sam's Club, and Best Buy, and
TomTom navigation equipment are attached to the computer for transferring
and/or updating information. Unless the computer is protected by good
anti-virus software, the virus can be spread to the computer when the gadget is
plugged into the USB port.
The Associated Press story reports that Jerry Askew, a Los
Angeles computer consultant, bought a Chinese-manufactured Uniek digital
picture frame at Target. Upon hooking it up to his computer he found that it
was infested with four viruses, including one that steals passwords. We do not
know how many infected devices have been sold. However, when you consider how
many products are turned out by China's mass manufacturing, the number of
infected products could be huge.
As more and more companies turn to Chinese factories to keep
prices low, the American public is becoming aware that Chinese standards do not
necessarily meet American's expectations, needs, or wants. Last year's tainted
dog food, and harmful lead-painted toys, may just be the tip of the iceberg when
it comes to depending on China's quality
control.
Investigators seem to think that the factory-installed
viruses found so far were caused by lax security and infected testing
computers. While they do not think that these viruses were purposely aimed at
infecting computers, how long will it take for hackers to figure out that this
is an easy way to steal passwords and take control of computers? Organized
hacking in Chinese factories is certainly not out of the question. Who will
start taking responsibility for the quality and safety of goods imported from
China?
While many parents are currently boycotting toys made in
China, this type of action would be very difficult for gadget purchasers. The
number of gadgets and components manufactured in China may make it almost
impossible to boycott them.
Two things are for sure:
- Products "Made in America"
are looking better and better.
- Remember that you need to
watch out for yourself when others are not. Make sure that you have a good
anti-virus program running on your computer at all times.
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