Seagate gives out free virus with HDD purchase

Author: Phil Cogar
Published: 15th November 2007
Comments (13) Stumble
Seagate gives out free virus with HDD purchase

Free virus with the purchase of a Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200. See the internet for details.

Don't you just love it when you get something for free when you make a purchase? Like when you buy a box of cereal and you get a free toy, it just gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Well, if you bought a Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 since August 2007, you're probably not going to feel all warm and fuzzy once you find out what your surprise gift is - a virus.

Seagate has posted information on its website concerning a virus that comes preinstalled on the external hard drives. The virus, named Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah, is a molar virus that searches for passwords to online games. The only English language game that appears to be affected by the virus is World of Warcraft - the other games in the list are all in Chinese.

This could be a problem for some as numerous "internet savvy" people don't even bother to run a virus scanner. Kaspersky is hoping to help those affected by offering a fully-functional, free 60-day trail of it's antivirus. Links to the download can be found on the Seagate page linked above. The majority of major virus scanners have already been updated to include the latest definition so you have many options available to you.

If you're unsure if your Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 is infected or not, you can always call Seagate customer support to find out. Just make sure to have your serial number on hand.

How many bit-tech member out there have an affected external hard drive? If you are one of the unlucky, let us know over in the forums.
Quote Hells_Bliss 15th November 2007, 13:42
almost as bad as the iPod's shipping with a windows virus :p
Quote BlackMage23 15th November 2007, 14:23
Have they said how this happend?
Quote Duste 15th November 2007, 14:47
*waits for the announcement of the sacking of a World of Warcraft crazed Maxtor employee*
Quote E.E.L. Ambiense 15th November 2007, 15:49
LOL. Call me George Carlin, but I find nothing but humor every time something like this happens. I mean, it sucks for those who purchased, but still. :)
Quote metarinka 15th November 2007, 16:20
how could you have a virus on a HDD, don't you have to format and partition it before it's even usable?
Quote bubsterboo 15th November 2007, 16:31
Quote:
Originally Posted by metarinka
how could you have a virus on a HDD, don't you have to format and partition it before it's even usable?

Most external hdds come pre-formated. So you just have to plug it in and it works.
Quote pendragon 15th November 2007, 18:14
Quote:
Originally Posted by news article

free 60-day trail of it's antivirus

do you mean "trial"?
</spelling nazi>

ouch for those who purchased it.. double ouch if you're playing WoW
Quote thecrownles 15th November 2007, 19:16
I'd be interested in seeing how this happened.
Quote DXR_13KE 15th November 2007, 19:18
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecrownles
I'd be interested in seeing how this happened.

yeah.
Quote Pokekevin 15th November 2007, 23:50
Wow how did a virus get on the hard drive....sucks for people playing wow
Quote identikit 16th November 2007, 16:04
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokekevin
Wow how did a virus get on the hard drive....sucks for people playing wow

Probably very easily. I mean it's probably so simple to add a line of code to the software that formats and checks the drive for errors. A 'smart' employee could even hide a virus on the unused sectors of a drive. So when S.M.A.R.T releases these sectors to replace unhealthy ones the virus can spread after laying undetected for years.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 16th November 2007, 22:20
well seeing how maxtor is garbage drives anyways I dont bother with them >_<
Quote MiNiMaL_FuSS 16th November 2007, 22:51
another blow forthe crap drives that are maxtor
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