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Asus recalls Eee Box desktop PCs shipped with viruses
A Taiwan discount personal computer manufacturer has begun a voluntary recall of desktop computers delivered to Japan after it found they had been infected with a virus before shipment.
ASUSTek Computer Inc. has shipped about 4,500 Eee Box desktop PCs to Japan, selling about 300 at retail outlets nationwide since their launch here on Oct. 2.
The company believes that a USB memory device used to insert the test file into PCs was the source of the infection. This file was used only for Japanese language versions of the computers, so the spread of the virus was limited to PCs heading to the Japanese market.
The company has shipped 500,000 of its 7-inch screen Eee PC 4G mini computers to Japan since they were introduced there in January.
This is the first time in Japan that a virus has been detected in PCs on shipment, making it likely ASUSTek Computer's product management will be called into question.
The firm has shipped about 20,000 units worldwide since July to places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Italy.
Immediately after the product's launch in Japan, however, purchasers began to contact the company to complain of text appearing garbled.
A company investigation found there was a virus in the hard disk drive of the product before shipment.
According to the company, the virus is a worm-type virus capable of infecting other PCs and is passed on when connecting hard drives or USB memory devices to PCs. Such a virus can reportedly slow down computers or download harmful programs from the Internet.
The virus infected a test file inserted when the company inspected software installed for products bound for Japan at its factory in Guangdong Province, China, in August. Reportedly, no virus was detected when a virus check was run on the test file before this.
The company revealed the situation on its Web site on Oct. 3 - the day after sales began in Japan - and began to exchange products and reimburse purchasers at electronic appliance retailers and other stores.
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© 2008, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Visit the Daily Yomiuri Online at http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
The company has shipped 500,000 of its 7-inch screen Eee PC 4G mini computers to Japan since they were introduced there in January.
This is the first time in Japan that a virus has been detected in PCs on shipment, making it likely ASUSTek Computer's product management will be called into question.
The firm has shipped about 20,000 units worldwide since July to places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Italy.
Immediately after the product's launch in Japan, however, purchasers began to contact the company to complain of text appearing garbled.
A company investigation found there was a virus in the hard disk drive of the product before shipment.
According to the company, the virus is a worm-type virus capable of infecting other PCs and is passed on when connecting hard drives or USB memory devices to PCs. Such a virus can reportedly slow down computers or download harmful programs from the Internet.
The virus infected a test file inserted when the company inspected software installed for products bound for Japan at its factory in Guangdong Province, China, in August. Reportedly, no virus was detected when a virus check was run on the test file before this.
The company revealed the situation on its Web site on Oct. 3 - the day after sales began in Japan - and began to exchange products and reimburse purchasers at electronic appliance retailers and other stores.
___
© 2008, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Visit the Daily Yomiuri Online at http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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