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Virus prompts Asus to recall Japanese Eee Box PCs

Asus recalls Eee Box PCs sold in Japan because they came preloaded with a virus.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews
CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
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Dong Ngo

You click OK on a message while surfing the Internet and suddenly your computer is full of malicious software and viruses. That's bad. What could be worse worse, however, is when your brand new computer comes preloaded with malicious software.

Some Asus Eee Box PCs have been recalled in Japan. Asus

Tuesday, according to ChinaTechNews.com, Asus announced a recall of it's Asus Eee Box PCs that it had sold in Japan because it was shipped with a virus.

The computers had a file called recycled.exe, residing on the D drive. Once executed, the file would copy itself to other drives, including USB drives, and install malicious software from the Internet. This causes the computer to slow down and exposes it to security threats.

Li Yusheng, an Asus representative, told ChinaTechNews.com that the incident was an accident and affected only the production line of Eee Box PCs sold to Japan. Li also said that apart from the recall, the computer maker will impose stricter measures on production line management and software protection.

While the virus is disturbing, the good news is that only about 300 allegedly infected Eee Box PCs already sold in the Japanese market need to be recalled.