Seagate gives out free virus with HDD purchase

Written by Phil Cogar

November 15, 2007 | 13:40

Tags: #hard-disk-drive #hard-drive #hdd #maxtor #oops #virus

Companies: #seagate

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.
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