Kaspersky finds malware on brand new Windows netbook

Source: IT Business (Canada)

After discovering attack code on a brand new Windows XP netbook, antivirus vendor Kaspersky Labs warned users yesterday that they should scan virgin systems for malware before connecting them to the Internet.

When Kaspersky developers installed their recently-released Security for Ultra Portables on an M&A Companion Touch netbook purchased for testing, “they thought something strange was going on,” said Roel Schouwenberg, a senior antivirus researcher with the Moscow-based firm. Microsoft’s Windows XP is considered by many users as the ideal operating system for small form nearly bare bones portable computers known as netbooks.

Schouwenberg scanned the machine — a $499 netbook designed for the school market — and found three pieces of malware.

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