Malware Found on New Windows Computers (Not What You Think)

An investigative team for a Seattle television station found finding malware on clean computers to be an everyday practice at Office Depot.

It appears that the office supply giant, Office Depot, isn’t adverse to tarnishing its reputation if there’s a buck or two to be made in the process.

KIRO TV in Seattle reported on November 15 that it had taken brand new out-of-the-box computers that had never been connected to the Internet to Office Depot stores, both in Washington state and Portland, Oregon, and told the repair desk staff that “it’s running a little slow.” In four out of six cases they were told the computer was infected with viruses and would require an up to $180 fix.

After declining the “fix,” they took the “virus laden” machines to a Seattle security outfit, IOActive, which reexamined the machines. “We found no symptoms of malware when we operated them,” an employee with the firm, Will Longman, said. “Nor did we find any actual malware.”

In the two cases where undercover reporters weren’t told that their computers showed evidence of an infection, they were advised to install antivirus software. In one of the two stores, a technicians evidently noticed that the machine was new and told the reporter to “ignore the test results.”

Two days later KIRO’s sister station, WFXT in Boston, duplicated the test with similar results. Of the three new computers they took into Office Depot locations for testing, two were found to contain viruses and would require $149-$199 fixes to get them cleaned up, while one store told them they could find nothing wrong with the machine.

When KIRO contacted the suits with Office Depot corporate, they were given a nothing-to-see-here-move-on response.

“‘The Free Tune-up goes through 30+ variables when doing a system check,’ Julianne (Carelli) Embry wrote. ‘In addition to the basic scan, it’s also looking at virus software and definitions updates. As an example, a machine that is out of virus definitions for more than 7 days will alert.

“‘Typically we see that the customer is either not running or has failed to update their Antivirus software.'”

The way I read this, it means that if the customer hasn’t updated AV definitions in seven days they’re automatically assumed to be infected and told to cough up $150 or more.

The power of television caused all hell to break loose. On November 18, the Associated Press reported that Washington’s Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell had asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Office Depot’s practices.

That seemed to catch Office Depot’s attention. Later that same day, the company suspended its “PC Health Checks” with the announcement that “Office Depot in no way condones any of the conduct that has been alleged in the reports. We have commenced a full review of the assertions and will take appropriate action. Office Depot is committed to providing the best possible service to our customers, and we are suspending the PC tune-up services throughout our retail chain pending our review.”

Nothing was said about refunding the money pilfered from customers for unnecessary repairs, however. That remains money in the bank for the office supply chain.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan to be spending any money with Office Depot or its sister chain Office Max for a while. I think there should be a price paid for being a fraud.

The post Malware Found on New Windows Computers (Not What You Think) appeared first on FOSS Force.

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