Researchers at Kaspersky Lab created a virus that can infect  the iPod, Apple's popular portable media player. Users do not have to panic because the virus would only affect players that run Linux OS  instead of the iPod's native operating system. iPods with Linux are a very small minority because they require users to do the system swap.

The virus, called Podloso, could not present a real threat, but Kaspersky demonstrated that it is theoretically possible to create viruses for devices such as the iPod. Podloso was created in order to demonstrate that it is possible to infect a specific platform.

"Once launched, the virus scans the device’s hard disk and infects all executable .elf format files. Any attempt to launch these files will cause the virus to display a message on the screen which says "You are infected with Oslo the first iPodLinux Virus"."
Currently Podloso virus only affects iPods running Linux, and it does not copy itself automatically from one iPod to another. Users would have to install the virus manually to another iPod, and the virus does not spread from the devices to PCs.

Ron O'Brien, senior security analyst at security firm Sophos, said that with the increasing popularity of media players such as the iPod, smart phones and PDAs, there are likely to be more threats for these devices in the future. Even USB drives can be infected. They can have a virus embedded into their system that launches when a user plugs them in.

"People tend to forget any type of mobile device can contain malware, even the USB you got at a trade show" he said. "Users tend to see them just as a storage device, and plug them in without scanning for malware."
"Security practices are recommended for any peripheral device, even CDs and external hard drives," he said. "It's better to be overcautious than get hit with malware."

written by Cristian L.