HP Ships Virus-laden USB Keys

HP Australia alerted customers that it somehow shipped two types of USB Floppy Drive Keys that were infected with viruses. Luckily the viruses are relatively harmless.

According a bulletin published at AusCERT, a 256MB key (part# 442084-B21) and a 1GB key (part# 442085-B21) could be affected by the W32.Fakerecy or W32.SillyFDC viruses. Both viruses try to spread themselves to other drives and systems, however W32.SillyFDC might try to download files according to reports by Symantec.

HP won't be replacing the keys, which were shipped with ProLiant servers. Instead the company recommends that users scan their keys to make sure any existing viruses are cleaned.