Mocmex is a
trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
, which was found in a
digital photo frame
A digital photo frame (also called a digital media frame) is a picture frame that displays digital photos without the need of a computer or printer. The introduction of digital photo frames predates tablet computers, which can serve the same p ...
in February 2008. It was the first serious
computer virus on a digital photo frame. The virus was traced back to a group in
China.
Overview
Mocmex collects passwords for online games. The virus is able to recognize and block antivirus protection from more than a hundred security companies and the
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
built-in
firewall
Firewall may refer to:
* Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts
* Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spr ...
. Mocmex downloads files from remote locations and hides randomly named files on infected computers. Therefore, the virus is difficult to remove. Furthermore, it spreads to other portable storage devices that were plugged into an infected computer. Industry experts describe the writers of the Trojan Horse as professionals and describe Mocmex as a "nuclear bomb of malware".
Protection
As Mocmex can be described as a serious virus, protection is not hard. First of all, it is important to update your antivirus software, as updated antivirus works unless the malware writers get ahead of the antivirus vendors (which is what happened with the new Mocmex). Another way is to check a digital photo frame for malware on a Macintosh or Linux machine before plugging it into a computer with Windows, or disable autorun on Windows.
Effects
A large part of digital photo frames were manufactured in China, particularly in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
. The negative publicity followed by media reports of the Chinese virus is expected to have negative effects on Chinese manufacturers. Mocmex happened just a few months after quality problems with toys manufactured in China raised the attention of Western countries leading to a low quality image for Chinese products.
Digital Photo Frames – Virus on digital photo frame – Products from China a security threat?
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References
{{Reflist
Digital photography
Display technology
Trojan horses
Hacking in the 2000s