TomTom Admits Satnav Device Infected With Virus

miserableles writes "TomTom has admitted to a UK security journalist that a number of GO 910 satellite navigation units shipped with two Trojans installed on the hard drive. But still no sign of an official warning on the TomTom website."

The device cannot infect other devices or

[solitu]

your computer. So essentially this is a dead virus.

Of course no warnings...

[Excelcia]

Of course no warnings. Warnings only come out after the lawyers are consulted. One must, after all, get one's priorities straight.

Re:The device cannot infect other devices or

[Anonymous Coward]

Youre missing the point. These are brand new infected devices out of the box. And as for the viral nature, newer GPS devices now have bluetooth and GSM connectivity installed.

Wonder if it happened like on the iPod

[sokoban]

I guess that is the second major consumer electronics device which has shipped with installed viruses. I imagine if the number of infected devices is really small they probably were infected in the same way as the iPod. Yet another reminder of how shoddy some of the conditions are where all of our nice little gadgets are made.

is anyone taking responsibility?

[v1]

The first link, the letter from tomtom, does refer users to a couple free antivirus removal tools that will remove the virus, but other than that, I wonder how much responsibility tomtom will take for getting their customers' PCs infected? If you are a businessman and have taken your tomtom into work and connected to the local network to update your maps for your scheduled sales calls and have now infected the entire company network with viruses, I wonder how much of a problem this will cause and what tomtom would do about it? "Sorry sucker, thanks for purchasing our product, please come again."

I am also a little interested in seeing how tomtom follows this up. There was a report a few months ago about a few ipods shipping with something nasty, and Apple tracked them down all the way to the imaging workstation that started the outbreak. Judging by how tomtom is trying to sweep this one under the rug, I rather doubt they are exercising due diligence. At the very least someone should get fired - either the yutz that violated company policy and brought in his flash drive etc, or the director that didn't have any policies in place to start with. More than likely both are at fault but the guy with the flash drive will wind up taking the fall.

Do you know where you're going today?

[p00ked]

What a coincidence, so do they!

Still TomTom for me

[maggard]

Thanks for your thoughts, however I expect my next satnav will also be a TomTom.

Nothing against the other brands, but so far the TomTom's feature set has really matched my needs.

I really really like the speaker on my TomTom 300. Yeah, it's big, indeed its the whole back of the device. The thing looks like a first generation iMac with the big hump behind the screen. But that speaker is clear , I can hear the directions with the windows open, the radio playing, etc.

Not everyone likes voice navigation but I prefer it, especially when I'm dealing with heavy traffic, bad weather, curves, don't know where I am, etc. That's when I hate to divert my attention from what is going on around my vehicle, refocus my eyes on a screen, puzzle it out, try and get names, then return my attention to the road and figure out what has happened in the intervening 100 feet or so. I've got two sensory channels, it seems stupid not to take advantage of both of them.

I agree the built-in satnav units seem a poor investment. Their maps are extraordinarily expensive and the devices will clearly age faster then the vehicles. Look at all the folks with first generation GM "OnStar" systems who are soon to find their systems abandoned without an update possibility. I also enjoy the ability to move my TomTom from vehicle to vehicle. However as I don't actually carry it with me but just switch it from car to car, or toss it in my luggage and then install it in a rental, I don't really care if it is pocket sized and again, that big clear speaker is a huge feature to me.

Finally, the TomTom GUI is just great. They don't waste large chunks of screen on static 'soft buttons', instead tapping the screen brings up a series of setting screen that are well thought out and easy to operate without lots of attention (though I almost always pull over anyhow.)

Everyone's needs are different, but for a car-based system my TomTom 300 has been the sweet spot for me. Now I'm just looking forward to one of the newer models with updating traffic conditions and it'll be perfect ('til they come out with a model that drives my car for me.)

it's not strange at all

[Artifex]

It's not new to you because of where you live. In the US, it's still something of a big deal to have a car with nav. (I suspect less than 10% of cars actually on the road here have it built-in). It wasn't an option when I bought my car, and in fact my parents' new car from the same line is our family's first to have it.

How come positive reviews of products are given such a suspicious eye, that even when the post is from a four-digit ID with a long posting history (and website you can visit to check his credentials), it's seen as astroturfing?

Get a grip, guys.