14 DAY TRIAL // You know the world is going down the drain when computer drivers provided by the official company come with a trojan virus. According to Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro, PC accessory maker Razor USA has been infected with a computer virus that quickly started to spread to anyone who downloaded the latest firmware update. Trend Micro downloaded and examined eight drivers from the company's site and then contacted Razer to inform it of the security breach. The files were quickly removed from the site.
But this was meant to simply prevent further damage and could not undo the damage done. Any user that downloaded the drivers by the time they were removed from the site also got the virus. Along with their drivers, they also retrieved the WORM.ASPXOR.AB Trojan. With only 7 out of 41 anti virus vendors offering detection for the malware, the virus is mostly unknown to the Internet and many of those who downloaded the firmware ended up with the unwelcomed clandestine passenger.
The idea to infiltrate and infect Razer USA is a rather clever one. Gamers have the most to lose from such an attack, especially those who purchase high-end gaming accessories like the ones made by Razer. Such gamers often purchase account based games and a trjoan would allow the hacker to retrieve the confidential information and steal the product. Anti virus software is also usually disabled to preserve system performance.
At the moment Razor USA is still unaware how its downloads were infected. The website itself has been kept online but the customer support section is offline. In a post displayed on the support web page, the company says, "Woops. We had to bring down Razer Support for the time being for a quick fix.". The web page was taken offline, supposedly to be used in the investigation led by Razon and Trend Micro that should clarify the mystery and find the culprit behind this attack. Still, cutting customer support, the equivalent of public relations, is one of the biggest mistakes made in a crisis. The web page came back online yesterday and provides links toward online virus scans for anyone who downloaded the drivers.