Now Even Your iPod Can Get a Virus (But Don't Panic)

Is nothing sacred? Not only are computers, PDAs, and cell phones vulnerable to viruses. Now your iPod can get one too. The good news: "Podloso," as it's called, doesn't pose a real threat. CNet has the details.

As viruses go, Podloso is a very limited one. It only works if Linux has been installed on an iPod, which few people have any interest in doing. And it can't be launched unless the iPod user manually makes it run. Once launched, it infects all executables on the device, which then display a "you've been infected" error message.

Again, the good news is that unless you've hacked your iPod, you've got nothing at all to worry about. Yet. But "proof of concept" viruses like this are invariably just a "first step" on the road to infection. Consumers laughed when the first viruses for cell phones were developed, because those viruses didn't actually do any harm. Now, several years later, cell phone security is an issue which merits real concern. No need to panic, but it's definitely something you should be aware of. Given the wild popularity of the iPod (which just sold its 100 millionth unit, making it the fastest selling music device of all time), it's becoming a bigger and bigger hacker target with each passing day.

As a side note, if you do want to hack your iPod to run Linux, this site can get you started.

LINK: Kaspersky Lab reports first iPod virus, sort of