Big Box manufacturer Asus has acknowledged that its EEE Box Desktop Mini PCs contain a virus called Recycled.exe which is hidden in the box's 80GB hard disk drive.
While Asus says that it only affects computers shipped in Japan, the Register understands that EEE Boxes in Europe and elsewhere could also be at risk.
The Windows-only malware is activated once the D: drive is accessed and it will try to infect all fixed and removable drives. What's more, The Register found another password-sniffing Worm loaded on their review EEE PC box - definitely not a good sign.
The Taiwanese manufacturer has not provided more details about how the virus managed to infect the original system disk image - which was then replicated in the thousands - in the first place.
A few weeks ago, Asus shipped illegal software cracks on their system recovery CDs.
The EEE PCs is Asus's first complete "desktop" PC for quite some time and is geared towards the home entertainment market.
With its £199 price, Windows XP, Intel Atom Processor, 1GB RAM and 80GB Hard disk space packed in a rather eye-catching chassis, it has been a popular fixture with reviewers as well.
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