The iPod virus that really isn’t all that

There's a fair bit of talk about an iPod virus. However, the world's not about to implode because the virus really isn't all that effective :

However, this virus is able replicate only on iPods that are running the iPod Linux operating system. It does not work on normal iPods that are running the default iPod operating system.

iPod Linux is a uCLinux-based software distribution targeted specifically to run on Apple iPods. It enables the iPod to run a variety of third party software, such as games.

So it's a proof-of-concept virus for a rare operating system, and it's not going to become a real-world problem. However, it does show that the computer underground is actively studying new platforms such as portable devices.

And it really is theoretical. After we got the sample, we installed iPod Linux to some iPods we had at hand, but we couldn't get the malware to operate correctly no matter what we tried. However, our friends at Kaspersky did get it working.