Gadgets virus, newton, software, troika, virus"

Plug-'n'-Play USB Virus Makes MacBooks Fall to Pieces

Behold, a video of the Newton Virus. Back in 2005, Troika, the British-based art collective that was behind the Heathrow Terminal 5 sculpture that some of you recently described as a "disco turd," created a virus for Macs, called Newton. It came on a little USB key that looked like a cross between a malevolent Apple and Pac Man and was aimed at, well, people like you or I, who spend far too much time fiddling around on their computers. The video, made this year, is part of the Design and the Elastic Mind show currently running at MoMA in NY. [Troika and Dezeen]

9:23 AM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Addy Dugdale
258,958 views
54 comments

Comments

SnowLeopard at 09:37 AM on 03/04/08
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That is one fancy looking virus.....
jetexas at 09:40 AM on 03/04/08
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@SnowLeopard: You think that's a fancy virus, you should see the design of the rash on my penis ...
desostros at 09:40 AM on 03/04/08
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DO WANT
wait...
Geisrud at 09:42 AM on 03/04/08
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Damn that Apple. Even their virii are better than Microsoft's.
SnowLeopard at 09:47 AM on 03/04/08
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@jetexas: Is that a Plug 'n' Play virus as well? :p
Samifumi at 09:48 AM on 03/04/08
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Virus or just a different kind of Mac application? I don't see how it's malicious and catastrophic.
FlashSandbox at 09:49 AM on 03/04/08
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Cool idea. Now someone needs to make that into a screensaver so that when you move your screen-saving computer, the images react to the motion.
RoCKSTaH53 at 09:54 AM on 03/04/08
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@FlashSandbox: That's be awesome... except on a desktop...
MastaFalse at 10:02 AM on 03/04/08
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I WANT ONE. And that would be a brilliant screensaver that sort eliminates the point ...
Boots_Mcoy at 10:10 AM on 03/04/08
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where oh where can i obtain this. So many people come to mind that i can just f*ck with....
Seiven at 10:14 AM on 03/04/08
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lol that is awesome
Out2gtcha at 10:17 AM on 03/04/08
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WANT! WANT!

With however, the addition of after it gets done with is little gravity show, it perminantly and forever changes the language setting to Portugese, never to come back to English no matter what is done; at least until the user re-loads panther.....tiger......lion.....well you know.
Y2KGTP at 10:31 AM on 03/04/08
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MacBooks have an acceloremeter inside somewhere like the iPhone? If not, this looks like a good hoax.....
skyshard at 10:42 AM on 03/04/08
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@Y2KGTP:
afaik it's to protect the hard drive. at least my mbp has one...
ripfire4 at 10:46 AM on 03/04/08
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@skyshard: Hmm. I was guessing it's using the camera for orientation. Cool.
Y2KGTP at 11:02 AM on 03/04/08
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Looks like a hoax....is there an acceloremeter in a macbook?
coiagp at 11:02 AM on 03/04/08
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@ripfire4: Nope its not the camera. all Apple's laptop's have accelerometers, just like the iPhone. As Skyshard says, it's used to detect if the laptop is dropped/shaken so it can park the hard drive heads to protect the HD. Apple call it the "sudden motion sensor."

Theres already a few hacks out that make use of it.

MacBook Spirit level widget:
[www.tuaw.com]
Y2KGTP at 11:02 AM on 03/04/08
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@skyshard:

That just detects motion in general, not orientation of the laptop.
detraya at 11:04 AM on 03/04/08
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lol awesome
Kaiser-Machead at 11:11 AM on 03/04/08
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lol nice. I especially liked that brief flash of a black apple logo with teeth near the end.
coverofnight at 11:14 AM on 03/04/08
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i want this to mess with all my MAC using friends, how do you get rid of it though?
mnit at 11:17 AM on 03/04/08
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@Y2KGTP:

No, it detects orientation. While the drive heads park when any sudden motion is detected, that motion is detected in the first place using a run-of-the-mill acceleration chip. Apple just ignore the finer details of whatever information it gives, just concentrating on the, er, suddenness.

But that however doesn't stop other developers tapping into the chip themselves and reading off all the orientation data, and using the results however they like.
NightElfMohawk at 11:17 AM on 03/04/08
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And that's when I use my Time Machine backup to go back to a version of the OS from an hour or day or week earlier.

Bitches.
uberfu at 11:23 AM on 03/04/08
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@Geisrud: Hells Yeah Beotch !!
ronnsprocket at 11:25 AM on 03/04/08
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@Y2KGTP: i think your wrong.

it detects a change in gravity on the surface of the accelerometer. the accelerometer inside all current apple notebooks cant detect orientation based on the amount of gravity apply to the surface. i think it can detect the the change on three different axis.
Matt.B at 11:28 AM on 03/04/08
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There is a fun flight simulator that works but holding your laptop and steering by just moving the laptop as well.

@mnit:
Suddness of movement is the amount of jerk I think. The rate of change in acceleration.
Abnormal at 11:41 AM on 03/04/08
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Flawless technology? Apple fanboys!
uberfu at 11:54 AM on 03/04/08
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@coverofnight: Odds are good that it works in conjuntion to the SMS built into the laptops as the visuals moved based on the positioning of the laptop rotation_

Yes - back in the day that is exactly how virus' got started_ that is all a virus is - an App that makes your computer do something it wasn't originally intended to do_

After Dark used to have screen savers way back in the early 90's tthat "melted" your screen - made your screen flush down a drain - and the ever so famous "flying toasters'_

*Flying Toasters doesn't really have the same visual the the frist 2 had in relation to the broken Mac virus aboive - I merely used it as a reference for those not sure who After Dark was_

Anyway - Cool little hack App - but unless you have a laptop - it may be pointless to use_

@Y2KGTP: And anyone else saying MacBook_ That is a MacBook Pro in the video clip_ Unless they started making MacBooks with Aluminum Cases?

So the MBP would have an accelerometer - and they wrote the App for such_
imTheKing at 12:02 PM on 03/04/08
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this isnt a hoax. This was showcase back in November at the OFFF Conference here in NYC.
Joseph at 12:04 PM on 03/04/08
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You guys are all wrong, the MBP doesn't have an accelerometer... it's got a neural brain that knows when it's upside down... DUH!
rrwakc at 12:40 PM on 03/04/08
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MBP has a built in 3D accelerometer that measures the acceleration (Gforce/gravity has an acceleration of 9.81m/s^2) and any other variation in speed.
Joseph at 02:01 PM on 03/04/08
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@rrwakc: You didn't read my post. The math is already solved.
odnet at 02:02 PM on 03/04/08
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Vista is still the best plug and play virus.
amedika at 02:08 PM on 03/04/08
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Once installed how would you go about removing it?
ludwigk at 02:09 PM on 03/04/08
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Learn about the sudden motion sensor here:

[docs.info.apple.com]

Executive Summary: Apple introduced sudden motion sensor in the last G4 portables (Powerbook G4s and iBook G4s). All intel mac portables have a sudden motion sensor.

Yes, we have sudden motion sensors, ambient light sensors, ratcheting hinge mechanisms, back-lit keyboards, they're just chock full of awesome. So, no, your PC laptop does not have "everything the MacBook Pro has for $100s less", and yes, we pay a lot for these features, and Mac OS X, but we think its worth it.
Zander at 03:13 PM on 03/04/08
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thats cool, I wonder if its for sale anywhere?
matto at 03:14 PM on 03/04/08
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This is cute but totally fake. AFAIK there is no way to magically execute code on a removable storage device when it is first mounted. Thats a stupid Windows "feature" thats caused nothing but retarded mayhem like this.

Again, this is a cute concept but pretty much BS.
SneakerFiend at 03:26 PM on 03/04/08
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@Geisrud: I noticed that too. Even where they come in and how you get em are better than Microsoft =/
I wuz going to look for a copy of it but when i saw as soon as its plugged into your computer its copied onto your hard drive.
I was going to put it on my friend's brand new mac air.
Imagine putting it on the Mac Pro's at the Apple Store on 5th avenue.
I wonder what they'd do to you lolx.
thelegendofkb at 05:00 PM on 03/04/08
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You can see your own Macbook's use of the sudden motion sensor in action with a fairly useless but cool program called LiquidMac. You just tilt your Mac like in the video to see the "liquid" on the screen flow back and forth with your movement. Download it at [uri.cat]
multimoog at 05:16 PM on 03/04/08
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@matto: Yeah - it might be an actual program (though I'm betting it's just video footage they're playing while they tilt the computer to a pre-arranged script), but there's no way it's a 'virus' as people think of one.
dagamer34 at 05:18 PM on 03/04/08
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@Y2KGTP:

MacBook Pro's have an accelerometer to detect when the laptop has dropped so it will park the hard drive head to prevent drive damage. Google "Sudden Motion Sensor".
Hottieguirl69420lols at 05:48 PM on 03/04/08
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I think what happens is that USB drive flashes the Hard Drive and Makes it think that its about to hit the ground. Thus leading it to "Quasi-Freeze" While it auto-loads a Fancy Bios screen that is quite pretty.
EBone at 05:49 PM on 03/04/08
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@matto: Unless it spoofs the Mac into thinkg it's a CD-ROM, and the "Autoplay CD-ROMs" feature is enabled in the Quicktime Preferences pane.
longshot at 06:39 PM on 03/04/08
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Lame
Pender at 07:36 PM on 03/04/08
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@Y2KGTP: It detects acceleration. Gravity and acceleration are indistinguishable. So unless it's accelerating quickly, it knows which way is down.
jaymac at 11:14 PM on 03/04/08
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Haha nice. I'm guessing it's not a real virus but just a prank to pull on someone? If so, then ME WANT! If it is a real virus, the BOO!

Although I'm pretty sure it's the prior, I'm just really gullible/dumb at times.
rabiddachshund at 11:24 PM on 03/04/08
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@ronnsprocket: you're*
leighakin at 01:33 AM on 03/05/08
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lol, this isn't even real! yes macbooks do have motion sensors in them but it dosn't know witch direction the macbook is leaning! so this so called "Virus" is FAKE!!!!
and it is impossible for something to just install it's self on a mac (for example you need to type in your password and a real person allso needs to authenticate it to install!!!
so windows users don't get your hopes up! there still is no such thing as a mac Virus :p

VISTA= Virus Inside Switch To Apple
an1m3fr33k at 01:46 AM on 03/05/08
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where can i buy one of these? XD
daversW at 02:56 AM on 03/05/08
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its just like the liquid mac app they have on the apple website somewhere. except in that its all just water
Waverider at 03:50 AM on 03/05/08
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Is this just a video or is this usb dongle available to the public?
stejules at 12:24 PM on 03/05/08
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Hello Addy I wanted to thank u for this video and also thanx for my first popular digg I have made,
Also thanx to gizmodo blog for all interesting articles they send to us!
The Great Aussie Evil at 03:10 PM on 03/05/08
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Aw man, it doesn't ruin the boot record.
Joe_Bloggs at 08:58 PM on 03/07/08
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@leighakin: yes macbooks do have motion sensors in them but it dosn't know witch direction the macbook is leaning!

Umm, yeah it does. Check the proggy above, and tilt away. Also, if you install Linux on your Macbook, you can play Neverball with it by just tilting the laptop. Enjoy.

Joe