“Nasa [sic] has confirmed that laptops carried to the ISS in July were infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG,” BBC News reports.
MacDailyNews Note: According to Symantec, Gammima.AG is classified as a “Worm” that affects Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP.
The Beeb continues, “The worm was first detected on earth in August 2007 and lurks on infected machines waiting to steal login names for popular online games. Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected.”
MacDailyNews Note: Sheesh, The Beeb. “NASA” is an acronym which stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. You know, like “BBC” stands for British Broadcasting Corporation? “Nasa” is as meaningless as “Bbc.”
The Beeb continues, “The laptops infected with the virus were used to run nutritional programs and let the astronauts periodically send e-mail back to Earth… The laptops carried by astronauts reportedly do not have any anti-virus software on them to prevent infection.”
MacDailyNews Take: That the Mac-lovers at NASA allow astronauts use Windows at all is amazing enough, but to not use AV software on Windows is pretty much criminal. Windows is not “mission-critical” software, NASA. Obviously, astronauts should be equipped with MacBook Air units which are safer, thinner, lighter, and better.
The Beeb continues, “Once it has scooped up passwords and login names the Gammima.AG worm virus tries to send them back to a central server… Nasa is working with partners on the ISS to find out how the virus got on to the laptop in the first place.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Switched” for the heads up.]
Worms would be better than Cholera on a space station.
You would think that with the weight of items being a priority on a Space Mission, NASA would equip all astronauts with MacBook Air’s.
Windows, a disaster waiting to happen.
Windows, when you absolutely positively need viruses overnight.
Windows, the dollar store of department stores.
Unbelievable
“Sheesh, The Beeb. “NASA” is an acronym which stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “Nasa” is meaningless.”
What do you expect the BBC gave up on standards years ago.
“It can only be attributable to human error.”
“I know you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that’s something I cannot allow to happen.”
@ Jamie,
You’re correct…at $10k/pound for launch costs, you’d think they would ditch their 10 pound Dell’s…
Now, just to complicate things, the engineers at NASA will spend another $750k just to try and clear the computers of this lame virus that probably came on board due to surfing for p.o.r.n…
I for one welcome our new worm overlords
What can you do but laugh.
The stunning part of story is that Windows laptops WITHOUT anti-virus software were allowed to fly at all.
Being NASA, I wouldn’t be surprised if those laptops were still running ME.
Lets flood the mailbox of the Uk’s Bbc with complaints!
All your laptops are belong to us.
Perhaps now NASA will reconsider all the crummy Windows machines in their entire operations.
Macs simply work.
And I agree with MDN’s take on NASA. Those are the same idiots that call Earth, “earth.”
Earth is a planet and earth is simply dirt.
The British invented English and one would have thought they would have a passable mastery of it by now!
In Russian space modules, worm invades you!
Wasn’t this how we beat our alien overlords in the movie Independence Day? Jeff Goldblum and his Mac!
Space Invaders sure has come a long way.
The BBC style guide isn’t online (that I can tell), but you can refer to the style guide published by The Guardian newspaper, which won’t differ very much from the BBC’s.
And it’s from that guide that I quote: “Use all capitals if an abbreviation is pronounced as the individual letters: BBC, VAT, etc; if it is an acronym (pronounced as a word) spell out with initial capital, eg Nasa, Nato, unless it can be considered to have entered the language as an everyday word, such as awol, laser and, more recently, asbo, pin number and sim card.”
So, according to this, Nasa is correct usage — in *English*, if not in *American*.
It’s worth remembering what playwright George Bernard Shaw said: “England and America are two countries divided by a common language.”
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Simple solution. Teach all Windows laptops to play TIC-TAC-TOE against themselves.
Hey folks, many new organizations use that style of capitalization for acronyms – Nasa for NASA, etc.
Right or wrong, that is the way it is. My suspicion is that it is the result of some formatting or posting software, somewhere, that is scanning for capitalization errors.
So take that, Mdn.
THANKS, QKA!
@sheesh
Unix doesn’t really stand for anything, it’s a pun on the word “Multics”.
MacDailyNews result: MacDailyNews
@Guide to English vs American style
You are absolutely correct. BBC always follows this convention in all their articles.
The Beeb continues, “…Nasa is working with partners on the ISS to find out how the virus got on to the laptop in the first place.”
Seems as though one of the flight crew has been visiting his naughty bits.
Should have used Safari… and AV software… and penicillin.
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I am waiting to hear what the FAA’s ‘software glitch” was
Space worms. Why did it have to be space worms?
“MacBook Air units which are safer”
Hey i love the macbook air, but i think i rather have a big clunky boxy plastic windows laptop fly at me in Zero G then the ultra thin knife like metal Macbook Air.
Guide to English vs American style and Tiger,
these must be the same (type of) people that call a zero “oh.”
No such number!
The laptops carried by astronauts reportedly do not have any anti-virus software on them to prevent infection.
“Duh!! Viruses can’t live in space!” – NASA IT
MDN, Why does your title say “Mac-using astronauts unaffected”? There is nothing in any of the articles saying anything about the Mac? I know that the virus doesn’t affect the mac, and you are assuming that there are Macs on board, but it seems like adding the it to the title implies that someone investigated it and made the point.
Okay, flame on…
I wonder if all the Dell computers the Stargate Atlantis team uses have this virus too….
Wow, MDN has really stuck their foot up their collective arse today with their takes showing their obvious ignorance regarding the UK.
Hey MDN: Probably you should take a vacation … to the UK … so you won’t appear so vapid and idiotic in the future.
“Simple solution. Teach all Windows laptops to play TIC-TAC-TOE against themselves.”
That only works if the game plays to a stalemate every time. I’m sure Windows would find a way to lose games.
Best MDN headline evar!
Ever hear announcers on ‘The Beeb” pronounce “Los Angeles”? The pronounce it “Los Angeleeeeeeze” as if somehow they know how to pronounce it better than Americans. And Brits are the first ones to get pissy if we don’t pronounce “Salisbury” as “Soulzbury”.
At the beginning of the Iraq war, some goof-ball Brit reporter pronounce the Tigris River as the “Teeeegris”. We all know that Brits are obsessed with class and appearances, so I figured this nincompoop was trying to sound clever – as if somehow HE knew better and was of course, upper class. A couple days latter he apparently fell off the roof of a hotel (maybe someone pushed him..)
See how dangerous it is to open windows out in space?
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“Nasa is working with partners on the ISS to find out how the virus got on to the laptop in the first place.”
It all started with the purchase of Windows-based PC’s
FWIW, I doubt NASA is flying stock Dells on the ISS for any length of time. The radiation environment is such that consumer quality equipment would crash unexpectedly and at irregular intervals. (I wonder if they could correlate it with passage through the South Atlantic Anomaly?) Even Apple recommends not using their machines in this kind of environment.
No doubt many of you have heard the the MERs (Mars Exploration Rovers) Opportunity and Spirit run with PPC 601 – class processors? This is true, but they aren’t the same processors found in the old PowerMac 7100s. They’re radiation-hardened.
Nevertheless, a Windows machine used for email without anti-virus infected with a worm by NASA at the ISS? That’s priceless, and free advertising for Apple to boot.
“errr..Houston… WE HAVE A VIRUS!!!!”
@ Mark S…
Actually they call zero “nought”.
A PPC601? I’ve got two old Motorola Starmax Mac clones with those inside. Let’s see if I can mount some wheels on those babies and watch them roll.
Everyone who has seen War of the Worlds knows aliens have no defense against Earth’s viruses and bacteria.
The astronaut is simply being vigilant.
It’s not a virus.
It’s a weapon.
In space, only Windows can hear you scream…
I’m going back to Windows 3.1 then….
Wow….from Snakes on a Plane to Worms on a Space Station!
A new “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” ad in the works?
Maybe tie it into the whole, Leopard, space theme. Or a revisit of the Y2K, HAL ad.
It’s pronounced the Beeb, Beeb, Ceeb.
I am sure those on the ISS are thankful they didn’t suffer a blue screen of death.
How the virus got on the laptop?
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Step 1: Install Windows…
Uh… Aren’t you supposed to catch the horse and lock the barn door before you start worrying about how the horse got out?
“Windows worm loose on International Space Station”
How the hell did Rob Enderle get onboard? Does he think he’s Dr. Smith?
“Now come along with me, you ludicrous lump, there’s much to be done.”
Woooooooorms in Spaaaaaaaaaaaace!
THAT’S WHY!!! a couple months ago the toilets didn’t function properly and the astronauts had to go shit outside!!!!!………..
Down loading porn in space is not good.
It’s time for Steve Jobs (and yes he’s alive and well) to send each Astronaut and each Astronaut in trainning a fully pimp out Mac Pbbok Pro… as a public service to the nation, if not for the ad/press value <GRIN>
completely stupid to take Windows to space !
they should use linux, or mac os without any 3’rd party software.
“astronauts should be equipped with MacBook Air units which are safer, thinner, lighter, and better.”
hehe, do u realize how stupid that is ?
i hope it’s meant as a joke, as there is no GRAVITY in space !
furthermore, the MBA is really very unreliable when hot, and it’s always hot.
(the recent MBA update improved the situation a lot, but it still slows down under pressure)
@ Los Angeleeeeeeze
u are a moron, there is no “right” way to pronounce tigris, or even “Los Angeles”, as they are not english words.
Multinational, however, is english, and some americans, including the Bush’s are pronouncing the i like pie, that sounds horrible.
don’t try to teach other countries how to pronounce words, u live in the worst country in the world to do so.
“Im in ur spacestashun, sharding ur grapes…”
If they want to play WoW in space, they should use Macbook Pros…
My mamma says I got worms.
Feel free to criticise when you have a head of state who can pronounce the word ‘nuclear’.
i’ve got the same problem, and i found the solution here on repair blue screen error, just for reference.