ipod touch virus???

[XWrench3]

we bought my 11 year old son a ipod touch for Christmas. yesterday, i received an e-mail from him that had a virus in it. my anti virus caught it when i hit the link thankfully. and if that was the end of it, i would not be here. he has not been on his desktop computer in a week (but it has been on), so he did not send the e-mail from there. and he says he did not even send this one to me. the worse part, is it apparently got into my address book as well (maybe in the split second before my anti virus acted?) and sent messages to my address book as well. i am using avast free a/v. his has nothing, unless apple puts something in it to begin with. this is the first experience we have ever had with apple products, so i am unsure if they need a specific type of anti virus, or if anything will work. i have heard anything apple is a lot different than the ibm windows machines. i do not use his at all, what do we need to do with his machine? i am totally lost here. thanks for any help.

 

[KSoD]

Well there are many things at play here. First it could be that he got an email that was infected and from there it sent an email to everyone on his contact list, which would include you. So that could explain how it happened. But a typical infection like this would not be spread via an iPod Touch. Since you say he hasn't been at his PC.

So you can scan your PC and his PC, but as far as the iPod goes. I have no idea. I don't work with those and that is why this area is located right under the Windows Forums, as 99.9999999% of the infections removed are Windows based.

He can try to find a scanner via the App Store. See if that does anything. Could reset it back to factory or take it to the Apple Store as well.

 

[steve10765]

Do you guys think it would be safe for him to plug it in to his computer, and then scan it with his antivirus?

 

[KSoD]

Will not have any effect. A Windows scanner cant scan an Apple iPod.

 

[Matt77]

I wouldn't think the iPod would have a virus, but feel free to DFU it and slap a clean OS onto it.

 

[XWrench3]

so i am gathering that the majority of you guys feel the virus is in his regular computer, and not in the ipod. i will run a bunch of scanners on it and see what i can find. as far as re-installing a new o.s. on the ipod, how is that done? nothing came with the ipod to do that. my only thoughts would be over the internet. which if the computer is infected, does not seem like a wise thing to do. also, we live out in the sticks. i have no idea where an Apple store is. i will do a google search, if they have a store locator, i should be able to find one there, i hope. thanks for the help everyone!

 

[XGC Forsakend]

so i am gathering that the majority of you guys feel the virus is in his regular computer, and not in the ipod. i will run a bunch of scanners on it and see what i can find. as far as re-installing a new o.s. on the ipod, how is that done? nothing came with the ipod to do that. my only thoughts would be over the internet. which if the computer is infected, does not seem like a wise thing to do. also, we live out in the sticks. i have no idea where an Apple store is. i will do a google search, if they have a store locator, i should be able to find one there, i hope. thanks for the help everyone!

Pretty sure there is a button or a menu inside the ipod to reset it to factory default.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

On the iPod

Settings --> General --> Reset --> Erase All Content and Settings

I would think that would be enough to take out any type of infection that would be on the iPod assuming it is not jailbroken. There are Trojans out there on the App Store although they are incredibly rare.

If the iPod is jailbroken you will need someone more knowledgeable with iOS to advise you on how to proceed.

 

[Matt77]

If jailbroken, you're going to need to have all your crap from Cydia, like your programs from Installous, etc. backed up- along with your legitimate App Store downloads, etc. After, DFU it, connect to iTunes, and restore it to official firmware. Afterwards, just JB it again and sync your data normally.

 

[s0l0m0n]

If jailbroken, you're going to need to have all your crap from Cydia, like your programs from Installous, etc. backed up- along with your legitimate App Store downloads, etc. After, DFU it, connect to iTunes, and restore it to official firmware. Afterwards, just JB it again and sync your data normally.

DFU?