ASUS ships pirated software, confidential docs with its laptops

Posted on Friday, September 19 2008 @ 3:13 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
PC Pro reports recovery DVDs that come with some of ASUS' laptops feature some rather interesting files such as internal ASUS and Microsoft documents, source code for ASUS software and even a directory with cracks and serial numbers for a variety of software packages.
The startling discovery was made by a PC Pro reader whose antivirus software was triggered by a key cracker for the WinRAR compression software, which was located on the recovery DVD for his Asus laptop.

He discovered a number of other suspicious files, including:

* A directory called "Crack" that appears to contain serial numbers for other software packages

* A directory containing a large number of confidential Microsoft documents for PC manufacturers, including associated keys and program files

* Various internal Asus documents and source code for Asus software

The reader sent the disc to PC Pro, and we can confirm the existence of such files.

The key cracker is found in the WinRAR application folder on the recovery disc and is credited to "Freddy Cruger".


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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