Some of our favorite new electronic gadgets are now known to be causing serious problems with our computers. These gadgets, such as iPods, digital picture frames, and navigation gear, are being sold with pre-installed viruses that are said to be coming from the factories where they are produced, most commonly in China.

As of now, it appears that the viruses are coming from a lack of quality management in the factories. Most likely, once the gadgets come off the assembly line, they are being tested on infected computers. Much like how a human virus spreads, if one computer comes in contact with an infected computer, the virus will spread. Therefore, the infected test computers are infecting the gadgets and then the gadgets are infecting the computers that they are plugged into after they are purchased. If an infected gadget spreads the virus to the consumer's computer, that computer will then spread the virus to anything else that the consumer plugs in to the computer.

However, improper management is not the only explanation for the viruses. It is possible that a hacker is putting the viruses into the gadgets when the software is first uploaded. If this is the case, the problem could be more serious than it currently seems. There are a number of different viruses that consumers have reported finding on infected gadgets, including the bug that steals passwords.

Since it is not known how many gadgets were sold containing pre-installed viruses, it is possible that thousands of people have installed infected programs onto their computers. The best way to protect your computer from having this happen is to maintain up-to-date antivirus software. Antivirus software checks for malicious codes that may have the potential to damage your computer.

However, some of the viruses do have the potential to work around computer safeguards, so it is essential to be especially careful when connecting new gadgets to your computer. You should also run a virus check after you disconnect the gadget. Until the virus problem is solved, the best way to protect your computer and other electronic gadgets is to always be cautious and on the look-out for bugs. Prevention is the best way of protecting your computer from viruses.