Better keep an eye on your brand new microwave. It seems like there are no electronic devices that will be spared from off-the-shelf malware infection.

Three digital photo frames, small flat-panel displays for digital images, were discovered to each contain a malware, Security Focus reports.

The photo frames were apparently received as presents during the past holidays, and installed malicious code on the systems of the recipients. All three cases involved the same product and chain of stores, suggesting that infection occurred either during shipping or at the factory.

This hitchhiker malware, detected by Trend Micro as WORM_AGENT.TBH, is reported to drop malicious files on the affected system as well as an AUTORUN.INF file to execute the said dropped files.

Earlier this month, China-made media players were discovered carrying a file infector detected as PE_FUJACKS.FL-O. Such incidents are only the most recent of a string of incidents concerning electronic devices shipped with malware. Other USB media such as iPod videos and McDonald’s Japan MP3 player freebies, shipped in 2006, were found to be infected by malware (more details here and here).

Yet again dawns the fact that new devices aren’t always malware free.

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