Tag: Virus

Cocktails: sometimes they can help a bad time seem a little better. And unless you’ve been living under a rock this year (any room under there for me?), 2020 has been pretty much an eight-month-long bad time so far.

Artist Alicia Watkins zooms in on microorganisms and viruses not with a microscope but with needle and thread. Her Etsy shop is filled with handmade cross-stitches of these tiny beings, from our buddies the red blood cell and the neuron to nasty folk like the anthrax bacterium and the ebola viruses.

Ad agency TDA_Boulder came up with Happy Hour Virus, a website that fakes computer problems. The idea is that you’ll be able to use the “problem” as an excuse to leave work. I don’t think it actually has a chance of getting you off of work, but you can use it to punk your non-techie colleagues for a few seconds.

These are the most malicious plushies you’ll ever see. They’re the Computer Virus Dolls and they might rub you off the wrong way, especially if you’re into IT and have to deal with problems that are caused by them on a daily basis.

The norovirus can be nasty. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting in humans. It is also extremely contagious. You might remember several cases of outbreaks in cruise ships on the news. This virus is estimated to have caused over 90% of epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis in the entire world.

Made famous by its deadliness, the Ebola virus was first described in 1976. It was made famous by The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and some small epidemics that thankfully didn’t kill off most of the planet.

I’m all for green alternatives. Not green as in “envy” or green as in “cold hard cash,” but green as in “environmentally friendly.” The suits below are from Virus’ Stay Warm line and they’re as green as green can get: making use of recycled coffee beans to add an extra layer of warmth on the suits.

Most adults these days have wisened up and refrain from clicking on banner ads that claim “You just one a prize!” or “You just won the 10,000,000th user award!” That means virus writers have to think of other measures to propagate their viruses and malware, and it seems that they’ve decided to go with the realm of free, online games targeted towards kids.

That’s right, you read that right: if you’re caught with a virus on your computer, then you’ve got to shell out $6,200 in bail or spend three years in jail. This only applies if you’re in Japan, that is.

I’m sure this is no indication of the level of security in airport computer systems… …but it sure doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy about flying. Keep up the good work! [via flickr via DevicePedia]

Apple has admitted to shipping some 5.5G iPods infected with a Windows virus called “RavMonE.exe.” Apparently the virus infected a PC at an iPod manufacturer’s facility and subsequently found its way onto some of Apple’s players.