McDonald's Japan malware attack: Difference between revisions
m Sojourna moved page McDonald's Japan Malware Attack to McDonald's Japan malware attack: Misspelled title: Not in sentence case |
mNo edit summary |
||
| (3 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase.png|alt=McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase from the advertisement. |thumb|McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase]] | {{IncidentCargo | ||
|Company=McDonald's Japan | |||
|StartDate=4 August 2006 | |||
|EndDate=31 August 2006 | |||
|Status=Resolved | |||
|ProductLine= | |||
|Product= | |||
|ArticleType= | |||
|Type= | |||
|Description=McDonald's Japan, in collaboration with Coca-Cola, ran a promotion in August 2006 where customers would peel a code from a cup and type it into the website for a chance at a free USB-stick MP3 player pre-loaded with ten songs. Those that won had their computer infected with a trojan horse that captured password information if the user was running QQ Instant Messenger. | |||
}} [[File:McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase.png|alt=McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase from the advertisement.|thumb|McDonald's Japan MP3 Player showcase]] | |||
In 2006, [[McDonald's]] in collaboration with [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]] ran a promotion in Japan that lasted for 1 month. During this promotion, 10,000 winners obtained a USB-stick MP3 player.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sayer |first=Peter |title=Worm eats its way into McDonald’s MP3 player promotion |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2183448/worm-eats-its-way-into-mcdonald-s-mp3-player-promotion.html |website=InfoWorld |date=16 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260222055606/https://www.infoworld.com/article/2183448/worm-eats-its-way-into-mcdonald-s-mp3-player-promotion.html |archive-date=22 Feb 2026}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |author=Loof |title=McDonald's Mp3 Virus {{!}} Info Comp |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4rxKhiEKo |website=[[YouTube]] |date=18 Jun 2023 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=vV4rxKhiEKo |archive-date=7 Mar 2026}}</ref> When Japanese winners received their MP3 players and inserted them into their computers, it was discovered that the products additionally carried malware meant for Windows operating systems.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> | |||
==Incident== | ==Incident== | ||
Winners who received the McDonald's MP3 Player would be infected with | On ''4 August, 2006'' across Japan, [[McDonald's]] collaborated with [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]] to run a promotion which lasted until ''31 August, 2006''. During this promotion, customers would peel a code from a cup and type the code onto their website, with 10,000 selected winners obtaining a USB-stick MP3 player loaded with ten free songs.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Winners who received the ''McDonald's MP3 Player'' would be infected with a [[wikipedia:Trojan_horse_(computing)|Trojan Horse]] called ''QQPass Trojan'' that would affect devices running the popular [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] versions at the time. ''QQPass Trojan'' worked to first disable the device's antivirus(es), and then if the user was running was {{Wplink|Tencent QQ|QQ Instant Messenger}}, it would capture password information and forward it via e-mail to a malicious third-party.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=deVilla |first=Joey |title=Superspyware Me! |url=https://www.globalnerdy.com/2006/10/16/superspyware-me/ |website=Global Nerdy |date=16 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250806085622/https://www.globalnerdy.com/2006/10/16/superspyware-me/ |archive-date=6 Aug 2025}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Stevens |first=Chris |title=McDonalds' free Trojan: "Would you like malware with that?" |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/mcdonalds-free-trojan-would-you-like-malware-with-that/ |website=CNet |date=17 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250821060514/https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/mcdonalds-free-trojan-would-you-like-malware-with-that/ |archive-date=21 Aug 2025}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Leyden |first=John |title=Spyware infection prompts McDonalds MP3 recall |url=https://www.theregister.com/2006/10/16/mcd_spyware_mp3_recall/ |website=The Register |date=16 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260123185302/https://www.theregister.com/2006/10/16/mcd_spyware_mp3_recall/ |archive-date=23 Jan 2026}}</ref>[[File:McDonald's Japan 2006 cup advertisement.png|thumb|alt=McDonald's Japan 2006 Cup Advertisement]] | ||
[[File:McDonald's Japan 2006 | |||
==Company response== | ==Company response== | ||
On August | On ''7 August 2006'', McDonald's issued a public apology for any consumers infected from the incident. The company offered a web link that removed the malware from computers and allowed winners to return their MP3 players for a free replacement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Iain |title=Free malware from McDonalds |url=https://www.itpro.com/95790/free-malware-from-mcdonalds |website=ITpro |date=17 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250710015215/https://www.itpro.com/95790/free-malware-from-mcdonalds |archive-date=10 Jul 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=McDonalds Unwittingly Distributes Contaminated Prizes |url=https://www.spamfighter.com/News-6650-McDonalds-Unwittingly-Distributes-Contaminated-Prizes.htm |website=SPAMfighter |date=26 Oct 2006 |access-date=6 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260213213750/https://www.spamfighter.com/News-6650-McDonalds-Unwittingly-Distributes-Contaminated-Prizes.htm |archive-date=13 Feb 2026}}</ref> | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
McDonald's Japan 2006 Google Translate | File:McDonald's Japan 2006 webpage using Google Translate.png|McDonald's Japan 2006 Google Translate Page apology and request for MP3 players. | ||
McDonald's Japan Customer Support Page.png|McDonald's Japan Customer Support Page in 2006 | File:McDonald's Japan Customer Support Page.png|McDonald's Japan Customer Support Page in 2006. | ||
McDonald's Official Statement.png|McDonald's Official Statement regarding 2006 Japan malware incident | File:McDonald's Official Statement.png|McDonald's Official Statement regarding 2006 Japan malware incident. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{ | {{Reflist}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:McDonald's]] | ||
Latest revision as of 02:45, 4 April 2026
In 2006, McDonald's in collaboration with Coca-Cola ran a promotion in Japan that lasted for 1 month. During this promotion, 10,000 winners obtained a USB-stick MP3 player.[1][2] When Japanese winners received their MP3 players and inserted them into their computers, it was discovered that the products additionally carried malware meant for Windows operating systems.[3][4][5]
Incident
[edit | edit source]On 4 August, 2006 across Japan, McDonald's collaborated with Coca-Cola to run a promotion which lasted until 31 August, 2006. During this promotion, customers would peel a code from a cup and type the code onto their website, with 10,000 selected winners obtaining a USB-stick MP3 player loaded with ten free songs.[1][2] Winners who received the McDonald's MP3 Player would be infected with a Trojan Horse called QQPass Trojan that would affect devices running the popular Windows versions at the time. QQPass Trojan worked to first disable the device's antivirus(es), and then if the user was running was QQ Instant Messenger, it would capture password information and forward it via e-mail to a malicious third-party.[3][4][5]
Company response
[edit | edit source]On 7 August 2006, McDonald's issued a public apology for any consumers infected from the incident. The company offered a web link that removed the malware from computers and allowed winners to return their MP3 players for a free replacement.[6][7]
-
McDonald's Japan 2006 Google Translate Page apology and request for MP3 players. -
McDonald's Japan Customer Support Page in 2006. -
McDonald's Official Statement regarding 2006 Japan malware incident.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sayer, Peter (16 Oct 2006). "Worm eats its way into McDonald's MP3 player promotion". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Loof (18 Jun 2023). "McDonald's Mp3 Virus | Info Comp". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 Mar 2026. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 deVilla, Joey (16 Oct 2006). "Superspyware Me!". Global Nerdy. Archived from the original on 6 Aug 2025. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stevens, Chris (17 Oct 2006). "McDonalds' free Trojan: "Would you like malware with that?"". CNet. Archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Leyden, John (16 Oct 2006). "Spyware infection prompts McDonalds MP3 recall". The Register. Archived from the original on 23 Jan 2026. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ Thomson, Iain (17 Oct 2006). "Free malware from McDonalds". ITpro. Archived from the original on 10 Jul 2025. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.
- ↑ "McDonalds Unwittingly Distributes Contaminated Prizes". SPAMfighter. 26 Oct 2006. Archived from the original on 13 Feb 2026. Retrieved 6 Mar 2026.