McDonalds has apologised after sending out MP3 players containing malware as prizes.
The company's Japanese subsidiary sent out the MP3 players after a competition held in August. Customers won the media players after peeling a sticker off the side of a drinks container and checking the winning numbers.
The players shipped with 10 preloaded songs but at some point in the manufacturing stage a version of the QQPass Trojan was installed. The first attempt to use the player with a PC starts the Trojan.
Once activated the Trojan attempts to shut down antivirus software installed on Windows PCs and steal passwords and login details for OICQ, a popular Chinese chat program. It then attempts to email them to a variety of addresses for collection.
"The virus poses an infection risk when the prize is connected to a computer. We therefore recommend consumers not to use the prize," the company said on its website.
ITPro Best of Show NAB 2026 awards now open for entries
Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch thinks 50% of SaaS solutions could be supplanted by AI
