Well, well, well, looks like Chinese PC maker Acemagic got caught with its digital pants down. YouTuber The Net Person stumbled upon some nasty surprises when he peeked under the hood of Acemagic's little computers. And what did he find? Malware.
It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to uncover the dirt. Within minutes of firing up these machines, Windows Defender was screaming bloody murder about Bladabindi malware - a notorious little bugger known for snatching your personal info faster than you can say "cybersecurity nightmare."
Acemagic quietly admitted that not only did Bladabindi crash the party, but its buddy Redline malware also decided to tag along for the ride. Redline is like that sneaky pickpocket in a crowded market - it swipes your data and, just for fun, helps itself to some cryptocurrency while it's at it.
Now, Acemagic's explanation for this mess is like trying to untangle headphone wires after they've been in your pocket for a week - confusing and frustrating. First, they blame it on their software engineers trying to speed up boot times without bothering to get proper signatures. Then, they do a quick 180 and blame it on some accidental software changes that messed up network settings. Make up your mind, Acemagic!
But hey, at least they're trying to make things right. Acemagic is promising to beef up their security game with digital certificates to prevent this mess from happening again. And for those poor souls who got stuck with infected laptops, there's a silver lining - a refund for machines made between September and November 2023. Just check the stickers on your model to see if you hit the malware jackpot.
And for the brave souls who dare to stick with Acemagic after this fiasco, there's a little bonus waiting for you. Clean up your infected machine with Acemagic's system images, and you can score a 25% discount. Plus, if you're feeling lucky, you can snag a 10% voucher for your next Acemagic purchase - because nothing says "confidence in our brand" like a discount on your next potentially malware-ridden gadget.
As for us here at The Register, we were all set to put Acemagic's AM18 to the test in our Desktop Tourism PC review section. But for now, it looks like that bad boy will be collecting dust in the corner. Can't blame us for being a little cautious, can you?
