I didn’t think I was that sort of person

The sort that Viral describes over here as “the type of person who likes to stick random devices in your USB port”. I consider myself pretty cautious. But I do happen to have one of those Energizer chargers.

When I read there as a backdoor vulnerability in their software I didn’t think too much about it as I’ve rebuilt my laptop at least twice since I installed their application (it was, frankly, 100% gimmick).

Imagine my surprise then (Viz style) when I did a complete scan of my machine with Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection for an entirely unrelated reason only to find it picked up the “Energizer” threat in a package in my C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder.

How it got there I have no idea. I certainly haven’t downloaded / installed their app since rebuilding. It just goes to show it’s worth doing a complete scan from time to time just to be safe.

As an aside I’ve found this charger to be *very* fussy about actually charging things – which seems fairly fundamental to the role of “battery charger” – and my complaint (hand-written letter no less) to Energizer went unanswered. As a result I can’t recommend the device however neat it might seem.