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Not one, but TWO viruses on TomTom satnav. "Small risk" says TomTom.

When Reuters reported that "a specialist tech web site" had uncovered viruses on TomTom satellite nav gear, they didn't reveal where they got the  information - a strange attitude for a news organisation which insists very strenuously on being credited for any of their own reports.

The web site is the blog of Davey Winder, at Daniweb, where he not only describes what the viruses are, but gives TomTom's response in full.

Anti-virus supplier Sophos commented: "TomTom SatNav devices are Linux-based, and cannot be infected by the malware. However, Windows users who connect to the device via their USB port risk running the malicious code and infecting their desktop computers."

Sophos virus expert Graham Cluley said: "There are a number of postings on the internet from TomTom purchasers asking for advice about the viruses, going back as far as September 2006. But they are the lucky ones who were running an anti-virus product and caught the infection before it could cause too much harm. What's more worrying is that there may be many innocent consumers out there who are unaware they have passed an infection onto their Windows PC."

Advice: "Any storage device which is attached to a computer should be checked for virus and other malware before use. Floppy disks, CD ROMs, USB keys, external hard drives and other devices are all capable of carrying malicious code that could infect the computers of innocent users."

Yes, that does include cameras and MP3 players. "This is not the first time that manufacturers have accidentally distributed malicious code to their customers on hardware devices," Sophos reminded readers.

"In October last year it was discovered that some Apple video iPods had shipped with the Troj/Bdoor-DIJ Trojan horse, and that the Japanese subsidiary of McDonald's was recalling 10,000 MP3 players after discovering that a spyware Trojan horse was contained on the devices."

TomTom's response has, till now, been to ignore the problem. Prodded by the DaniWeb report and the Reuters followup, it has now admitted: "a small, isolated number of TomTom GO 910’s, produced between September and November 2006, may be infected with a virus."

TomTom sad that "the virus is qualified as low risk and can be removed safely with virus scanning software." Users who have been infected may be less relaxed about the fact that TomTom was first told about this months ago, and did nothing. According to Winder, the TomTom web site still has no warning, or advice to users.

The "Questions" page, asked to find "virus" responds: Unfortunately we were unable to find any answers that could solve the question you have asked.

Appropriate actions have been taken to make sure this is prevented from happening again in the future.