One of a manufacturer’s worst nightmares is undoubtedly to deliver PCs infected with viruses, and that is exactly what occurred to Acemagic. Since our previous coverage of the incident, which also impacted other brands and manufacturers, Acemagic has released a thorough statement. The business claims that the vulnerable systems are those manufactured before November 18, 2023. It claims that insufficient modifications were made “to the Microsoft source code, including network settings, without obtaining software digital signatures.”
Affected customers have several options. The Mini PCs in question can be returned for a full refund of the purchase price and return shipping. Alternatively, customers who keep their affected device will receive a refund amounting to 25% of the price paid. This option is likely to be the most reasonable for many users, but customers will also have to carry out a complete reinstallation and fully delete all recovery partitions. Even then, a thorough search for potentially harmful software is still advisable. Affected users can also request a replacement, but this may lead to problems due to the fact that availability is no longer as widespread. At the very least, all affected customers will receive a 10% voucher.
Acemagic has also announced further improvements to its security measures. For example, digital signatures are to be strengthened, reviews and audits will continue to be carried out and appropriate controls will take place during production. Security is also to be increased within the company, such as prohibiting the use of unauthorized software, but it is rather astonishing that such a rule had not already been implemented.
