Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/noisy_virus_relief_for_gamers/

Xbox 360 video cable boasts NOISE VIRUS protection

Ears are ringing ... with alarm bells

By John Leyden

Posted in Bootnotes, 15th March 2012 15:22 GMT

Are noisy computer viruses interfering with your enjoyment of playing games on your Xbox 360?

If so then the Xbox 360 Elite HDMI 180o Swivel Cable from 3rd Earth it just what you need. The product's marketing pitch claims that it's a "100% Mylar double shield 1.3c grade cable with anti-virus protection to reduce virus noises and to obtain perfect image transmission".

Hmm.

Computer viruses making a racket have appeared in the past, so perhaps 3rd Earth has uncovered an untapped market here. For example, an old AntiCad DOS virus played the Blue Danube through your PC speaker, not exactly the sort of soundtrack that should accompany zombie killing in Resident Evil.

Another example, dredged from history by net security firm Sophos, is the W32/Music worm that played the the first few bars of We Wish You A Merry Christmas on infected PCs.

There have been many more cases of viruses wiping music off infected PCs, our personal favourite being a strain of malware that specifically purged Romanian gypsy music from infected Windows PCs. ®