Can a virus fry hardware?

[rip]

A lady I know reported a virus alert then the machine went up in smoke. Is it possible for a virus to fry hardware components?

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: rip
A lady I know reported a virus alert then the machine went up in smoke. Is it possible for a virus to fry hardware components?

There have been cases of malware destroying hardware, but its rare (usually takes a hardware vulnerability, like the refresh rate being adjustable by software to the point the crt dies like happened on the Commodore line). Other attacks have overwritten the bios so the box was horked. The description your giving, not likely. More likely she got an alert and opened the box to see if 'anything was wrong' and shorted something herself.

 

[rip]

follow up:
I went over and found the PSU to be burned up...literally. Fortunately, nothing else was harmed. The virus was coincidental.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Eh it may be coincidental.

Then again given how BAD the hardware is in most PCs, especially OEM ones, I am shocked they don't blow up more often either by themselves or with the help of malware.

I'm sure you've heard about all the flaming laptop batteries, et. al.

I'm guessing it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that there are loads of PCs out there that would have drastic PSU, battery, or thermal failures the first time a good stress-testing application or video game was run on them.

 

[bsobel]

I'm guessing it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that there are loads of PCs out there that would have drastic PSU, battery, or thermal failures the first time a good stress-testing application or video game was run on them.

By that logic everytime Vista runs a machine benchmark the hardware should fail. I think your overdramatizing a rare issue.