This isn’t exactly a security post, although when things go wrong on electronic devices viruses almost always are suspected and blamed. Well, the truth is that sometimes it is a hardware problem.
Many Kindle users complained of crashes. The Kindle has not been found to have exploitable vulnerabilities (yet) and isn’t even reported to have an operating system that could sustain a virus.
A recent article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/22/kindle_crashes/ explains the cause of the crashes. The problem is that some of the covers for the Kindle are drawing power from the Kindle.
Yeah, it isn’t exactly security, but perhaps you or someone you know will be spared a lot of frustration by knowing about the problem, and when it comes down to it, sparing people frustration is what we who work for security companies are trying to do.
Happy holidays!
Randy Abrams
Director of Technical Education
Cyber Threat Analysis Center – ESET LLC
