A customer in Shenzhen, China, took a brand new laptop out of its box and turned it on for the first time. But as the screen lit up, the computer began taking on a life of its own. The machine, directed by a virus hidden in its hard drive, started searching the Internet for another computer.
The laptop, supposedly in pristine, direct-from-the-factory condition, had instantly become part of an illegal global network capable of attacking Web sites, looting bank accounts and stealing personal data.
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