A very strange (and worrying) new form of computer virus appears to be able to infect your PC through its speakers.
The rootkit virus is apparently able to communicate with other computers using your speaker and microphone.
Named "badBIOS", the virus has apparently been around for years - but exactly how it works has only just been revealed.
An in-depth report on Ars Technica quotes researcher Dragos Ruiu who said that the virus appears to be able to jump through the air to other machines - even when they were not connected to the internet, or each other.
The theory is that the software is using inaudible high-frequency sounds to send data to other machines, e
The report admits that the virus is "the stuff of urban legend" but says that the evidence appears to prove that it exists.
That said, the evidence for the bug has mainly been collected by one researcher, and has not yet been peer reviewed, which for some reduces its credibility.
However elements of the story have been proven by multiple teams, so it appears that there's something real, and a bit terrifying, about the whole tale. It's also eerily reminiscent of the "world's most advanced virus" Flame,
discovered in 2012, which is capable of controlling a computer's speakers and microphones apparently to enable large-scale espionage.
We recommend heading over to Ars Technica to read the full story.