can a DVD damage/infect a computer

banjobongo · 07-07-2009 09:29AM #1

just out of interest...if you play a DVD that you are not sure of where it came from, can it have any impact on your computer/laptop, I presume not, as you are operating your computer as a DVD player, and are not on the internet?

seamus · 07-07-2009 09:36AM

Yes it can. DVDs from dodgy sources can contain viruses and malware just the same as any downloaded software. It would be a rare enough thing to do unless the DVD was made from an image downloaded as a torrent.

It would be extremely rare for a commercially-bought DVD to contain malware, though Sony is well-known for inserting anti-piracy software onto its games discs which most AV programs pick up as trojan horses.

ActorSeeksJob · 07-07-2009 11:22AM

No it cant actually. A dvd is read-only, so it cant do anything to a machine

Hagar · 07-07-2009 11:25AM

ActorSeeksJob wrote: »

No it cant actually. A dvd is read-only, so it cant do anything to a machine

That is inaccurate. A read only DVD can certainly infect a computer if it contains malware.
You may be confused by thinking that you cannot infect a read only DVD.

seamus · 07-07-2009 11:27AM

ActorSeeksJob wrote: »

No it cant actually. A dvd is read-only, so it cant do anything to a machine

Web sites are technically "read-only", so how do they infect your machine?

Your statement is incorrect on so many levels, I don't know where to start.

marco_polo · 07-07-2009 11:28AM

ActorSeeksJob wrote: »

No it cant actually. A dvd is read-only, so it cant do anything to a machine

Too lazy to find a J.L. Piccard facepalm.

So it is not possible for a DVD to store a virus executable for example or another dodgy file? Sometime it is better not to post at all.

can a DVD damage/infect a computer

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