Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2011, when Charlie Miller’s research into the battery controllers of Apple MacBooks was in the news; battery firmware and laptop safety protections have changed since.
Until now there was a “myth” going around, with some users claiming that a computer virus could make a laptop literally burst into flames. Anyone who asked about it on specialist forums usually ended up being laughed at. Well, it isn’t a myth, and yes, a virus could make a laptop catch fire.
Charlie Miller, a computer security expert, is investigating Apple’s MacBooks to see whether a hacker could plant a virus and destroy the device.
Here is why, according to this expert, a virus could set a laptop on fire:
Laptop batteries contain a microcontroller that reports on the battery’s condition to prevent it from overheating. A hacker could break into this controller and insert the virus, disabling the functions that protect the laptop from overheating, even to the point of stopping the fan, and thereby driving up the temperature and potentially causing a fire.
Other experts disagree with Miller’s theory. They deny that a correctly installed battery can catch fire by itself, and some even claim that batteries are designed so that they won’t melt even if they reach very high temperatures.
The fact is that there have already been reports of laptops catching fire, and Apple and Dell have recalled some batteries precisely because of the fire risk. So, to the question of whether a laptop could burn because of a virus, the answer is that it’s unlikely but possible.
Featured image: PumpkinSky family, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
