Apple admitted on Thusday that some Video iPods purchased after September 12, may carry a Windows virus called "RavMonE.exe".

The company said that only a small number - less than 1% - of the Video iPods available for purchase after September 12, 2006 are infected with the virus, blaming the company's contract manufacturer for the popular portable device.

This known virus affects only Windows computers, and up to date anti-virus software which is included with most Windows computers should detect and remove it. Apple said that it has seen less than 25 reports concerning this problem. The iPod nano, iPod shuffle and Mac OS X are not affected, and all Video iPods now shipping are virus free.

RavMonE.exe is a known Windows virus and up to date anti-virus software using the default settings should detect and remove it. For all users who do not have anti-virus software installed on their Windows computer, Apple recommends that they should install one of the many available programs. Free trial programs that can remove this Windows virus include Microsoft's Live OneCare Safety Scanner, Microsoft Live OneCare (90 day trial version), McAfee (30 day trial version) and Symantec Norton Anti-Virus (30 day trial version).

After installing an anti-virus application, iPod owners should attach their Video iPod to their Windows computer and run the anti-virus program. If the Windows system is infected with this virus, an alert will be triggered and inform users that the virus has been detected and either quarantined or removed. Ipod owners should then use iTunes 7 to restore the software on their newly purchased Video iPod.

Because this Windows virus propagates via mass storage devices, Apple recommends that users should scan any mass storage devices that they have recently attached to your Windows computers such as external hard drives, digital cameras with removable media, and USB flash drives.

While this Windows virus does not affect Mac OS X or the iPod itself, Mac customers can use iTunes 7 to restore the software on their newly purchased Video iPod to ensure that it does not carry this Windows virus.