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So we're hearing that the Observer's website has been infected with some sort of particularly malignant virus or spyware or somesuch. Apparently simply visiting the site — on a PC; Mac people, as always, are miraculously inoculated — will infect your computer with something we're told is called "Icyfox," which will, we're further told, send data "to Korea." (We presume that's North Korea; this seems the sort of dastardly subversion the Dear Leader would dream up.)

We have no idea to what extent this is true; we're certainly not going to visit the site ourselves and risk contamination. So do what you will. But consider yourselves warned.

UPDATE: Observer sources report that the site has now been disabled and will not be reactivated until they know it's safe. So presumably that means ambling past the URL will no long put you at grave risk. That said, it's worth remembering that the only way to be 100 percent safe is to practice abstinence.

UPDATE: The Observer site is, finally, back up, and friendly neighborhood managing editor Tom McGeveran assures us that it is no longer contagious. Sweet.