Category: Mac OS

How computer viruses use word of mouth to infect systems!

Paul

Social Networks Hype Cycle (Photo credit: fredcavazza)

Social Network is Culprit!

I remember some very interesting Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites used in the past to get people to click on an infected link.  This is one of the oldest techniques.   The virus post something on your twitter account or your Facebook account about something really interesting.   Even if you trust your friend, sometimes the friend or twitter account that you know aren’t really in control of what they post.   This is the first line of trust that the virus makers use to spread their viruses until other computers and systems.   You should never click any link unless you know where it is going.  Although this is becoming less and less troublesome, I am sure it isn’t going away but just biding it’s time to come out and strike another day.

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Linux will never have a Virus, Some say!

Paul2 Replies

I got an Interesting Comment yesterday:

Wouldn’t you bet that this topic is very popular with the linux community at a whole but that isn’t what makes it interesting.   I got a comment that I must talk about in parts.

It’s not a question of whether Linux will get viruses. There are already a number of worms and other malware that have struck Linux services. As for a virus or other malware attacks against Linux as a whole, it can’t happen the way it can for Windows and Mac OS X. It’s a question of homogeneity vs. heterogeneity. Windows and Mac OS X have two flavors, 32bit and 64bit essentially [this is an over-generalization, but it’s generally true]. Linux is so balkanized, that it’s difficult to think a virus could be written that could affect every distro out there, since none of them run the same versions of various system software [like services, filesystems, etc.], so it’s not likely that the same type of flaw will exist everywhere. Also, with distributions like Debian so many architectures are supported, and it’s difficult to imagine some virus author to put in the effort to make the virus able to infect so many disparate systems. The law of diminishing returns applies here.

This argument is something that is near and dear to my heart for several reasons.    Having seen Apple getting hit by a virus and malware, who thought they were educated also never once thought about getting a virus.   Now lets face it this isn’t like a major system to some but there are more and more of linux users out there because of the fact this is a free system and many people would argue that they can’t afford to buy a new version of Windows every 2 or 4 years and some of us will not buy Apple due the Apple tax.   So there we have it, more and more people are turning to Linux because of this worldly recession and that means more and more people are using Linux and the eyes of the malware writers will start to find holes and other ways to infect users.

Just because it is unlikely doesn’t mean it won’t happen!

We have seen in the past that there are Unix viruses and that was never really popularized as Apple having a Virus.   Now just because the Linux community is fragmented into many different flavors doesn’t mean they don’t have something in common to all of them.   The Kernel alone has to have something in common with all flavors to be considered viable.  That in such means that the flaw that you suggest could and probably does exist everywhere.    When someone says law of diminishing returns applies here, I have to imagine that you do not know that with any web surfing instance, I can easily find out which Linux you might be using and thus create a script for it.     Which in my Mind that sounds oddly like your using the old argument of Security through obscurity and we already saw how Apple got hit by a virus because they thought this same thought for several years.

Segmentation is everything to Malware:

So I agree, it’s possible that viruses for Linux will be in the wild sooner than later, but they will target specific distros/architectures [like Debian, Red Hat, SuSE, and derivatives, or even Android, and all the architectures supported by them]. Also, this means that the target markets for Linux viruses will be segmented and segregated, and thus much less profitable than markets as huge and contiguous as Windows or even Mac OS X. Until there’s no more low hanging fruit like this, virus writers won’t have the economic incentive to target Linux in general, except maybe to prove it can be done. But then again, the returns won’t ever be as spectacular as they can be on relatively homogeneous systems like Windows and Mac OS X. Thus it will always be possible to write Linux viruses, but not nearly as probable as with other commercial operating systems.

Segmented Linux distributions makes it just that more probable of getting a virus.   Most writers will love to have segmentation and they have used it in the past.  The Market segmentation would make it just that much harder for any one Linux Distro to remove the virus.    If you have several different flavors of Linux, you would have to remove the virus or malware a certain way with each and every version of the flavor.    Not everything is about economics, most of the writers have in the past did not want to segment because of the need to infect for ransomware, thus creating a way for income.   With the development of Antivirus Companies for Windows, they have alternatively changed tactics.   One of there new tactics is to spread to as many systems and use those system to send out spam, to redirect, infect other systems, and also pop up advertisements.    This is why they would love Linux because of the fact that there are so many segregated communities that it would be much harder for a system to be cleaned and thus the user would have no other option but to re-install Linux or live with the problem.   I for one have fought off viruses in the past with my clients so I know that some customers do not know anything about virus removal and thus will live with the virus until someone comes to fix the problem.   That is why I believe the Linux community as a whole should start developing a Virus database and work at stopping the problem before it starts.

What do you think?  I’d love to hear your comments?  Feel free to leave your comments at tell me your thoughts!

Only Time Will Tell!

Paul Sylvester

 

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Is this Windows 7?

Paul

As you can see that looks to be the final release of the start screen. In the past they haven’t change the start screen, it looks to be really polished and ready for use with Windows 7. If anything, I think the boot screen will be permanent and definitely not temporary. On a Side note, I found this video as well:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&#038;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:60e5f8c6-09f3-4a09-bac0-355b8a7b7dcc&#038;showPlaylist=true&#038;from=shared" target="_new" title="Windows 7 Demo 1" rel="noopener noreferrer">Video: Windows 7 Demo 1</a>

[ad#ad2-left]This video I almost suspect is the release they did at the Professional Developers Conference and is probably going to have the beta in hand. Although I could be wrong this looks to be almost like Vista? Why is Microsoft trying to make Vista turn into Windows 7, probably due to the fact that Vista had such a rotten launch they are hoping people will see Windows 7 as if Windows Vista didn’t even exist.

I also found one more little Video that looks to be promising, it’s called Windows 7 Super bar. This little Video looks convincingly like this will be kept in Windows 7 but you know how Microsoft is on beta’s. Any how, Here’s this one:


Windows 7 Super Bar from Paul Jenkins on Vimeo.

As you can see the super bar feature looks to be quite interesting and quite nice to have. I will bet that will be a great productivity improve in Windows and it might even be more like MAC OS X. I don’t know but it seems to be something that Apple should of done a long time ago!!

Apple’s Immunity, Botnet sanctuary.

Paul

Apple Immune? No way!

But is Apple projecting a false sense of security just to save face? Many experts repeatedly warn that all operating systems are susceptible to viruses, and as the Mac becomes more popular OS X will inevitably become a bigger target for malicious attacks.

[via Pcworld]

Having said that I feel the notion that Apple is trying to keep there reputation as a virus free system. I can only hope that they stay that way. Which as much as I know, Apple will most like start to be the main source for botnets, because of the lack of security.

[ad#ad2-right]According to reports on this blog, people are worried Apple stance on it being the safest and having so much immunity to viruses. Apple in the past has stated they have mislead people with there firewall. Yet Apple takes down that suggestion of having an Anti-virus(Quietly).

[ad#digg-left]Everything I’ve seen suggest that virus writers and Malware writers will MOST likely start targeting the Mac OS X, they know Apple sense of security is Vulnerable to attack and they will exploit it more and more. So what does that mean for Apple, it just means that soon every hacker who has a botnet will want a piece of the Apple Pie and is right now.

[ad#ad2-left]As PC Trojans go, the programming features of RSPlug.E look fairly basic. PC malware is more highly evolved and usually cleverer. But a programmer – probably a Russian – with knowledge of OSX had taken time to create a Trojan that hits Macs instead of PCs, James pointed out.


[via Techworld]

Which looks like it has already begun. So what can Mac users do, get an Anti-virus and maybe Apple will have to start backing down from the Virus commercials and actually admit it. Sooner or later someone will have to challenge Apple to get them to start admitting to it.

Is Vista just Windows 7?

Paul

[ad#ad2-left]According to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols from Computer World, He talks about how Microsoft is scared on Linux and that people are flocking to remove Vista off there Machines. I say otherwise, you see according to some experts like Mark Hall from Computer World, he states Vista is better than Mac OS X. So why do people say one thing and do another?

Now I know Vista isn’t what people expected and that it had high expectations when they first released it.  I think that is due to the fact Microsoft tried so hard to make Vista seem more than it actually was.  Now According to Ina Fried from CNET her post was about Windows 7: A better Vista?. In her post she talked about the features of Windows 7, and how Windows 7 is almost like Vista. I tend to agree because of the look from screenshots I’ve seen to make me think it will be Version 2 of Vista. I don’t think it is anything that will change from Vista to Windows 7. It will however be more ready to boot up and shutdown that is according to what Microsoft said to Ina.

What is Windows 7 going to have?  Some reports are saying:

[ad#ad2-right]I did some research and everything so far is either confirmed to be in this next release of Window 7 or is speculation.  I don’t know if these are true.  I do know however everything they talked about is looking to me to be like Vista Version 2.  Nothing they’ve said so far couldn’t of been an update like a service to pack to fix all these things people are wanting right now.  Vista to be faster, have better battery life, be lean, be embedded, better Uac, and boot faster.

Now I could be wrong but that is everything Vista could of done and still is possible to do!!  If only Microsoft would do what is needed people wouldn’t be wanting Windows 7.  Although I suspect people will have there hopes broken, or complain about it when it comes out.  I suspect the ones who want Windows 7 will be saying Vista is great!!  I will just have to watch what happens in the future!!