How to Write a Linux Virus in 5 Easy Steps

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Linux was developed with multiuser/multitasking capabilities in mind from step one, and it's security model takes that in account, while winDOS evolved from a single user / single task OS, first a GUI being tacked on, then multitasking and finally (somewhat) multiuser capability. Also on windblows a lot of tasks run in kernel mode for improved performance, but the side effect is drastically reducing security (if it would have been there in the first place).
m$ is great at creating the luser the impression that he is having the computer under control, in reality it's the other way round.
 
 
This is not an either or question it is both. That is technology is part of the solution and the user is part of the solution. On the technology front, it goes beyond the OS and computer and to the network.
You can create a lock however if it's not used or the key is hanging on hook next to the lock then security doesn't really matter.
 
@Mr Pink: Old News (most recent is dated 2005).

Slapper: Apache bug, not Linux specific; at the same time, 25% of the Windows machines in the world were taken down, neutered and made unrecoverable by Win32.Tchernobyl, using a core system component abused through a drive-by attack on an on-by-default useless system service.

New Apache worm: not Linux-specific, it could run on any Apache-enabled machine. At the same time, IIS 5.0 (installed, run as a system service and running by default on all Windows 2000 Server machines) was hacked and created a botnet strong of dozens of thousands.

Linux hacked more often than Windows: following the inquiry, it appears that the compromised Linux servers hadn't been set up properly and were basically unpacked, run as-is (by default, most services in a distro are set into test- and developer-mode, with instructions on how to lock them down for production use) and left alone. At the same time, more than half of attacked Windows machines (which are supposed to have an administrator behind them) successfully got hacked. As such: Linux server where the admin RTFM was safe.

Worm attacks: needs 2 things, unpatched (that's 1) web server/page generator running as root (that's 2) instead of its own user. The first took 9 years to solve under Windows, the second still isn't solved.

Mystery Infestation: weak admin password in large hosting farms at fault. Solution: use stronger password. Valid on any OS.
 
Just a quick note for the people who say, "It's not becase Windows is more popular". I just wonder if people realize HOW popular and common Windows OS is. We're not talking hundreds of thousands, we're not talking millions, we're not talking tens of millions, we're talking HUNDREDS of MILLIONS. Think about it.
 
There are no limits people, ANYONE who thinks that Linux or MAC cannot be infected is a complete fool if someone offered 5 million dollars to anyone who could successfully infect a Linux based PC, it would happen almost instantly. For all you people who think that it's impossible, i award you no points and may god have mercy on your soul...
 
*not* a virus, not self replicating.

If you don't want to read the whole article, skip to the very end, and read the footnote about the .desktop vulnerability being discussed for years. Linux +1 point for taking part in classroom discussion, Windows 0.
 
There is no safe that can't be cracked, there is no encryption that cant be broken, and there is no OS that cant be hacked.

It just takes one rare talent with imagination and ambition to do it.Once it gets done first time however the flood gates will open.

Anyone who believes they are 100% secure is a fool; that is like assuming that no one will ever break into your house just because you have some strong doors and windows.
 
OSX has been around since 2001, that is about 8 years since I think it was released later in the year.....Still waiting on that Virus that is going to bring the MAC down to its knees. And if I remember right that so called Virus that was included in the Torrent Download wasn't really a Virus. As far as the Linux OS goes I wouldn't say that any OS is bullet proof, but even if you took the number of users and compared it to the number of Viruses/Exploites/Trojans, etc I am guessing that both OSX and Linux will be less per Capita than Windows. And as far as security goes it's not a black and white question Security is partly OS and partly User, it just saddens me that there are so many that attempt this sort of behavior in the first place.
 
We have a Linux server at work. When it was installed, our supplier told us that absolutely under no circumstances should we attempt to go to the internet with it because it was not resistant to viruses.

I also seem to remember this thing from way back called the "cuckoo's egg" that would get you into any Unix/Linux machine.

It seems to me that the way to fix security problems with Windows is to not let the browser or email clients run external programs. You want to run a program, save it to your hard drive and run it yourself. That way you know what you are agreeing to run. The browser/email cannot discriminate. Sort of like what Vista has with the UAC, but controlled by the person at the keyboard.
 
I am an admin for two schools that run Mac machines for our students, and a district that has a ratio of about 89% Macs. We have recently had to deploy sophos virus scanner due to the amount of virus and malicious programs that have been infecting our macs more and more every day.

I am not a Mac fanboy at all, the machines are great, and their dumbed down OS allows for our students to focus on the program they are using, and not the OS (Windows or Linux) that is running them. But the fact is, all of these Os are vulnerable to infection. Devs can not write code for the common idiot or child that is using their software. They can not anticipate the ingenuity of the next batch of virus coders. In the real world where those of us with real IT knowledge live, all Os are prone to virus infections, it is the training and tools we give our users in our buildings that is the real and only preventative measure we can take to make any system bullet proof.

To continue to claim that one OS is untouched because it is superior is ludicrous. Windows is the most used OS in the world, and as such, is the biggest target for hackers and coders to focus on. Linux is a great OS, I run personal servers using Suse, not a one has died on me yet, and my knowledge of Linux has allowed me so far to keep them free of malicious software, but I by no means will rest cause it is a linux box. I know that once a hacker gets it up his kiester that he wants to affect Linux machines, he is going to do it, whether or not the fanboys say it can be done. Let the flames and ignorant rants now begin again.
 
What the hell happened to Tom's Hardware?
I thought this was a site that gave high-quality facts and reviews. This is the second article I read today that just doesn't comply to that. The first one was one about a GeForce 9000something with passive cooling, written in such a way felt like some sort of publicity.
Come on!
If you guys want to express some sort of opinion about stuff, just start a Tom's Hardware blog.
 
Enough of the back and forth. Nothing is imposable. There is nothing that cannot be done. Nothing is foolproof. Linux, Windows, OSX or BSD, makes no diff if someone wants to it can be done regardless.
 
This is beyond ridiculous.

"It's the user, stupid!"

Or, put more simply, "It's the stupid user, stupid!"

If a huge majority of the users of the system are perfectly willing to give out their bank account information to Prince Mutobo Kinjomuba from Congo, or click on an attachment just because it says "hot babes" in a file whose full name is "hot babes virus.exe", it just might be about more than the sum of the designer's intentions. Linux users are there because they know a thing or two (in most cases) about computers and security. If windows were known as "the geek operating system", and Linux came preinstalled on every desktop, you would see a significant reversal of fortune.

Don't even get me started on OS X. I suspect the reason for the lack of malware on OS X is because 90% of developers can't get a LEGIT app to run on a Mac, and god help them if they are trying to do something USEFUL (like stealing bank account information.)
 
Software is never going to be perfect for many reasons, but especially because its written by human beings. Even after seven years of security fixes for Windows XP there are still new vulnerabilities found and patched continuously. No matter how smart the users are, or how secure the operating system, there are still going to be vulnerabilities found and exploited be it the user's actions or a vulnerability in the software.

Comparing one software to another based on security is kind of pointless because its not a matter of how secure each is, its a matter of how much effort is put into wrecking someone's system. There tends to be more effort put into Windows because there are more users and the effort has a greater reward (more systems for distributed attacks, higher chance of someone giving information out, etc.).

In my opinion the user is the greatest security threat and also the best defense.
 
A Unix variant system can only be compromised,if the root access is compromised. Once a Male ware or a Virus enters a Windows machine then it can do anything because the system is wide open! Even if a malicious code enters a Linux system, by an email attachment, browser vulnerability or etc., There isn't much it can do to damage the system significantly. At worst it can cause some minor network problems and nothing that it can't be dealt with easily. Many (millions) high end severs run on Linux or Unix systems throughout the world. The most powerful computers in the world run on Unix or Linux. So I am sure many virus writers would love to be able to bring them down, but they have to settle down for Windows!
 
Is Linux inherently more secure? Of course it is--the very UNIX kernel was designed with security in mind.

Is Linux bulletproof? Of course not.

Is Linux ready for the average Joe (or "cesspool" as echdskech says)? Of course not. Ubuntu is close, but there are just too many tasks that are not user-friendly (mounting a removable drive, anyone?)
 
i think it is a user problem. i have run windows 95, then 98, then xp. i have not had a virus ever, well they tried and were quarentined. my first computer, that was all mine, was a tandy 1000sx and i have learned along the way how to disable unnessasary windows components, keeping old computers running longer w\o lag. i have this argument all the time and i always say if you were to rob a bank who do you rob the poor or the rich. all my idiot, technologically speaking, friends have viruses b\c they click on the pop ups that say they are vulnerable, they do not know. they build big block v-8s how would they know os's. xp is safe if you r not stupid. linux and others may seem better until you want to play c&c red alert cross country with somebody who knows nothing about computers then what do you do. have them install all new os. no. you teach them simple xp security and networking. and off you go. if you want to comunicate with the world you must learn to work in the enviroment you live in. don't be a houghty toity you suck b\c u use windows fool. i mean that if every one new how to use linux then who would fix your car or build your house. if you think linux is easy then you need to meet more people in person
 
Until the gov't treats virus and trojan writers as bona fide criminals and charges them as such, this will continue. No more slaps on the wrist. How about hard core, ram your geek @ss in the shower kind of punishment for these dirtbags? I'm sick and tired of having to fix computers and reformatting hard drives because of these scum who try to make a quick buck off noobs.
 
[citation][nom]LightWeightX[/nom]This is not an either or question it is both. That is technology is part of the solution and the user is part of the solution. On the technology front, it goes beyond the OS and computer and to the network.You can create a lock however if it's not used or the key is hanging on hook next to the lock then security doesn't really matter.[/citation]
There is the trick of not having any lock and pretending that the information avail is of no real importance. By not having a lock the data is frequently over-looked by hackers. A perfect example is having your passwords stored in a simple text file renamed and maybe typed in backwards. Change the file extension to something obscure and setup your computer to open the file with notepad. It's random, it isn't "locked" but do you know how many file look like this? Too many for somebody to sift through and it's suprisingly secure if you turn off certain "features" of the NTFS file system. Lock it and you're only keeping the honest people out.
 
[citation][nom]zuesacuatl[/nom]I am an admin for two schools that run Mac machines for our students, and a district that has a ratio of about 89% Macs. We have recently had to deploy sophos virus scanner due to the amount of virus and malicious programs that have been infecting our macs more and more every day. I am not a Mac fanboy at all, the machines are great, and their dumbed down OS allows for our students to focus on the program they are using, and not the OS (Windows or Linux) that is running them. But the fact is, all of these Os are vulnerable to infection. Devs can not write code for the common idiot or child that is using their software. They can not anticipate the ingenuity of the next batch of virus coders. In the real world where those of us with real IT knowledge live, all Os are prone to virus infections, it is the training and tools we give our users in our buildings that is the real and only preventative measure we can take to make any system bullet proof.To continue to claim that one OS is untouched because it is superior is ludicrous. Windows is the most used OS in the world, and as such, is the biggest target for hackers and coders to focus on. Linux is a great OS, I run personal servers using Suse, not a one has died on me yet, and my knowledge of Linux has allowed me so far to keep them free of malicious software, but I by no means will rest cause it is a linux box. I know that once a hacker gets it up his kiester that he wants to affect Linux machines, he is going to do it, whether or not the fanboys say it can be done. Let the flames and ignorant rants now begin again.[/citation]

no matter how many times you say this... im always amased at denial people have about this stuff. If mac os or linux had say 80% of the market they wouldnt be mindlessly bashing MS they would be mindlessly bashing that company because of all the viruses and exposed bugs no one hears about because 1% of the population are the only ones who care.

I have been using windows since 95 and im still waiting to get a virus that brings my machine to its knees. ill likely be waiting a long time. If people want to use mac os and linux just for the simple fact they are more secure just because people dont care about them and delude them selves with false security whatever i dont really care. Its like the people who use firefox. I remember back in the day this browser called netscape. IE was always being targeted and everyone is all netscape is so secure omg no virus can kill it. THEN it got a majorly huge part of the market after that it got beat down so bad from viruses and hacks hell aol took it and finished it off.

Anyways use whatever OS you want but dont be ignorant to the fact your not any harder to infect dont be stupid ffs.
 
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