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Pro-Linux Mail Trojan Running Around

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the poor-advocacy-choices dept.

Xeno noted a story making the rounds about a Pro Linux Virus. Well, they're calling it a vrisu, but its a trojan. Its a flash thingee embedded in emails. It mails itself, and then renames zips and jpegs to have have a Pro-Linux message. Very bad advocacy, but when I turn off Dad Mode, I gotta laugh about it.

11 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Use a MS Outlook virus for distributed DOS attacks by aim4min · · Score: 4

    It seems that even after patch after patch of the MS outlook system, virus still spread like wildfire. MS should employ a virtual machine to run attachments, that way it could sandbox the application. If it does not do any damage, then it can be let loose into the real operating system. Virus have been getting more and more complex. Connecting to newsgroups, sending email... what's to stop them from quiety sitting on your computer (not doing ANYTHING) just spreading... and then one day, some malicious hacker launches a DDOS against yahoo or something.

  2. Ahh, yes, the dreaded vrisu by JanneM · · Score: 5

    Well, they're calling it a vrisu,

    I can see it now: the dreaded vrisus and jabberwockys scampering around on a green irish field, playing in the sun...

    Sorry.

    --
    Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
    1. Re:Ahh, yes, the dreaded vrisu by Tower · · Score: 4

      and the Vermicious Knids and Snozzwangers might stop by, too...
      --

      --
      "It's tough to be bilingual when you get hit in the head."
  3. A What?! by Mike+Connell · · Score: 3

    > Well, they're calling it a vrisu, but its a trojan

    Well, whatever it is, it certainly isn't a "vrisu". Isn't that a Hindu God for something?

    Mike.

    --
    Tales from behind the Lagom Curtain
  4. Flash? Heh... by Gothmolly · · Score: 3

    Good thing that the flash plugins for linux-netscape never seem to quite work, and so remain uninstalled.

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    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
  5. Why? by cr0sh · · Score: 4

    Why do these people write these? Why do people CONTINUALLY get infected by them?

    What I really don't understand is why someone hasn't written a benign virus/trojan - same manner as the Mellisa/ILOVEYOU trojan, except that when run by the clueless, it would remove any other trojan VBS scripts (or quarantine them) on the machine, ask to send copies to "friends" (upon which it would email itself to people on the address list), then remove itself from the machine.

    If the "hacker" wanted to go further, he could place a little "Agree or Disagree" EULA/disclaimer at the beginning the user would have to agree to in order for the code to run. He could also insert a little "educational" note on why the virus ran, and how to protect against future attacks by less benign viruses in the future (up to and including installing Linux?). Finally, he could encrypt the "meat" of the VBS trojan, and put a little blurb in the EULA about the DMCA clauses prohibiting the alteration or creation of software to remove copyright controls on software.

    Such a "hack" would be more worthy of a /. story than this dreck - which is only going to serve to harm the Linux community in general.

    Worldcom - Generation Duh!

    --
    Reason is the Path to God - Anon
  6. Flash? That's a trojan horse, all right. by IanWestray · · Score: 3

    All in favor of classifying any unwanted Flash movie as a trojan horse, please perform the self-indulgent marketers' salute.

  7. The loudest idiot in the crowd by lowe0 · · Score: 3

    I've always said that the problem with Linux is going to be its users. While most of them are mature and reasonable people, willing to work as a community towards common goals, for some reason the people who get all the attention are the petty children who do things like this. It's as if they find the loudest idiot in the crowd and give him a microphone.

    To whoever did this - way to set things back a good six months.

    To whoever is contemplating emulating this behavior - think again about its impact upon the community.

    To the rest of you, the mature Linux user - thank you.

    1. Re:The loudest idiot in the crowd by ichimunki · · Score: 3

      Thank you for this. I'd add that Linux being accepted by the mainstream is going to have a lot more to do with usability, affordability, and things that people care about, than any perceptions of the Linux community (if there is such a thing) as a whole.

      Also, obviously any serious Linux user/advocate isn't going to screw around writing viruses which work in Windows-- who would want to (I mean, isn't that one of the reasons we're using Linux, so we don't have to work in Windows)? Much more fun to write some great hack and gain GPL fame.

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      I do not have a signature
  8. People still don't get it, do they? by ptomblin · · Score: 4

    From the article:
    He urged users not to click on any attachment "until this dies down."

    How about urging people NEVER to click on attachments, unless you've explicitly asked for them? Oh forgot - if we did that, the anti virus companies would go out of business, so we can't do that.

    Sheesh.

    --
    The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
  9. HELLLP!!! I GOT THE VIRUS by KingJawa · · Score: 5

    TROJ_CMDRTACO.A

    TROJ_CMDRTACO.A, or "TacoVirus," colloqually, spreads to all *nix users via coffee. Grinds, mugs, swizzle sticks -- anything coffee related may contain the TacoVirus. And it'll also be found in -- you guessed it, tacos.

    The effect of the TacoVirus is minimal but noticable. A users spelling will be instantly transformed from "English" to "Eglihsn," which is to say a somewhat random mix of the correct letters in an incorrect order. User will also be unable to locate items such as "dictionary," "spell-checker," or "friend" to proofread writing.

    There is no known cure for TacoVirus at this time.