Cross-Platform Pseudo-Virus: Don't Panic

Posted by timothy on Wednesday March 28, 2001 @02:12AM from the are-you-running-as-root? dept.

spam-it-to-me-baby writes: "It's only based on one reported sighting (i.e. it could be bulls**t), but anti-virus software hacks Central Command say they have found the first Windows/Linux cross-platform virus. It appears only to be a proof of concept with no malicious payload, and targets Windows PE files or Linux ELF files once it recognises the infected OS." There are stories at CNET and at Wired as well, not to mention at NewsForge. Despite the Wired story causually saying so, though, this is anything but an "equal opportunity" virus, except in that it seems to infect multiple media sources without discrimination. When was the last time you ran unknown programs (as root) on your machine, then manually copied them (and ran as root) on another machine as well?

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"Idiots" and unknown software? by Mercenary · 2001-03-27 22:32 · Score: 5

Fair enough, claim that only "idiots" run unknown software on their box, and that because you are so 133t, you compile all software you use.

Which proves what? That you've compiled some software, and *then* run it.

Did you study the source code at length? Check it personally that it didn't have any back doors whatsoever? Hmmmm? Sure it wasn't a trojaned source you downloaded (The server could have been hacked right?)

Just because you compiled from source, doesn't mean your newly-created binaries are therefore perfect and couldn't *possibly* contain a trojan of some sort.