Code Red Goes The Way Of Y2K

beanerspace writes: "In spite of Michael Hyatt-like hype, the Washington Post now reports that the 8pm EST deadline for the Code Red worm came and went without grinding the internet to a halt. Darn, I was sorta hoping it would so I could take the day off and go fishing." Why is it that Code Red gets the trumpets and klaxons, while Sircam continues to spread private documents(!) with considerably less attention? Update: 08/01 03:41 PM by T : On the other hand, incidents.org's graph shows a different picture of Code Red's progress, as several readers have pointed out. That's a pretty little curve there, isn't it?

Comments

The Reason Code Red gets the Klaxons

[cnelzie]

The reason is simple. Everyone wants to get potentially damning documents from anyone. If the internet grinds to a halt then you would't be able to get that information from SirCam.

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Don't you get it!??

[mcrbids]

It only takes ONE infected system to kick it all off!

It has most DEFINITELY kicked off again - logs on my primary server indicate at least one hundred hits from this bug.

Already, that's almost as many as last time, and there are 18 more days of this.

For me, it's almost like watching a violent, firey thunderstorm. Sure, it'd suck if lightning actually HIT me, but I'm quite safe.

Kinda sick, isn't it?

Sad but true

[Mdog]

I'm sure I'm not telling anybody here anything new, but the reason code red is getting more attention is because:

• The name is cooler
  
• Snowball effect
  

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm rooting for the virus.

Red Code vs Sircam -- The MS-FUDyard wars

[Rotten]

Hey!
That's a show I'd like to see!

The Reason Why...

[toupsie]

The reason that "Code Red" has been covered more in the media than "Sir Cam" is simple. Which one sounds more dangerous? "Code Red" sounds like what happens before we launch nuclear warheads at the Ruskies while "Sir Cam" sounds like a rejected name of a Pokemon. In the news media, danger and sex sell. Just look at the Chandra Levy coverage.

If you are virus writer and want the media to pay attention to your creation, I would suggest the following scary names:

1. Hailstorm (oh wait Microsoft is already using that)
2. Super Explode-O-Matic Death Bringer
3. Kiddie Pr0nB0mb
4. DefCon 4 Ultra Hurt Machine
5. Keyboard Ebola
6. Belgium (According to DNA)
7. AOL Outlook IIS VBS Player
8. HMO Claims Adjuster
9. Lizzie Grubman SUV White Trash Compactor
10. NASDAQ

What is really telling about Sir Cam vs. Code Red is that my mail server has bounced over 2,500 copies of Sir Cam vs. Apache recording 19 log entries of 'default.ida' from Code Red. Game, set, match, Sir Cam.

No one is talking about SirCam

[wiredog]

Because we, and the press, like getting all those juicy documents from Senator X, Company Y, and Miss (or Mr) Hot Pants in Marketing at BigCorp Intl. If we started raising hell about SirCam, the flow would dry up and we'd have to go back to work.

SirCam?

[ScottyB]

What, you mean you really didn't want my advice on what I thought of your pr0n collection (the "stuff" directory you sent me)?

*sniff* *sniff* but I thought our friendship had gotten that closer

Huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I just bought a Code Red from 7-11 about 15 minutes ago! There's a whole shelf full! What are you guys talking about?

CodeRED 2.0

[deathcow]

Funny that the dilr0d programmed the worm to attack an IP address instead of a DNS name. I hear this months release, CodeRED 2.0, is going to go after the entire 10.0.0.0 network.