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Is the Unix Community Worried About Worms?

Posted by Cliff on from the if-it-can-happen-in-Redmond dept.

jaliathus asks: "While the Microsoft side of the computer world works overtime these days to fight worms, virii and other popular afflictions of NT, we in the Linux camp shouldn't be resting *too* much. After all, the concept of a worm similar to Code Red or Nimda could just as easily strike Linux ... it's as easy as finding a known hole and writing a program that exploits it, scans for more hosts and repeats. The only thing stopping it these days is Linux's smaller marketshare. (Worm propagation is one of those n squared problems). Especially if our goals of taking over the computing world are realized, Linux can and will be a prime target for the worm writers. What are we doing about it? Of course, admins should always keep up on the latest patches, but can we do anything about worms in the abstract sense?" Dispite the difficulties in starting a worm on a Unix clone, such a feat is still within the realm of possibility. Are there things that the Unix camp can be learning from Code Red and Nimbda?

15 of 516 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I hate you all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    What you say?

  2. Well... by Scoria · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I'm waiting for someone to write a worm that's cross-platform and exploits just about everything.

    That'd be a big worm, though. And it's about time that Microsoft stops hogging the worm marketshare!

    --
    Do you like German cars?
  3. I had worms once by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    But the vet gave me some pills.

  4. Re:I hate you all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Awww... look at mackga's little bitch bark.

    How cute.

  5. Grammar by ugen · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Being a computer geek does not releive you of aneed to use good grammar. It's "dEspite"..

    1. Re:Grammar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      yo retard. it's spelling, not grammar, that is the problem here. if you're gonna correct someone, get it right.

    2. Re:Grammar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      It's "it's".

      Learn to spel. :)

  6. Re:I hate you all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Get back to your journal.

  7. Re:I hate you all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Malda told me not to or he'll do something to my kneecaps.

  8. What gives me the willies is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    ... cross-platform worm that gets through firewalls as an outlook e-mail attachment that some doofus opens up, and then starts poking around for weak unix servers behind the firewall, or just starts sniffing for passwords.

    I think a lot of people think that just because their *nix box is behind the firewall it is safe from hacking, so they use telnet, have *s in /etc/exports, and unpatched sendmails and all that.

    IIS Worm Update: 27192 probes from 713 different hosts

    -- ac today

  9. Re:keep your code clean? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    ....being as UNIX programs or opensource programs are pretty clean and tight, there's not that worry.


    Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha
    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha

    (Sorry)
  10. You know it's a male oriented society when... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    ... products are "exploited" by "worms"...

  11. Re:I hate you all! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    You've never been to his torture chamber at the geek compound, have you?

  12. Re:What to learn from M$ worms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Nice troll.

  13. KILL ALL FUCKING MONKEYS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Our precious slashdot users scream out for vengeance:

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