Slashdot Mirror
Virus Piggybacks Microsoft Mail Worm
metacell writes "A virus (a version of the Chernobyl virus) infects an email worm executable (the Klez worm), and is spread along with it. "
It's a damn good *delete* thing that Microsoft has been *delete* spending the last few weeks
doing a *delete* security audit *delete* of all of *delete* ah never mind. My wrist hurts
from deleting over a meg of mail worm viruses a day.
First, MS was doing security audits on the software they were about to release. Second, the klez virus won't infect outlook XP by default because it automatically strips out potentially hazardous attachments. Third, there has been a patch for this for a fucking year. Fourth, if you knew shit about linux you could easily set up a procmail filter to get rid of this stuff.
Of course no one has ever accused you of being intellegent. If you were then slashdot would be powered by PHP or JSP or any of the dozen other languaged that are better for the task. Of course you probably don't have what it takes to actually code in any of those languages. Now shut the fuck up you fucktard.
For the record I would agree more don't use it. I agree the defaults should be more secure in Outlook. What I was responding to was the suggestion that NO ONE used Outlook/VBA scripting. I can assure you, that is not the case.
:)
I don't give a flying fuck about the people who do use it, and if you do, it's probably cause you get paid to pick up the pieces when their shit blows up.
There is absolutely no excuse for selling consumer pc's with blatant security holes like outlook express's scripting "features". I think the microsoft product managers responsible should be prosecuted right along with the virus authors. They bear equal responsibility for email viruses.
I remember back in the day when there was the "Good Times" email virus hoax. (A warning about a nonexistent email virus with the subject "Good Times".) The big joke at the time was, you can't get a virus just from reading an email. It was funny. Computer experts at the time assured users that unless you manually downloaded and executed a malicious attachment, email was safe.
Now, everything has changed. Email viruses have become a reality, solely because most people use outlook. Is it the best mail client? Clearly, not. Why does it remain #1? Because it is the default one installed with windows, the OS that ships on almost every fucking PC. And non-tech people are too lazy to install something else. This is antitrust shit we're dealing with here, people. Microsoft created this problem by inventing a mail client that was vulnerable to email viruses (which were once, and still should be, impossible) and forcing it on an unsuspecting consumer base. The filthy worm/virus authors are definitely at fault, and should be prosecuted, but they couldn't have done it without help from their accomplices at microsoft.
Think of it this way (warning: computer/car analogy ahead):
Lets say Ford started including an explosive device in Ford Explorers that was easily triggered by, say, an RF signal at a certain frequency. They start including this feature quietly, and most Ford Explorer owners don't even realize it. Ford says it's because a few corporate customers actually need this feature, for whatever reasons. Then some crazy kids build a triggering device, and start driving up and down the freeway blowing up every Ford Explorer they see. In this unlikely scenario, the kids would most definitely be guilty of murder, terrorism, etc etc, And so would ford. Nobody would stand for it. Clearly, Ford is Microsoft in this analogy, and the Ford Explorer is Outlook (or, *grin*, Internet Explorer). Why does Microsoft get away with this bullshit that wouldn't fly in any other industry? Because people don't get it. Your average computer user does not understand, and they just accept that email viruses are a inevitable risk of computing, and thank goodness for microsoft update for giving them their fix fix.
I feel sick thinking about it.
Ah, what the heck. I think I'll post this with my +1. I honestly don't know if this will hit 5 Insightful or -1 Troll but I bet it will be one of the two.
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Choose mnemonic identifiers. If you can't remember what mnemonic means, you've got a problem. - Larry Wall
Ah, what the heck. I think I'll post this with my +1. I honestly don't know if this will hit 5 Insightful or -1 Troll but I bet it will be one of the two.
You didn't do it right. You have to say "I'm going to be modded down for this" to get to 5. If you say "I know I'm going to be modded up or modded down" then you get modded down, because you're presenting a choice to the feeble-minded moderator instead of a clear reverse psychology directive. Moderators need to be told which way not to mod your post.