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Bugbear Windows Virus Making the Rounds
lysurgon writes "CNN.com is reporting that the "BugBear" virus (Windows/Outlook only) is spreading quickly. Unlike ILovYou-type viri, instead of deleting files or just propagating itself, this animal disables firewall software and opens a port to receive remote commands. The article doesn't draw this conclusion, but this effectively sets up slave machines for DDoS uses. Also worth noting is the puzzlement of anti-virus guys as to why they haven't been able to make the virus spread in the lab. "One of the theories is that this requires an Internet connection in order to spread." Gee, you don't say?"
Probably coded to sit idle if it's domain is symantec.com, etc.
"This isn't a study in computer science, its a study in human behavior"
Like this chick at the bar down the street wanted three beers and a martini in order to spread...this virus needs the internet in order to spread. To each his own.
Whew! Good thing I don't use any firewall software!
bytesmythe
Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together.
-- Scott Meyer
IMHO Bugbear's spreading relies solely on social engineer. Labs have nothing to do with social-anything. That's why you can reproduce it in there :))
Man, I'm terrified. My mother got this and now a whole series of e-mails I sent to her about 3 years ago are suddenly being sent to almost everyone she has ever e-mailed or received e-mail from. People who were CC:ed on things I sent her are receiving personal e-mails I sent to her.
I'm waiting for the one where I said really terrible things about someone to land in the wrong hands and start causing all sorts of disasters. After this, I'm going to be a lot more careful about what I say in e-mails.
My machine is relatively safe, but I can't vouch for the person I'm sending e-mails to. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of relationship get screwed up before this is all over.
Is there a patch for KMail? I'd hate to be caught off guard on this one!
-- Many men would appreciate a woman's mind more if they could fondle it
I learned about this virus *from my mom* an hour before it was posted on Slashdot. If that isn't a sign that this site has jumped the shark, I don't know what is. ;-)
Conspiricy theory here:
Who would know how to disable AV/Firewall software better than AV/Firewall software makers??? Hrm... job security eh?
Can all fish swim?
A couple more:
Lindows
Red Hat
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
While everybody else speculates about how to get rid of the virus, why it won't spread in the lab, etc. I'd like to address the person who shipped this in the first place.
Have you taken the time to carefully consider your DDOS targets? For example, is the RIAA on your list (http://www.riaa.org/)? What about the MPAA (http://www.mpaa.org/)? Fritz Hollings, Senator from Disney (http://hollings.senate.gov/)? Adobe, Blizzard, or anyone else abusing the DMCA? Microsoft?
When you've got a dangerous weapon in your hands, use it wisely...
Sigs are for people who started using the net _after_ '86.
All of the printers in the network started printing garbage.
Sure it was a virus? Maybe the Marketing department has a big project.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Did it print "Follow the white rabbit?" :)
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
It's been a bad day, so - ::begin true it-happened-to-me BOFH-style rant:: ::Sorry for the length, but I feel better now::
Yanno, I've been telling my users for years now that the easiest way to stay safe is to keep updating. I even (choke cough sputter) turned on "Automatic Update" in Windows, just so it would keep them up-to-date. They disabled it, claiming "Every once in a while things would get slow for a bit, but now it's fine" or my favorite "I got funny messages". (PS: Also had to reimage 7 machines because somebody decided he was a geek and he could just copy his registry between machines).
So I capitulated, and started sending everyone reminders by email when they had to update. I included the URL to windowsupdate and copious instructions. "It's too hard, I don't know what to do", they whined. I tried sending them the enterprise update exe's. They downloaded them, alright... put them right on their desktop, and forgot about them. I rewrote the reminder emails to include a script to do everything for them. It worked, for a bit... then I started noticing machines not being updated, and virii floating around that shouldn't. Turns out they'd started sending my emails right to the trash. "It didn't seem to do anything", they said, "it just popped up some box and then went away, so I figured I didn't need it." The box, of course, said "PERFORMING AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ON WINDOWS, PLEASE WAIT."
Exasperated, I set up the NT login script to push the updates to the user (which I'd been avoiding, it involved actually getting the NT server working). It seemed to work fine, until one day I browsed the network by accident (hit the wrong button), and noticed that I had 65 computers in the group in an office of almost 200. Turns out some genius had found his way into Network properties and changed the setup to skip login to the NT server. "It was really annoying", they said, "I'd start up my computer in the morning, and then I'd have to wait for, like, a whole minute or two! Sometimes it wasn't even done when I got back from getting coffee! This is so much easier, we just hit 'escape' when the login screen comes up. Why didn't you do this in the first place?". It was at this point that I found out no-one was using the network drives either ("We have a network? Like an internetwork?"), thereby rendering pointless my copius virus scans and backups and RAID setup that I'd blown my monthly budget on. Fine, I say to myself, I'll show these buggers.
So I set up a dummy machine, with which to do nothing but keep running perfectly and with all updates and latest drivers installed. I burned a bootable CD image from it, and whenever someone called in with a virus complaint, I'd go to their machine, pop in the CD, reboot, and go for an extended coffee break. The image had a boot virus scan to clean everything else up. Happy, was I, as I noticed the drop in virus calls. Soon, they dried up. I was actually starting to feel good, untill one day the VP called me in to find out why we were sending no less than 9 different virii to our clients every day. Their excuse? "When you did that thingy with the thingy, it made all our games disappear, and I've almost gotten to the second level!" Yes, indeed, they were just ignoring the virii now, even though they were getting messages from the antivirus program. Seems they believed clicking "Quarantine" would mean that I'd take their computers away and lock them in the server (clean) room for a while.
So I tried locking down with PolEdit and SysEdit. They brought in their own windows CD's and reinstalled, because "something was broken and it wasn't letting me do what it used to". I pulled the CD drives (no use for them here anyways, except for games), and came out of the IT room late one night to find one of the file clerks studiously pulling hard drives from the cases to reimage at home and return the next morning. I drilled holes in the side panels and put a padlock on them. The users started bringing in laptops to do their work on from home, which even made the problem worse. I screamed bloody murder, demanded to know what the source of these problems were. Everyone played dumb. I felt my brains rotting and leaking out of my ears.
Then, salvation. The VP mentions that he's seen alot of people emailing lately, and he wants to make sure that it's all company business. Would I monitor employee email usage, he asks? I try to suppress my snoopy-dance of joy as he gives me the escape clause from the moral dilema I'd been facing about finding out what the problems were. I monitor, I read, I find out who's sleeping with who (including a schedule for a tryst in the closet behind my server room. I consider installing a hidden camera), but most importantly, I find out the source of my headaches. An industrious middle manager has discovered the joys of wholesale computer warehouses, and has been joyously selling the employees games to play at work, and later, the laptops they brought in. I wonder how exactly he managed to charge people $25 to "upgrade their L4 cache so their games go faster". I admire his inginuity, but I know he must go. I feel good about this decision, mostly because I know he's screwing around with my computers, but also because I can justify it as "doing the best thing for the company". That, and productivity has gone in the tank, and everyone is blaming their computers, and at his direction, me. I'll make BOFH yet, I tell myself.
That was a long time ago, at least in computer years. Once he left, things bounded back up to normal. People started doing what they should, not avoiding security so they could play games all day long. Why do I tell you this long story? Because that is my experience with users, and that is the pain that is caused when they don't do what they're told to. So, as someone who's told users for years to do their updates, I feel no sympathy for users hit by this particular (and moderately ingenious) virus. If they were good users, they would do their updates like their SysAdmin tells them to. They are bad users, users like the ones from above, and so I say "No PC for you!". I wouldn't feel like this, except the story specifically states that this virus takes advantage of known vulnerabilities. I don't see it as a bad thing, I see it as a chance to see who listens to me, and who'll get "upgraded" to a new 486 next month. I'm in a BOFH mood today, can you tell?
In closing, I reflect on my outing of the middle manager. I printed out his more venemous emails regarding me, along with copies of invoices for illegally imported computer components and computer games charged to his expense account. I wrote a touching resignation letter for him to sign, explaining how he was leaving for "personal reasons". I left these on his desk as he was out to lunch, pointed his desklamp at them, turned it on, and turned off the room light. On top, I left a short note:
It is dark.
You are likely to be eatten by a grue.
If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
haiku
/haiku
my baby's left me,
from secret lover email...
Thanks, unpatched Outlook.
This space for rent.
Nah. If it were marketing, it would be on 11x17" paper in full color on the expensive color laser printer.
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
Hmm based on what it allows the remote user to do--are you sure this isn't actually a Microsoft Windows XP installer?
What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
From the Things That Sound Dirty, But Aren't file:
if they don't mind legally giving MS the right to root their box
So is the Bugbear's frequency Common, then?
well, I gues I need to dust off my +3 sword, call up my magic-user, and cleric friends, and go kick some ass.
whew, I thought I'd be 8th level forever!
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
If I'd had kids when I was first married, my oldest child would be in college right now. I know women programmers who have grandchildren. So maybe it's getting so that it's not so unusual for mom to know best.
"Son! Didn't I tell you to download the latest virus protection? Isn't that on your chore list? But you didn't, did you... Now your sister has to do it and furthermore, you're grounded!"
Consigned to flames of woe.
walrus->coo-coo ka-choo
> Apple and Linux users can sleep safe
Because they think different.
No matter what I do, I can't get it working. How do I get this thing to run under Wine?
mccall@indigo:~> wine bugbear.exe
wine: cannot find 'bugbear.exe'
mccall@indigo:~>
Nope, nothing....
It is a latin word, so it uses roman numerals:
1 viri
2 virii
3 viriii
4 viriv
5 virv
6 virvi
7 virvii
8 virviii
9 virix
10 virx
In Murphy We Turst