Slashdot Mirror
Windows Users Fear Korgo Virus
An anonymous reader writes "A new virus is on the prowl that can infect your Windows XP/2K system and record every key you hit on your keyboard. The keys are then sent back to the virus creator where he/she can steal your passwords and credit card information. The virus named, Korgo, started showing up in the last week of May but it now has at least six different variants. To protect yourself from this nasty virus, Microsoft is urging all users to download the KB835732 Security Update. As with the Sasser worm, you'll get the Korgo virus without even knowing it. It does not arrive by email, but simply by being connected to a network or to the Internet without having a patched machine or a properly configured firewall."
Every freaking day, an update
Puny humans fear Korgo...
The master would not approve.
Stop corporate
When that happens I hope Linux game support (including Windows emulation) is much further along.
:-D
Yeah, but why would you want to play a game that acts like the Windows Operating System game?
do() || do_not();
I for one salute our new script kiddie overlords.
>Are people really this daft?
Yes. Welcome to reality, enjoy your stay.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
is not slashdotted? They are running Windows Server 2003 with IIS and everyone here knows that is bad...
You mean the contact information in the About box is wrong? Damn, those haxors are tricky!
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Slashdot has just gone to the birds since we got all of these windows astroturf's hanging around here. Perhaps it is time that Slashdot implemented a ban on all posts unless it comes from some sort of unix system. Come on it is called /. for a reason, since when did this site become c:\
Got Code?
When I first saw this I thought I read a virus named Torgo! It wobbles around, moves slowly, and takes care of your computer while you're away.
"he drew his sword Ringil that glittered like ice... and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds..."
yes it would work if you can predict those other random ports
Just use a random number generator.
Oh wait.....
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I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.
Just cache all your passwords and credit card info in your browser's form remembering thing.
Thank God I trust Internet Explorer enough to remember my bank password for me... now I don't have to worry about viruses that log my keystrokes!
Good thing I'm not dumb enough to type anything important of my own on a Windows box. I guess if I'm infected at work, they'll get the company's code, and if I'm infected at home, they'll found out that I like to cast "Magic Missile" in conjunction with "Flamestrike" when facing strong magic users to disrupt their concentration then hit them with a heavy blast while my warriors move in for the kill.
I'm sure that latter piece is exceptionally valuable information...
Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
>If you "just get it" without having to run anything, it's a worm, not a virus. It's not complicated.
I don't get it.
Korgo sounds so much better then sasser.
Not quite fear-of-god inducing, but whatever.
Prevent email address forgery. Publish SPF records for y
of how to protect your computer ;)
The virus named, Korgo, started showing up . . .
I highly recommend that the submitter (Anonymous User) immediately head over to his/her favorite online book retailer and purchase Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
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SERENITY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What if I have Windows XP unemployed dumbass edition?
yes, it's a shame, very few virus writers are supporting win98. please upgrade to win xp for the latest viruses. ;-D
I rotate my tyres every single mile I drive. It kind of happens automatically with this whole 'wheel' thing.
You must think in Russian.
It was pretty easy to see from the story that a patch existed and by following the links that it was the same fix as for sasser...
If you haven't patched after two months, you're just the same as all those people who got hit with Blaster, which was also already patched beforehand.
You mean the same as my parents, who until after the Sasser outbreak still had dial-up that refused to connect at 28.8K and found the experience of endlessly downloading patches at a snails pace frustrating at best and impossible at worst? Or like my sister, who bought a new machine with XP factory-installed without the patch released mere days before she purchased the PC and had her computer explioted by the virus literally WITHIN FIVE MINUTES of connecting it to her cable internet?
So many of us slashdot nerds (not to mention Microsoft employees) forget that not everyone has high-speed Internet and is so tech-savvy that they know to plug certain holes, stop certain services, install a firewall and whatever before even going on-line. Nor are there a lot of people willing to put up with all that crap just so they can compute safely.
Linux distros issue security patches for their vulnerabilities weekly and nobody complains, but when Microsoft releases a patch, suddenly it's this huge issue to run a tiny executable that plugs security flaws, and then people bitch at Windows two months later when a virus comes out to exploit it...
Do you even READ the "Linux" advisories? How often do they involve the kernel or critical system components? I see lots of stuff for mail servers, web servers, window managers and so on but nothing for the kernel, filesystem, anything in binutils. Also, how many are remote system vulnerabilities (that is, a person without physical access to the console can obtain root access)? Quite often the risk is limited because full root access is not possible or you require console access, or you have to be running an oddball setup, or exploiting the vulnerability takes some skill.
Contrast with Windows. Blaster and Welchia exploited a DCOM vulnerability with a core component of the OS. Sasser the same thing a few months later. Now this one. All of them could infect a vulnerable PC merely by having them connected to the internet and having a complete moron run set it free to scan the world.
And it's a big deal because it's a PAIN IN THE ASS...it's not like Microsoft runs TV Public service announcements all over the world every time a patch is released, or to educate the uninformed on the importance of running windows update regularly. Oh and by the way, the "tiny executables" can take over an hour just to download one over dialup on a noisy country telephone line. Oh yeah, IT people get a little pissed off when they have come in on a weekend to patch a critical application server because the "tiny little executable" often requires a reboot and subsequent disruption in service. Not so with almost all the "Linux" patches.
How can one criticize their security if they won't apply their security patches? Almost all major software is gonna require a patch eventually.
Easy. I just did above. And yes, software will never be perfect, but eventually shouldn't mean the SAME issues coming up MONTH after MONTH, with new bugs found every time, and fixes for old bugs breaking other things. It's a damn good thing MS and other software vendors don't make a lot of other products. Could you imagine...
*Having to wait in line every month to perform an "engine update" on your car?
*Burning your potroast because a script-kiddie hacked into your oven and set the temperature to 500 degrees?
*Having to mop up the bathroom because your toilet experienced a "buffer overflow" yet again?
*Missing the playoff winning goal because your TV was infested with malware that decided this was the perfect time to launch into an ad for an animal-porn reality TV series?
Somehow, users seem to have the blame pinned on t
"Windows Users Fear Korgo Virus" screams the headline, reading not so much like news as just another WindowsXP sales pitch. Yes, it's true -- Windows users DO fear the Korgo virus, while the insignificant and ostracized Mac and Linux users of the world are left, yet again, fearing only the sheer and utter BOREDOM of not having any viruses or trojans to fix due to their curious choice of OS. In the area of viruses, trojans, and worms, Linux and the Mac really do stand out as being "second class citizens", trapped in a virus-free ghetto with no salvation in sight. The discrepancy is so obvious, the ultra-competitive Microsoft doesn't even feel the need to buy themselves an Official Gartner Group Research Study to prove that Windows is light-years ahead in this area. Even the most staunch Linux or Mac advocate is forced to admit it -- off the record, of course. Virus writers, known to be excellent coders who take pride in their tight, bugfree code, have overwhelmingly standardized on Microsoft Windows as their targeted system of choice in the deployment of their ongoing suite of virus applications.
And it doesn't look like the situation is going to get better any time soon.
One bearded Linux coder, who refused to be identified publicly, confessed "we just don't have the selection -- or quality -- of viruses on our platform that is available to Windows users free of charge. And it's tearing us up inside knowing that the battle is over, and Microsoft has clearly won." Similarly, a guy with an Apple logo shaved into the back of his head admitted the following once we turned off the cameras. "I don't mean to break ranks and insult our software selection," he whispered furtively, "but usually if we DO manage to get a virus that will even install on OS X, it's not that great, and we're left... disappointed, realizing that if we had simply stuck with the unwashed smelly masses, we too could be enjoying a daily barrage of free software delighting us by installing itself on our computers as a surprise gift. Instead, I'm stuck with the weak consolation prize of 40 Academy Awards for my work on Lord Of The Rings. But it's not the same. No amount of awards or million dollar paycheques can heal the feelings of neglect or massive abandonment issues this whole thing has given me."
"Is this the reason so many people choose Windows?", his innocent young son, Moof, asked me, looking like the kid off the Dave software box.
"What do you think, little one? Look at the Windows dominance in the virus field, then look at the marketshare of Windows. That ain't no coincidence, Moof. The other guys just can't keep up with the Microsoft Juggernaut. Microsoft is fighting hard to keep themselves Number One, just like the Titanic was the biggest and bestest ship, or the Hindenberg was the coolest and most flammable Zeppelin, or the dinosaurs were the toughest animals ever. How do you compete with that?"
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Yes, sitting here at my desk 16 hours later, WindowsXP Restore Disks in hand, I can't help but let a little smile shine across my face. Those poor fools, I think, using a non-Microsoft OS really does take away most of the joy of computing and replaces it with all that productivity and recreation crap. And where's the challenge in that?
Please insert Microsoft Windows XP Restore Disk 2
Ahhh, I sigh contentedly. It's gonna be a long night.
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
Like a maker of questionable vaccines, you're going to have some casualties. :P
I bet he divided the number of failed machines by the total number of machines and multiplied by 100. Just a hunch, but I bet you 20-1 on that his 5% is accurate.