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U.K. Says Botnets Good Sign
An anonymous reader writes "A UK government official has claimed that botnet infections should be celebrated, as they prove that Britain is a prosperous place with high broadband take-up. Is this an interesting new spin on hacking attacks, or sheer madness?" From the article: "The suggestion that botnet infections have their positive side sparked some surprise within the audience. One attendee pointed out that he 'wouldn't want the value of being number one in infections to be extended to bird flu'."
As a UK citizen and windows user, I help out by.. --NO CARRIER-- Buy v1agr4 n0w!1 p1ll5 4 ch34p!
Politician says something moronic about the internet... I'm shocked and horrified.
it shows the healthy consumption of motor vehicles by our populace, a sign of a prosperous and strong economy. Putting regulations in place to require cars to have locking doors might slow the distribution and growth of cars.
The rock, the vulture, and the chain
saying that herpes is good thing, because at least you're getting some ass!
Of course, it's not even necessarily an indicator of rapid broadband takeup. It just means too many of the users are pathetically unsavvy and that the government isn't creating enough of an awareness about this sort of security issue.
Living in the UK myself, I can tell you that I still know lots of people who don't have broadband, and many of those that do are so uninformed that I don't go near their computers for fear of punching them in frustration.
What the heck is that government official smoking?
Today's weirdness is tomorrow's reason why. -- Hunter S. Thompson
Thanks to Bill & Company for creating new metrics to measure civilization's progress.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Damn, weird reaction, maybe one day we'll see Mac OS XII computers get infected with lots of viruses and Apple will be just glad "Now we're so big that we can directly compete on the attacks and virus with Microsoft's Windows"
You just got troll'd!
Nigel Hickson, head of European e-commerce and telecoms regulation at the DTI,
This idiot should be sacked immediately. Someone with such a powerful position should not be so ignorant. Given that he is so ignorant he should be removed from his position immediately.
While I can see where the official is coming from, there's another thing to look at. The massive presence of botnets also shows the dominance of Microsoft in the field. Perhaps the officials should point out that the botnets could be reduced or eliminated by changing to alternatives such as Linux or BSD. Heck, even OS X would be better than Windows from a security point-of-view. So while it is indeed a great thing to celebrate that the UK has such broadband penetration, we need to remember that the market is dominated by the OS which allows botnets to begin with.
Is this an interesting new spin on hacking attacks, or sheer madness?
It's sheer madness. There's NOTHING positive about botnets. Hello??
I enjoy large posteriors and I cannot prevaricate.
And all those e-mails coming from Nigeria. They must have a really highly developed IT infrastructure.
How did "sees silver lining in botnet cloud" become "Botnets a Good Sign".
The official quite clearly said "I'm not saying bots are a good thing".
Still, at least it wasn't a dupe.
Similarly, if a NIH official pointed out that "The rise of obesity in the West is better than malnutrition", that wouldn't be a endorsement of obesity, merely a reasonable nuanced assessment of facts.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
By their logic, wouldn't getting an STD also be a good thing? It proves that at least something is going on.
Saying "people are maliciously exploiting our technology is great because it means we have technology!! is not addiquate logic unless just having technology was your only goal."
I do security
Said governemnt official has apparently been replaced by a short shell script...
...in bird flu"? Why, it shows you are a hub for both migratory birds and a popular tourist destination for those from the Far East.
Next up, how malaria shows you have abundant surface water.
this is almost as stupid as saying that the widespread AIDS virus is a good sign - because it must show in some way that people are 'socially active'...
obviously, i'm stretching things with this comparison -- botnets don't slowly kill people.
but this kind of view is still a crock of sh*t, isn't it?
spindoctors. grrrr..
(now i'll go and read the article, and find out what kind of government official made such a comment)
This sounds suspiciously like the person who comes in last at golf joking about "Algiiight! I got the highest score! that means I win! right?"
It seems that the current UK government can find a 'silver lining' to almost every story - however negatively it reflects on their incompetence, arrogance and cronyism.
e.g.
Drunkeness arrest rates at an all time high! - THIS IS GOOD - because police are being more effective at arresting drunks.
Overall crime rates are massively up - THIS IS GOOD - because while VIOLENT CRIME and MURDER is way up, PETTY CRIME is declining. As there are many more petty crimes than violent ones (or murders), this is a clear win for the government and we'll adjust the stats accordingly - hurrah!
Doublethink? I'm only sorry that Eric Athur Blair (no relation) didn't live to see his pessimistic worldview vindicated.
God save the Queen!
You could use the same kind of argument to give credit for lots of things. There must be some kind of positive link between obesity, depression, cancer, salt, UFOs, and porn on the net, but I'm not quite sure without loads more research - particularly on the latter.
Wellybog
http://www.wellybog.com
Botnets at record low per capita in Antarctica. Early reports seem to indicate a low takeup of Broadband technology, and a high proportion of penguin computer owners.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
One right wing politician said something similar in Spain about the mad rise in houses' prices: this is good because it means that the Spaniards have plenty of money to buy these extremely expensive houses. Sure: my salary (and the mayority's) has raised about 6% in the past two years, and flats cost maybe 30% more, and raising.
Thank you.
Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
Power in the hands of the accountable.
But I think we all know what he means is that the number of botnets shows that there is a lot of broadband takeup in the UK which is a good thing. It's like saying that a lot of BMWs have been keyed means that there are a lot of BMWs around. As per usual, someone at the DTL appears to be incapable of getting their meaning across but at least interpret it as you think it was meant. PS: I don't entirely agree that a lot of botnets means a lot of broadband in a 1:1 ratio, but I think this is what TFA was supposed to imply.
Anybody know where I can write to demand his resignation?
It must be a good sign that the USA is prosperous since there are so many hand-gun deaths (per capita)!
After all, it means even the criminals can afford these weapons instead of resorting to cheaper ones such as knives and/or manual fighting.
And I have a feeling that the home and office computers of this "U.K. Official" are participating in these celebrated botnets... Maybe he'll find out one day... Then again, likely not.
No-one with a life cares about their PC being zombified - why should they?
...
It's not up to everyone else to help you protect yourself by employing paranoid and unnecessary levels of security.
No, it shouldn't be up to the user. Why ask members of the online community to be good citizens?
Seriously, some of the wacko security measures that some people claim should be implemented are just plain goofy. A "Firewall"? How fire will keep everyone safe is beyond me
So people steal a few of your clock cycles, a bit of your bandwidth. So what?
They're using a connection you're legally liable for to commit what may be criminal actions.
Pretty simple, really.
Ph-nglui mglw'nafh Gates M'dna wgah'nagl fhtagn.
"co.uk domains get depeered by Cogent, Level3 for hosting large numbers of botnets".
To be painfully honest, 'crats all over the world needs to keep their brains disengaged and let their IT specialists do the speechwriting.
That brit just found his "career in decline" light lit.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
It's like saying UK houses having lots of rats are good because it shows people have left-over food. Gah.
he increase in muggings shows that citizens are now more prosperous (after all, no one mugs a poor person)
In truth, most PC users are happy to install antivirus software, sales people will push it on people..
The problem is that most of these people who install antivirus software (esp. Norton and Mcafee.. the top vendors pushed by sales reps.) have an unpleasant experience. It slows down their computer, it fails to protect them from {{trojan:general}}, and many consumers feel like they are being scammed.
There is another problem too.. people feel that "antivirus" software should be enough. These are the people who buy antivirus software at "bargain prices" that doesn't include a firewall (which is probably good because it would drive them nuts.) or spyware protection.
These security systems are indeed scams. Norton Internet Security 2006 is practically an advertisement for their Systemworks package. The web browsing security is rated as "limited coverage" because it doesn't include parental controls. Instead of blocking ActiveX using a white list, they use a blacklist. Only minor vendors like Panda actually ensure your Windows Updates are applied. People feel ripped off when the trialware that ships with most PCs wears off.
The security software vendors, the retailers, and the computer manufacturers can all do better. The government needs to rate security software, and comission studies to find out why people aren't applying them.
Cybersecurity is something they can actually do something about.. combatting terrorism (especially to our allies) is a much more vague proposition.
There's a very big difference between something being a sign of something good and the thing in question being good.
In the same way that the clap means you're a popular lay.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
It means you're getting laid...
Whoohoo!!!
What about those cases where people have been charged for downloading child porn, then having to defend themself with tooth and nails to prove their machine was infected? This is why you _should_ care.
Dvorak on Doomtech
All this proves is not that we are prosperous but that we have a nation full of stupid people who need educated, 3 year old antivirus software doesnt protect, windows firewall doesnt protect, servicepack 2 doesnt improve much and the shame is most people think it does :(
EDUCATION should be the word in this post, lets not have a pop at Billy Boy Gates lets just get people smart on how to use his inadequately security equipped products.
*rant over*
the major UK broadband providers, NTL/Telewest (Cable) and Wanadoo, BT, Tiscali, etc (Asynchronous DSL) provide ethernet or USB modems rather than proper routers, meaning unpatched PCs tend to be taken over by RPC infections relatively quickly.
Also, because of the purchasing price disparity between the UK and the USA (a US$399 PC might cost UK£399 here), system builders tend to skimp on the additional software provision, as on a spec sheet, throwing in a copy of MS Works often looks better than a decent software firewall. 30-day trial AV subscriptions are also disappointingly frequent
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
Saying anal sex is good because it works on both sexes is like saying Java is good because it works on all OSs.
Most bots on connections with slow upload (and that includes many, many UK broadband connections) are not used for DDOS attacks or to send spam - it's to harvest email address for spam lists, which are a rather lucrative trade.
I don't see why. If someone steals your car and kills someone with they are guilty and you are a victim of theft. I suppose this has yet to really be tested but a PC has so much automated behaviour that I'm sure it will be become nearly impossible to prove any willful act on the part of the owner of a PC that becomes part of a botnet. Your insurance company might punish you for not locking your car before it was stolen but I don't see the law being able to. There has been recent news (most of it recorded at /.) on the end of usefulness of various security protocols, the ease of factoring huge numbers, the existence of pre-built hashes for whole dictionaries, the near trivial time it takes to get access to a secured wireless network and many others. You don't even have to be remotely negligent to end up with a computer committing crimes on behalf of others. I imagine you could only be judged responsible if you failed to act when you became aware that your computer was being used in criminal activity but these kinds of stories just add to the breadth of useful reasonable doubt defences: "Mr Smith, at any time did you see the accused with a Pringles can?"; "No"; "But you did see his neighbour, Mr. Jones eating pringles with his family on the afternoon the crime took place?"; "Yes"; "Your honour, I submit that my client has no case to answer since his wireless network may have been hacked and his neighbour is clearly a Pringles user"; "So ordered!"
It shows you have sex and make babies!
stupid fuck....
HTTP/1.1 400
read up on identity theft, you fucking moron
Cause im smart enough to do something to defend myself. If I went to a low number country, undoubtedly the number is low because the market doesn't exist. The high number countries have a good strong market, you just have to be smarter than the average consumer.
-everphilski-
The government has taken it upon itself to promote growth in the broadband market. They are the ones pushing for these things to happen. If they've taken these matters into their own hands it stands to reason that they should be doing it responsibly. They're advertising broadband, subsidising the implementation of the infrastructure, etc. It is their shared responsibility.
Not to mention that reducing botnet 'infections' and other security problems would certainly save the country money, as a whole, which is definitely in the best interests of the government.
So the Labour guy says:
"we should celebrate that we are number one for [botnet] infections. It says something about our importance and the value within UK Plc"
and the Lib dem guy:
Richard Allan, former Liberal Democrat MP and head of government affairs for Cisco, said he was confident that the problem of botnets would be addressed in the coming months, as network operators wake up to the need to tighten security.
"It's like antivirus. Two years ago, virtually nobody had it. Now, ISPs offer antivirus protection as standard," said Allan.
methinks I see a contrast of competence here...
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
Swaziland celebrates achieving a 64% HIV infection rate as evidence of the virility of their menfolk.
Last week another government official explained that the new licensing laws (extending drinking hours) would probably increase the number of arrests for drunkenness-related crime, and this should be taken as a sign that those laws are a success.
Just as stupid a headline as the one associated with this story. The U.K. is a bit a of a generalisation for the opinion of one man.
... Mexico announces sharp rise in the National Kidnapping Index. "The indications are positive," commented the Chairman of the Mexican Reserve, as masked men bundled his wife into the trunk of a car.
Said slashdot editor has apparently been replaced by a short shell script... which just randomly selects submitted articles and publishes them repeatedly, errors and all.
I was just reflecting this evening on my way home that it's not much of a generalisation from that to the idea that the best way to avoid being robbed is not to own stuff. Looks like it's an idea whose time has come.
Let's hope it goes away just as quickly.
Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
What is distressing is that the chap in charge of European e-commerce and telecoms regulation is waffling away like this while the record labels are hijacking EU anti-terrorism regulations so they can get everyone's browser histories to start vexatious prosecutions.
Dutch pot I think. It is the closest place where they can get the stuff legal, and as long as they smoke it in the smoke zones on Schiphol, nobody will stop them. Oh, wait a moment: UK is not in Schengen, have to pass douane before entering the airport lobby. Better smoke it at the trainstation adjacent to the airport then. No problem, just again, stay in the designated smoking areas.
And yes, being happy with a computer virus is complete madness.
My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
He might then get a real job where he can do real damage.
Since when are we supposed to take anything a government says serious?
"If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low
OK, you're a troll, but I'll bite.
Hackers are not going to take away all your "performance": Better tell my neighbour that. Her daughter's PC was bogged down with over a thousand pieces of spyware. In the end a reinstall would have been significantly quicker than a spyware-hunt, with the added bonus that there would be no niggling "I thought I got rid of that!" feeling.
Spamming: Yes, my network's protected. That doesn't, however, mean that my mail relay has an infinite amount of system resources. Spam-filtering is pretty system-intensive, and frankly I'd rather not have to set up a filtering relay. It's extra hassle to set up and another layer of things to potentially go wrong.
DDoS: How exactly do you propose I prevent a 2Mb (or even a 10Mb) line from being swamped if it's hit by connections from a hundred people with 512Kb upload speed each?
Bah simple, and it's all true too!
Obesity leads to less depression if you continue eating and drinking, it will improve the consumption of foodstuffs leading to an increased likelihood of importing more food which is good for the trade balance of the poor nations of the earth who have lots of food to export as well as your local farmers. Eating well also reduces the risk of cancer and if you drink enough you will both maintain a good balance with the salts in your body as well as increase your consuption of salt which in all likelihood will also be imported and thus also increasing the amount of global trade to good effects for all. Being increasingly obese reduces the risk of alien abductions by UFO's until they develop more powerful traction beams. They're more likely to go for that non-obese person living next door so keep eating! As an obese you will quickly get addicted to internet porn which has a noticable effect on trade once again as well as providing huge incentives for technological research since the porn industry is at the forefront of internet-related technology.
As everyone has become massively obese the amount of research and funds directed into diseaseprevention, antiaging, bodytransplants, braintransplants, uploading, replacement robots for all the work noone can do, AI and so on will skyrocket taking us all boldly into the future! A personal flying car? Pfft what you want are personal skyhooks!
Eat those hotdogs with extra extras for the sake of humanity!
/me shudders
statements like that is where it all started to go downhill.
Hey someone on slashdot has to stand up and say it..... the rest of you seem to just go blindly along with the Liberal norm.
Why not celebrate all defects: salmonella in the food is a sign of thriving food production, toxins in drinking water are a sign of a thriving industry, exploding tires and self-igniting gas tanks are a sign of short time to market, etc.
Botnets are a sign of two problems no amount of spin meistering can make go away : One, that there are some severely defective products on the market that cannot operate safely in any kind of networked environment. Two, a large portion of the UK has been suckered into buying and using those products instead of more suitable or robust ones.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
I'm sorry, but your network has crashed due to bird flu.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Why not let him know how you feel? Took me some time but his email address is nigel.hickson@dti.gsi.gov.uk
3 5_Yahoo.DOC)
(email address was on http://www.dti.gov.uk/industries/ecommunications/
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