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Virus Trackers Find Malware With Google

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bug-hunters dept.

Casper the Angry Ghost writes "Malware hunters have figured out a way to use the freely available Google SOAP Search API, as well as WDSL, to find dangerous .exe files sitting on thousands of Web servers around the world. Queries can be written to examine the internals of web-accessible binaries, thus allowing the hunters to identify malicious code from across the internet." From the article: "We're finding literally thousands of sites with malicious code executables. From hacker forums, newsgroups to mailing list archives, they're all full of executables that Google is indexing. About 15 percent of the results came back from legitimate Web sites hijacked by malicious hackers and seeded with executables."

7 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. SOAP? by breckinshire · · Score: 5, Funny
    Google SOAP Search API
    Is there anything that the Snakes on a Plane Search API can't do?
  2. So wait... by Skynet · · Score: 3, Funny

    Google is connecting to the whole Internet to fight a global virus infection?

    MY DAY HAS COME!!! MNMUAUAUAU!

    EXECUTE? [Y/N] _

    --
    Execute? [Y/N] _
  3. Little did you know by neonprimetime · · Score: 3, Funny

    About 15 percent of the results came back from legitimate Web sites hijacked by malicious hackers and seeded with executables

    Little did you know, even /. was hijacked! But the /. masses were not affected because the executables don't run on linux!

    1. Re:Little did you know by yourOneManArmy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, the real reason it was ineffective was because they put the executables in an article link.

  4. Just be careful when clicking the search links... by jbarr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Though it may be obvious to most, if you execute the Google search, don't just start clicking on the returned links, because the links point to virus-infected files. Our Trend Micro Office Scan immediately caught several viruses after clicking on several links...

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
  5. Hmmmm.... by cdr_data · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does it include NTKERNEL32.DLL in the list?

    Cdr. Data

  6. they're just like .com files by bigtrike · · Score: 3, Funny

    They're similar to the .com files on one of your operating systems, only newer