Slashdot Mirror
DVD Porn Viruses Ravage US Soldiers' Computers
stevegee58 writes "Tom Ricks' Inbox in the Sunday Washington Post reported that bootleg DVDs purchased in Iraqi markets ('souks') are frequently infected with viruses. Iraqi soldiers were affected as well; electronic interaction between Iraqi and US soldiers frequently resulted in a corresponding exchange of viruses from these infected DVDs."
Your child support payments support your kids (assuming they don't live with you), and your taxes support the troops (assuming they don't live with you).
I support the troops. I'm getting a troop support rebate check this month, too!
-mcgrew
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
BEST: use a portable DVD player.
It's incredibly retarded to play suspect DVD's on a computer. play them on a cheap portable DVD player and give it up.
What fool thinks playing it on the computer is smart in ANY way?
Windows likes to automatically execute programs on media you insert... Never heard of autorun?
Yes, it's a ridiculously insecure idea, most people wouldn't even have considered the possibility of automatically executing programs on inserted media, but microsoft did for some reason.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
It means that some in the slashdot community already have. It's not allowed to be talked about, but one of the comfort items most desired in theater is porn. They aren't supposed to have it, and they can't get it in the PX, so they get it in letters from home, in nice little optical shiny packages, or they download it from FTP sites set up by their families, that don't get on the blacklist. Those who aren't so lucky, purchase it in theater, which apparently is a less than stellar option.
That which is done from love exists beyond good and evil
I have spent a good deal of time at these markets, and I can testify that I saw no porn. Ever. I never saw porn, alcohol, or drugs at these markets. Maybe these porn DVDs were passed around sub rosa or something.
:)
Here is what you CAN find in the markets (even on base): Fake cigarettes, fake cigars, fake Rolexes, fake Nikes, fake anything. Imitation Apple products- headphones, iPod cases, even fake iPods. No fake zunes, though...
In an area about the size of a high school gymnasium, about 80% of the space was filled with bootleg DVDs and software. I don't mean bootleg like the MPAA wants you think bootleg; I mean actual printed DVDs out of japan or taiwan. Some were really crappy theater-cams but many were very good copies of promos and the like. I watch 300, letters from Iwo Jima, Black Snake Moan, and many others before or very shortly after theater release. It was awesome
I also got all ten (at the time) seasons of south park on 4 DVDs for $25. Sweet.
So, here we have this article that, while it may be true, seems to completely miss the point. It's like saying that, "Magazines such as hustler are causing massive deforestation and are filling our landfills." It is just trying to sensationalize the situation. Which is weird, since there are so many other, BIGGER things out there to write about. Try this, RIAA: The base media server, loaded with ~180 GB of music, is free to anyone who wants to download from it. You can get 180 GB hdds at the BX. Oh and there is the movie server, loaded with hundreds of titles. All free for the taking. And this author chose to write about porn? Whatever. Iraq is the wild, wild middle east. Everything goes.
-b
No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.
It isn't an executable...just a bunch of vob files really isn't it? How does one get a virus by playing a simple DVD?
How did Sony's music CDs infect people's computers with the infamous rootkit?
Just because .vob files are not executable themselves, it doesn't mean that you can't include an autorun.inf that will wreak havoc on your Windows install.
Ignore this signature. By order.
I have quite a few friends deployed. What you speak of does not happen. The military networks are locked down and virus-checked, etc.
The problem is the soldiers have their personal laptops on unsecured wireless networks they pay for from local providers so they can do what they *WANT* to do, which is surf porn, play MMORPGS (WoW is hugely popular) and other games that allow them to interact with "normal" people from back home. As is usually the case, the pure security concept pushes people to their own solutions which creates huge security issues. You're talking about brave, courageous, amazingly talented strong young men and women who are amazingly stupid about technology. They use Windows because everyone uses it and the guy down the way can help them load their Iraqi porn.
The only way to address this is to accept their habits (porn, games) and address it in a secure way.
In this Army/Navy/AF/etc, that ain't gonna happen.
Let's just say that I may be employed at (but not by) a US Government organization but I use my personal Mac and a personal wireless solution where neither the Mac nor the wireless ever touches their network, just so that I can do simple stuff like research current technology. Happens that some of this research tends to be on sites they consider "gaming" or "non business related" so they filter it. GFY, censors.
It's not military equipment. Soldiers bring their own computers.
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IBM doesn't play chess with the Universe.
Since I earned all my income fighting in Iraq last year, my tax free income doesn't qualify me for a surplus check. Good enough to lay my life down for the country, but not good enough for a surplus check apparently.