Malware Authors Learn Market Segmentation From the Best

Earthquake Retrofit writes "The Register has a rather funny story about the Zeus botnet: 'The latest version of the Zeus do-it-yourself crimeware kit goes to great lengths to thwart would-be pirates by introducing a hardware-based product activation scheme similar to what's found in Microsoft Windows. ... They've also pushed out multiple flavors of the package that vary in price depending on the capabilities it offers. Just as Windows users can choose between the lower-priced Windows 7 Starter or the more costly Windows 7 Business, bot masters have multiple options for Zeus.'"

Comments

hmm

[theheadlessrabbit]

but will these malware authors be able to cause as much harm to your computer as windows does?

You may be a victim of botnet counterfeiting

[Anonymous Coward]

Your copy of Zeus has not been validated.

Re:BSA

[mysidia]

I think they have a more actually effective method though........ malware activates if determined to be unlicensed and being used "illegaly", turns into a trojan working on behalf of the the maker.

all hands on deck!

[Anonymous Coward]

Just as Windows users can choose between the lower-priced Windows 7 Starter or....

Actually, I don't think you get that choice. (at least, not in most first-world countires) I was under the impression that windows 7 starter edition would only be available to "developing" countries. (and maybe on netbooks as well, though I fail to see how that would be even remotely necessary. My Eee 1000he runs 7 professional just fine.)

Also, I give it a week or less before some cracking group releases a pirated version. Then they'll start putting more and more oppressive DRM into their malware kits!

Malware wants to be free!

Version 1.4

[Manip]

I'm a little surprised Zeus is only adding dynamic executables with version 1.4. This malware kit has been around a while and software has been doing this kind of thing since the very beginning. Maybe it tells us that a lot of Zeus' victims lack any kind of working AV? Or maybe it tells us that with things like Security Essentials being free and popular they're more worried about AV as a threat to their business?

I will say that a binary that changes its self every execution becomes very hard to detect unless your software really understands how a program is running from a mechanical standpoint. Even then you could still embed a dynamically encrypted package into another process's address space and decrypt it there.

Ultimately however it still comes down to the simple fact that there is one layer of defence on modern PCs and once that is bypassed you might have well reinstall your OS.

Re:Version 1.4

[bmo]

a lot of Zeus' victims lack any kind of working AV?

Have you seen a typical home Windows machine connected to the Internet?

You should get out more.

If the machine actually has AV, it's probably 6 months out of date at a minimum.

I could rant about Windows in general being the most insecure out of the box, but I'm no longer motivated to rant about legacy software anymore. Y'all get what ya get.

--
BMO

Re:Version 1.4

[Sycraft-fu]

Plenty of virus scanners can pick up on dynamic executables (also called polymorphic). One problem you run in to is that you have to pass the scanner before you get to execute, so that means that even if your thing can really scramble itself upon execution, if they have info on the versions that are being distributed online, those can be blocked and you don't get a chance to change. However as a practical matter, your code is still there no matter what, has to be to run, and the advanced scanner can pick up on that. They also can perk up and look harder when you do uncommon things like self-modify and so on.

What it really comes down to though is that these kind of programs are going after low hanging fruit. The botnet authors aren't trying to bypass every defense, they just want to get a big net of infected PCs and there are plenty of choices with crap defense. Besides, the ones without defenses are ones more likely to not clean up the infection. If someone goes through the trouble to secure their system, they may also watch it and will notice problems if you infect it. That doesn't do you much good if they just clean it up after a couple hours. You want a system you can hang on to.

Re:Version 1.4

[Sycraft-fu]

Engines these days are more advanced than just signature matching. They do that too, since it works well against most threats, but they have more advanced tricks to detect viruses despite obfuscation attempts. They are fairly advanced these days.

Also remember you have a far more complex system to contend with. On DOS you had direct access to any and everything. Not the case in Windows or any other modern OS. You have to interface with the OS's calls and you have to deal with thing like processor enforced privilege levels and so on. You can't write your code in any way you like or the OS will simply refuse to execute it and throw an error.

Finally, I think you may be a bit confused. In x86 (and x64) assembly at least, there's no such thing as a partial op-code. Each instruction is one or more bytes and the CPU doesn't just skip over invalid data as some did (like some 6502 variants). So you can't change any bit in an op-code or you'll change what that op-code is and thus what it does. For example 74 is JZ, jump to the address (specified afterward) if the zero flag is set. 75 is JNZ, jump to the address if the zero flag is NOT set. Change one bit, changes the whole meaning of the instruction. You can't fiddle with parts and have a different op-code that does the same thing.

Re:Version 1.4

[Anonymous Coward]

To emphasize your point, this is an era when malware creators write their code in Visual Basic because it's just too hard to learn C++. We oughtn't expect incredible feats of brilliance from them.

Re:Version 1.4

[maxwell demon]

Finally, I think you may be a bit confused. In x86 (and x64) assembly at least, there's no such thing as a partial op-code. Each instruction is one or more bytes and the CPU doesn't just skip over invalid data as some did (like some 6502 variants). So you can't change any bit in an op-code or you'll change what that op-code is and thus what it does. For example 74 is JZ, jump to the address (specified afterward) if the zero flag is set. 75 is JNZ, jump to the address if the zero flag is NOT set. Change one bit, changes the whole meaning of the instruction. You can't fiddle with parts and have a different op-code that does the same thing.

All the following sequences do an unconditional jump:

; sequence 0
JMP dest
 
; sequence 1
JZ dest
JNZ dest
 
; sequence 2
JNZ dest
JZ dest
 
; sequence 3
JC dest
JNC dest
 
; sequence 4
JNC dest
JC dest
 
; sequence 5
JB dest
JE dest
JA dest
 
; sequence 6
PUSH dest
RET

Note that any difference in length can be made up with either preceding (effective) NOPs (there are many possibilities there, too) or with following junk (it's an unconditional jump; anything directly following isn't executed anyway). Also note that the destination address can be varied if the destination starts with some (effective) NOPs, or if you have jump instructions to that address at other positions.

And all that is just what I could immediately think of. I'm sure someone who spends considerable time on designing such stuff would find many more ways to vary the code.

Which version of Zeus should I buy...

[Tracy Reed]

Zeus Smoky Bacon Edition or Zeus Kenny Loggins edition? Bacon is delicious, but I also love that Footloose song...

Re:Which version of Zeus should I buy...

[JamesP]

Whatever you do don't buy Zeus starter edition, it only allows you to infect 3 machines at the same time...

Re:Supposed commercial...

[easyTree]

...(Mafia dude with NJ/Italian accent) "In the world were we live today, we see multiple opportunities to automate the way you deal with your 'customers'. We all know that baseball bats and golf clubs tend to get a little rusty after a while - hey: we get a little rusty after a while! This is what our experts (cue clip of nerd-dudes with guns placed against their head) set out to fix with great enthusiasm - if you know what I mean hehe. Your company can rest assured that your business can continue now with our new Zeus line of products. To even further help you, we offer it in three variants: Zeus LowLifeScum Edition - the most simplest version with your basic average way to extort. Zeus Made Edition - yeah, you know what you want to have : more automated tools, comes with credit card extraction too! And of course: Zeus Maffia Edition - our ultimate edition, if you belong to the family and want it all. I suggest you meet up soon, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse, hehe. Ciao"

That all sounds less threatening than the supposedly-legitimate RIAA!

Maybe they are from the same company.

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you ever think that maybe the Zeus botnet is produced by Microsoft's marketing department?

Vulnerabilities make money for Microsoft: "This time, our OS is secure. Really. Buy a copy." People go out and buy a new computer because they don't know how to fix the one they have: Corrupted PC's Find New Home in the Dumpster.

Re:Maybe they are from the same company.

[Ihmhi]

From that article you linked:

SAN FRANCISCO, July 15 - Add personal computers to the list of throwaways in the disposable society.

On a recent Sunday morning when Lew Tucker's Dell desktop computer was overrun by spyware and adware - stealth software that delivers intrusive advertising messages and even gathers data from the user's machine - he did not simply get rid of the offending programs. He threw out the whole computer.

Mr. Tucker, an Internet industry executive who holds a Ph.D. in computer science, decided that rather than take the time to remove the offending software, he would spend $400 on a new machine.

Mr. Tucker is a dumbass. There are plenty of people who could have completely cleared out that computer for under $100 in man hours.

Re:Maybe they are from the same company.

[DigiShaman]

Mr. Tucker is not dumb. What he did was smart, and many people including myself advocate the same depending on how old your computer is. You have to factor in things such as your current hardware, warranty length (expired), version of OS, time it would take to diagnose and cleanup a virus. All in all, it may be best to cut your losses and just purchase a new machine which includes newer technologies, warranty, and a shiny new OS. I've personally seen attempted cleanup and format/reinstall work cost more in billable hours than a new machine!!!

It's a risk assessment that has to be made a head of time. But the dirty little secret is this: Home/Office PCs have become more cost effective to be "throwaways".

Hardware-based?

[ScrewMaster]

hardware-based product activation scheme similar to what's found in Microsoft Windows

Windows Product Activation is not what is usually termed "hardware based". It may take a signature of your hardware to look for unacceptable changes to that hardware, but that's about it. A hardware-based scheme usually involves a dongle or other physical device that is required for the software to execute.