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Eugene Kaspersky: "Our Business Is Saving the World From Computer Villains"
blottsie writes: While the nature of Kaspersky's relationship with the Kremlin remains, at the very least, a matter of contention, his company's influence is anything but hazy. On top of their successful antivirus business, Kaspersky Lab researchers have discovered key details about the now-infamous Stuxnet virus, which was deployed by the U.S. and Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities. Kaspersky analysts later uncovered Flame, which the Washington Post found was another American-Israeli cyberweapon against Iran. All of this is on top of building a highly successful antivirus business. In a new interview with the Daily Dot, Kaspersky elaborates on thoughts about his company, his wealth, and the state of modern cybersecurity.
If it was not posted from a machine running bloody Kaspersky security tools!
...we'll have Kaspersky bloatware slowing down new computers belonging to average people, much like how we have Norton bloatware doing that?
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
In Russia, there is no such thing as independent large corporation, there are only nominally privately owned, and formally state owned corporations. While Kaspersky does some good work, they should be treated the same way as NIST is in USA, with a primary mission to protect and advance state interest.
And do they have a a successful antivirus business?
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
Kaspersky Lab researchers have discovered key details about the now-infamous Stuxnet virus, which was deployed by the U.S. and Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities. Kaspersky analysts later uncovered Flame, which the Washington Post found was another American-Israeli cyberweapon against Iran.
Anyone who thinks that Kaspersky isn't in bed (voluntarily or not) with the Kermlin is delusional.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Their program will slow down your computer with all kinds of security theater "features", but like any other antivirus, it will fail to root out most viruses written in the past 8 years once they've been executed and implanted themselves as a rootkit.
but i'm a computer supervillain, you insensitive clod!
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Just wondering if I'm the only one around here not using any AV for a long time. AFAIK, you can only get your virus on the internet (unless I'm underestimating USB's key viruses). And with gmail (and other huge mail provider) boosted with virus check procedure, Secured browser like Chrome pimped with Adblock and keeping myself far from the "dark side" of the web, I've never had any problem. Add to this the new lite Microsoft Security Essential (intagrated in Win8) to the lot and I'm surprised those company are still in business.
Or am I naive?
Elok
that's surprisingly brief, almost makes me wonder if it's really APK
The problem with security is not that security companies are doing worse at making their products. Its that when they did make bad bloated and slow products the end user lost interest. Not to mention we do not have the rampant wide spread out breaks that we used to. Some of this is due to better OS and browser security, also users are finally becoming smarter and the fact the bad guys see more gain in hacking companies the messing with individual PC users. I just finished uninstalling McAfee Live Safe, not because its a lousy product. But because I bought a HP Stream with 2GB RAM and running any kind of security suite will most likely affect performance and use up some RAM. If you look at how these security businesses have basically shrank in consumer markets and along with that so have their profits. Its no wonder they keep saying the sky is falling, the sky is falling. Because they must keep some people paranoid enough to keep buying into their products. The stuff that really affects you, none of these suites ever seem to detect it anyway.
Sorry, this is still incorrect. The whole point of a Domain-Generating Algorithm is to evade domain name blocking and takedowns.
By the time you add known DGA domain names to a blocklist, they are already defunct, and the malware has moved on to new domain names.
It's hilarious when American news sources would accuse Kaspersky of spying for Russian government. Where where they when virtually all major US tech companies were spying on the entire planet on behalf of the NSA? It only took them Snowden handing them indisputable proof for these unprincipled "reporters" to notice.
Of course the lesson here isn't that America is all bad and Russia is all good. It's that lots of people that preach about ethics to others.... don't actually follow the very principles they claim to stand for.
I grew up in the US in the 80s, and I was basically taught to believe that all Russians are completely untrustworthy.
(See any "Russian" character played by a Hollywood actor in any US movie or TV show from the 80s and early 90s, with one single exception: Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October.)
As a result, I'm far more worried about Kapersky personally trying to steal from me than I am about his ties to KGB/whatever. I know it was 99% propaganda, but I still don't trust anyone with a Russian name or accent.
Not if the system has been offline for some time.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion. -- Spazmania (174582)
It's nice to see positive news like this coming out of Russia.
Really nice.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Not true, a hosts file is trivial to bypass. Any piece of software can send TCP/UDP 53 traffic to a DNS server and resolve the name itself.
I don't run botnets, but I do understand what a domain-generating ALGORITHM is. The algorithms are seeded with the current time, so the list of domains is always changing.
Now, if you reverse engineer the algorithm out of the malware, you could theoretically build a list of all domain names the malware will use in the future, but usually when I hear about reverse engineering a DGA, it's because microsoft and other companies have pre-registered those domain names as part of a botnet takedown. At any rate, you clearly don't understand what you're talking about.
No.
The python code below resolves example.com by connecting directly to Google's DNS servers. It does not check the hosts file.
The answer is "no," but I just answered that question.
So, you're asking what malware in the wild evades hosts files? None that I know of, but that does not mean your approach is secure. We fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited, not after.
I don't think you understand security. Attackers are sneaky and do whatever they can to evade controls.
I said:
Then you said:
What part of that makes sense to you?
Wait, what did I learn? That you can block IPs with a firewall?
I need to make sure
Oh, ok. It's hard to understand your verbal diarrhea.
No, malware that connects directly to an IP isn't designed to evade host files. It's just primitive malware that didn't bother to implement DNS-based resiliency.
And no, if you block a domain in a hosts file, you are not secure from connections to the domain. 4 lines of Python can bypass the host file.
So, when someone discovers a zero-day vulnerability, it's just "hypothetical bullshit" because nobody has exploited it "mainstream malware?"
Know why no malware needs to do its own DNS lookups?
Because nobody uses hosts files for security. I read somewhere that they can be defeated with 4 lines of unprivileged python.
Haha, besides the hilarious posts where you pretend to be someone else congratulating yourself, all I see are people who use hosts files to block ads, which is a good use.
Oh wait, one guy null routes suspicious traffic! You do know that null routing does not involve hosts files, right? Why is that quote in there?
Yes, I would like to see those e-mails.
What guides? Links, please.
Show me a link on the Spybot site that says it uses hosts files.
That's not a link to the Spybot site.
Most of those are yours? I see two were written by Mindy. Is that you?
Yes, please cite Mr. Oliver Day.
I don't see Oliver Day of SecurityFocus on there. Weren't you going to cite him?
I do see the text:
Which indicates it blocks websites, not command and control servers for botnets.
Wait a minute, the spybot site is actually https://www.safer-networking.o..., not spybot.info. So, you didn't post a link to the spybot site.
Yeah, sorry, I was blinded by all the verbal diarrhea.
That article is more than six years old. Got something more recent? He still says it's meant for blocking websites.
Actually, I found a good reference for malware that does perform DNS directly. See page 9 at OpenDNS - DNS Role in Botnets.
They reference malware using custom DNS servers, and also malware tunneling messages through the DNS protocol.
Here's a quote:
So there you go - a network solution. But the malware they mention completely bypasses OS hosts files.
Did you look at the PDF? The malware speaks DNS protocols directly, bypassing the syscalls that check hosts files. Thats what you asked for earlier.
You said:
Then you said:
lolwut?
Remember, this whole thread started because I said software can trivially bypass hosts files, and you flipped your shit.
Hosts files are NOT effective at blocking command&control of botnets. I actually agree with most of the rest of the list, but hosts files are not the silver bullet you make them out to be.
Uh, do what?
The PDF I linked is a whitepaper hosted by OpenDNS. You tried to cite OpenDNS earlier as a supporter of hosts files, but they work at the network level.
Yeah, I'm sure you schooled a PhD in an argument, and understand security better than OpenDNS.
facepalm
Haha, real DNS servers don't check /etc/hosts.
Also, looked like that VP told you "Slashdot anonymous posts are most definitely not the proper channels."
Deny what?
I don't see any discussion at that link, just more verbal diarrhea. Where is Russinovich?
So, you want me to track down a Microsoft executive to debate you anonymously in a Slashdot forum? No.
Thanks for the Windows IT Pro link - it's hilarious! That will make for some great shitter reading later.
I don't actually see a debate with Russinovich, though. He wrote an article, and you left comments. I don't think he's aware you exist.
Oh, you think you schooled the guy who started sysinternals.com? Bahahahhahaa
Wow, sounds like you're pretty sore at how successful Russinovich is.
What's your business?
Ha, yeah right. If you did, you would have already bragged about it.
Are you really in your 50s?
I guess you aren't protected from 4 lines of Python, though, huh?
You seem confused. So are you saying the hosts file would block the DNS request from that Python snippet?
Oh, now you're saying the windows firewall would block it. So hosts would not.
If the windows app firewall is so effective, how are there huge botnets of windows malware?
Cool! I hadn't heard of an Android botnet. Is that why the windows firewall doesn't block botnet c&c traffic?
Mr. K is one of the sauna buddies of Putin...so that makes me wonder which villains he wants to fight and which ones he wants to protect.
Yeah! That's how they blocked the Ramnit botnet! OH wait, once that malware is installed it "will disable a series of Windows security features (Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, User Account Control), Windows Update, and remove the ability to install other antivirus software." Windows firewall FTW!
Nope, took a 3-minute Google search to find that. Kinda like the Python code that bypasses your hosts file!
So.. now you're saying you can block botnets if you use hosts + windows firewall + patches + security hardening + don't run executables + don't plug in USB drives? Hosts FTW! U R rock solid security!
Uh, no, the malware disables all that. When a PC has been infected, the malware will disable a series of Windows security features (Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, User Account Control), Windows Update, and remove the ability to install other antivirus software.
So.. now you're saying you can block botnets if you use hosts + windows firewall + patches + security hardening + don't run executables + scan USB drives + your "security guide & program" (whatever that means)?
Hosts FTW! U R rock solid security!
What security guide?
Sorry, the link must be buried under verbal diarrhea. Where is it?
There aren't any links to security guides in that post - just links to more slashdot comments. Are you embarrassed of your shitty "security guide?"
The guide from over 7 years ago for win2000?
Link is broken. Why did they take it down?
So you don't actually have a security guide?
Yeah, he's a total amateur! He thinks you can block botnet traffic with hosts files! I even showed him some Python that bypasses hosts, but he got really confused.
I saw the PCpitstop page earlier, but all the guide links were dead then, too.
Then it shouldn't be hard for you to find a link to your own paper.
Oh really? Hosts files cannot stop DGA botnets. Read the following from Gameover Zeus begins using DGA:
There is a new set of domains every day. For some DGAs, the domains are only up an hour. By the time you find them on a blog somewhere, they are not being used anymore.
Yeah genius, I was making fun of you for doing exactly the same thing. It is hilarious!
Newsflash: if you got paid $100 once, as a prize, you are not a professional.
You still don't understand malware or botnets. The domain changes more often than you would get updates, so your list is always out of date.
As I showed you with the Python code, it's trivial to bypass hosts files.
As I showed you with a previous link, malware (e.g. Ramnit) can disable the firewall and change DNS settings, anyway.
Uh, what? Parse error
Ha, I don't want you harassing me at work, idiot.
You can run your update as often as you like, but malware reverse engineers are not providing you an up-to-the-minute list of all DGA domains. Even if they did, you wouldn't get the domains until the malware had already connected up for its C&C of the hour. Hosts files are a bad strategy for modern botnets because techniques like DGA were designed to defeat static blocklists.
That's why real antimalware vendors like Damballa don't rely on a static DNS blocklist, much less a hosts file on the OS.
I already answered this question - NO. You didn't believe me and called it "hypothetical bullshit," so I provided 4 lines of Python that trivially bypass hosts files.
Another parse error, but yes, malware can trivially disable your hosts file or the windows firewall.
You keep claiming hosts files stop botnet communication, which is clearly not true.
No, you provided one dead link that may have hosted 1 guide 7 years ago. And that was a site for AMATEURS to submit their text files, and win a $100 prize if their amateurish text files were accepted.
You still have not responded to this:
Perhaps because you are an amateur, and don't understand malware, security, botnets, or anything beyond Pascal on Windows 2000?
So.. hosts file means strong security as long as you never get an infection in the first place? Surely you realize how stupid that sounds.
First off, we know this is you, Kowalrus.
Second, no, you do not have a 21 year career in security. You have a 15 year career of being a total asshole in internet forums.
You really have not proven that you've ever had a job, although it does seem likely you worked at Sunbelt but were fired because everybody hates working with you.
You still have not responded to this:
And you keep insisting you have a multi-decade security background, but all you have to show for it is a file manager written in Pascal:
And you keep citing your guide, which is from the "tips n tricks" section of a newsletter, but the guide is not up anymore. Apparently they didn't think it was worth much.
I have yet to see a security guide, just a dead link.
So, then, you are admitting the hosts file is not effective at blocking botnet c&c channels. Take that out of your list of extravagant claims of the benefits of hosts files.
Yeah, you wrote a file manager in Pascal.
Sounds like you've washed out of every job you've had. It's funny, because if I google your name, all I find is you pissing off people in Internet forums over the past 9 years. Repeatedly.
Hahhaa.. no, I'm not going to give my personal details to some mental patient on the Internet. Let's just say I moved past Pascal when I was in high school.
Uh no, you are not independently wealthy. You are unemployable. If you apply for a job, the employer will google you and see you are a total whack job who needs medication.
If your approach only blocks 5-10% of domain names, then it is NOT effective for security. This might fly in your shareware consumer world, but that is not enterprise-grade.
You DO NOT HAVE A SECURITY GUIDE. I actually looked for it, and the closest I could find was where you posted it, but everybody thought you were an idiot and banned you. Not what I would call "success."
Yeah, you have totally washed out of every job you had, and now you've been an author of (shitty) shareware. Found this gem:
So you don't even understand UNIX. You are quite the security professional.
You have been banned from almost every forum you've ever joined. Like when you were banned in 2000 from arstechnica, and rejoined as a different name to defend yourself. Or when you were banned after trying to spam your shitty security guide in 2007.
The best thing I could find anyone say about you, from a friend, was:
And the worst thing is, you're a really shitty programmer!
Funny, because you got called out for very poorly performing code (that just sorted some strings and took 11 minutes) here. And here are the kinds of things people said about your code a few years ago:
Now you see why I've referred to you as a parade of delusion. You're a total fuckup imagining ways that someone you know nothing about has failed.
Your amateurish security guide sucked, you don't know anything about security, and you're a windows luser. You write shitty freeware in Pascal, and you have no job. You've been caught in lie after lie, and frankly, everybody you have ever known hates you.
Do you seriously think anybody believes this isn't you? Or are you really that fucked up in the head that you have multiple personalities?
Ha, you can keep reposting that list, but none of those are failures on my part, and half of it doesn't even involve me in any way.
You, on the other hand are a total failure and liar. You claimed you quit Sunbelt, but actually you were fired. You claim to be independently wealthy, but you have a $100,000 house that your mom gave you.
You've been banned from dozens of sites (in other words, dozens of failures), and each time try ridiculous arguments that everyone on the site shuts down (so let's just call that several hundred failures).
And now, you are a complete failure because you write super shitty software that is slow. You don't understand computing or security.
Go back to school. Go to a real school this time.
Haha, yeah, nobody in enterprise does use hosts files for security. That's some consumer-grade shareware shit.
Spybot doesn't even seem to think it's a good feature, because you haven't been able to link anywhere other than that forum where they even admit having the feature.
You can keep your consumer-grade shareware/freeware. Enterprise uses solutions like Damballa.
Didn't see it - it was buried under your verbal diarrhea. As many others have noted, your English is terrible.
Congrats, you got $100 seven years ago. You're a real pro!
You didn't even understand the cases I presented. And they aren't edge cases, they are malware with millions of infections. But that was lost on you, because you don't understand anything.
You don't understand security or computing, Kowalrus.
Hey nice copy-paste. So why did you lie about being independently wealthy? Why didn't you just say your mom gave you your house?
Hey, what do you know? Even malwarebytes thinks your program is just a file manager:
So your one claim to fame IS a file manager written in Pascal. For which nobody pays you.
APK In a Nutshell (A Life of Failure)
1. Got a mediocre degree in IT. No computer science degree.
2. Fired from Sunbelt in 2000. Never found full-time employment again, much less as a software engineer.
3. Mom gave him a house. He lied about it, and claimed to be independently wealthy.
4. 2000 - Banned from Arstechnica. Rejoined under another name (lied) to argue for himself. Everyone there hated him.
5. 2003 - Tried to argue with Russinovich in forums of Russinovich's blog. Other forum posters schooled him. Nevertheless, claims he beat Russinovich in argument that Russinovich did not realized happened.
6. 2007 - Banned from Antionline. Everyone there hated him. Pasted his "security guide," which everyone agreed was not good.
7. 2008 - Actually got paid $100 for his security guide, and 7 years later claims he's a "security professional."
8. 2008 - Admitted he doesn't understand UNIX: "I am more of a Win32 guy the past few years though, so I must ask [what iptables is]."
9. 2008 - Made legal threats against Thor Schrock, but turned out to be lying. Embarrassed publicly by Schrock.
10. 2010 - Wrote a crappy file manager in Pascal that performs terribly. Nobody would pay for it.
11. Managed to get malwarebytes to host his file manager because it's free. Lied and denied it's just a file manager, but Malwarebytes calls it what it is: a file manager.
12. 2011 - BarbaraHudson caught him in a lie - that he had plenty of +5 modded posts on slashdot. They were all at -1.
13. 2011 - Attempted to re-add garbage to Wikipedia 20 times on the hosts file. Had it removed each time.
14. 2012 - Embarrassed on slashdot for his text file manager's extremely poor performance. Pastes Python but fails to indent, showing he does not understand the basics of Python.
15. 2014 - Zontar schooled him, doxed him, caught him in several other lies.
16. 2014-2015 - Bouldin repeatedly explained why hosts files are not suitable security against botnets, but he didn't understand the technical aspects. Seems very confused about basic networking and how malware works. Refers to malware with millions of infections as "edge cases." Doesn't understand basic Python, and believes the hosts file cannot be bypassed even after proof otherwise.
17. Still has not done anything since his long-since-deleted security guide from 2007 or his file manager from 2010.
Funny, the tax assessor said she sold it to you in 2010 for $1. So I guess you were actually just living at mom's house until 2010, when she gave it to you.
Just cause you said it doesn't make it true. Your internet history shows otherwise - a windows luser.
You really are condescending. That's (part of) why nobody likes you.
The $1 sales price means the house was a gift. If you actually handed over more money than that (doubtful), then you committed fraud.
Ha, yeah, nice try.
Assocates in CS is meaningless. You don't get into real CS classes until Junior year. This means you have a BS in MIS (a circa 80's degree, at that).
Congrats. But then you started smoking, and now you sit around playing Diablo all day.
Disproved? I read the posts. People criticized your shitty software, and you flew off the handle and got banned for it. You made a lot of enemies there. By the way, I noticed someone started a petition to have you killed in 2006. According to the archive.org page, it got at least 29 signatures. So, congrats on that, too!
Even if you had gotten a CS degree (you didn't), that was a way shitty school that actually disbanded the CS department from 1994 - 2008.
Illogical? Only if you don't understand logic. Since you never took logic classes, you probably don't.
Here, I updated your timeline:
Alex Kowalrus In a Nutshell (A Life of Failure)
0. Birthday was January 31st (see below).
1. 198x - Got a mediocre degree in IT from LeMoyne University. No computer science degree. LeMoyne actually disbanded their CS department from 1994 - 2008.
2. Fired from Sunbelt in 2000. Never found full-time employment again, much less as a software engineer. Moved back in with mom in Syracuse.
3. 2000 - Banned from Arstechnica. Rejoined under another name (lied) to argue for himself.
4. 2003 - Tried to argue with Dr. Russinovich (of sysinternals.com) in comments below Russinovich's blog. Other forum posters schooled him. Nevertheless, he still claims he beat Russinovich in an argument that Russinovich did not realized happened.
5. 2006 - Someone opened petition on petitiononline.com to have APK put to death. It got (at least) 29 signatures.
6. 2007 - Banned from Antionline.com. Everyone there hated him. Copy/pasted his "security guide," which everyone agreed was not good.
7. 2008 - Actually got paid $100 for his security guide as a newsletter prize, and thus claims, to this day, that he's a "security professional."
8. 2008 - Admitted he doesn't understand UNIX: "I am more of a Win32 guy the past few years though, so I must ask [what iptables is]."
9. 2008 - Made legal threats against Thor Schrock, but turned out to be bluffing. Embarrassed publicly by Schrock.
10. 2010 - Mom gave him the house (worth $100,000, counting land). He currently lies about that, claiming to be independently wealthy.
11. 2010 - Wrote a crappy file manager in Pascal that performs terribly. Nobody would pay for it.
12. Managed to get malwarebytes to host his file manager because it's free. Lied and denied it's just a file manager, but Malwarebytes calls it what it is: a "Small program for managing the hosts file"
13. 2011 - BarbaraHudson caught him in a lie - that he had plenty of +5 modded posts on slashdot. They were all at -1.
14. 2011 - Attempted to re-add garbage to Wikipedia 20 times on the Windows hosts file. Had it removed each time. Complained in the editorial pages, but was shot down.
15. 2012 - Embarrassed on slashdot for his text file manager's extremely poor performance (11 minutes to sort 1.8 million strings). Currently claims he "chose" Python because C++ does not perform as well. Pasted Python but failed to indent lines, showing he did not understand the basics of Python.
16. 2014 - Zontar schooled him, doxed him, caught him in several other lies.
17. 2014-2015 - Bouldin repeatedly explained why OS hosts files are not suitable security against botnets, but Kowalrus didn't understand the technical aspects. Currently seems very confused about basic networking and how malware works. Doesn't understand basic Python, and believes the hosts file cannot be bypassed even after seeing Python code that does the bypassing. When provided proof that malware with millions of infections (Ramnit, Gameover Zeus) can bypass the hosts file (and other OS protection mechanisms), he called the malware "edge cases."
18. Still has not done anything since his long-since-deleted security guide from 2007 or his text file manager from 2010. Declares victory over everyone on every forum he has ever visited. Currently has no friends.
Other events on Jan 31st:
* Guy Fawkes was executed.
* Germany used poison gas at a large scale for the first time in history of warfare.
* The Soviet Union exiled Leon Trotsky.
* Harry Truman announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
* Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.
Let me guess. You have some goofy visual basic script to get around Slashdot's lameness filter. You must be proud.
Alex Kowalrus In a Nutshell (A Life of Failure)
0. Birthday was January 31st (see below).
1. 198x - Got a mediocre degree in IT from LeMoyne, but not a computer science degree. LeMoyne U actually disbanded their CS dept from 1994 - 2008.
2. Fired from Sunbelt in 2000. Never found full-time employment again, much less as a software engineer. Moved back in with mom in Syracuse.
3. 2000 - Banned from Arstechnica.com, but rejoined under another alias (a lie) to argue for himself. Everyone in the forums hated him.
4. 2003 - Attempted to argue with Dr. Russinovich (of sysinternals.com) in the comments below Russinovich's blog. Other commenters schooled him, but he still claims he beat Russinovich in an argument that Russinovich did not realized happened.
5. 2006 - Someone opened a petition on petitiononline.com to have APK put to death. The petition got (at least) 29 signatures.
6. 2007 - Banned from Antionline.com because everyone there hated him. Posted his "security guide," which everyone agreed was not good.
7. 2008 - Actually got paid $100 for his security guide as a newsletter prize, and thus claims, to this day, that he's a "security professional."
8. 2008 - Admitted he doesn't understand UNIX, saying, "I am more of a Win32 guy the past few years though, so I must ask [what iptables is]."
9. 2008 - Made legal threats against Thor Schrock, but turned out to be bluffing. Embarrassed publicly by Schrock.
10. 2010 - His mom gave him the house (worth $100,000). He currently lies about that and claims to be independently wealthy.
11. 2010 - Wrote a buggy file manager in Pascal that performs terribly. Could not find anyone to pay for it.
12. Managed to get malwarebytes to host his freeware file manager. Currrently lies, denying it's just a file manager, but the Malwarebytes site labels it a "Small program for managing the HOSTS file"
13. 2011 - BarbaraHudson caught him in a lie - that he had plenty of +5 modded posts on slashdot. They were all at -1.
14. 2011 - Attempted to re-add garbage about the Windows hosts file to Wikipedia 20 times, but it was removed each time. Tried complaining in the editorial pages, but was shot down.
15. 2012 - Called out on slashdot for his text file manager's extremely poor performance (11 minutes to sort 1.8 million strings). Ironically claims he "chose" Pascal because it performs better than C++. Pasted Python but failed to indent lines, indicating he did not understand even the basics of Python.
16. 2014 - Zontar schooled him, doxed him, and caught him in many other lies. People chimed in on Slashdot to call him out on his crazy lies and say they hated him.
17. 2014-2015 - Bouldin repeatedly explained why OS hosts files do not provide security against botnets, but Kowalrus couldn't understand the technical aspects. Currently seems surprisingly confused about basic networking and how malware works. Cannot read basic Python, and believes the hosts file cannot be bypassed even after seeing Python code that does the bypassing. When given examples of malware with millions of infections (e.g. Ramnit, Gameover Zeus) that can bypass the hosts file (and other OS protection mechanisms), he dismissed the malware as "edge cases."
18. Still has not done anything since his long-since-deleted security guide from 2007 or his text file manager from 2010. Declares victory over everyone on every forum he has ever visited. Currently has no friends.
Other events on Jan 31st:
* Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn, and quartered.
* Germany used poison gas at a large scale for the first time in history of warfare.
* The Soviet Union exiled Leon Trotsky.
* Harry Truman announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
* Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.
lolwut
"Better than faking you're a jew when you're not and grandma paying your way fool when you indebted yourself so far you'll never get out." - Anonymous Peter Kowalrus
Alex Kowalrus In a Nutshell (A Life of Failure)
0x00. Birthday was January 31st (see below).
0x01. 198x - Got a mediocre degree in IT from LeMoyne University. No computer science degree. LeMoyne actually disbanded their CS department from 1994 - 2008.
0x02. Fired from Sunbelt in 2000. Never found full-time employment again, much less as a software engineer. Moved back in with mom in Syracuse.
0x03. 2000 - Banned from Arstechnica. Rejoined under another name (lied) to argue for himself. Everyone there hated him.
0x04. 2003 - Attempted to argue with Dr. Russinovich (of sysinternals.com) in the comments below Russinovich's blog. Other commenters schooled him, but he still claims he beat Russinovich in an argument that Russinovich did not realized happened.
0x05. 2006 - Someone opened petition on petitiononline.com to have APK put to death. It got (at least) 29 signatures.
0x06. 2007 - Banned from Antionline.com because everyone there hated him. Posted his "security guide," which everyone agreed was not good.
0x07. 2008 - Actually got paid $100 for his security guide as a newsletter prize, and thus claims, to this day, that he's a "security professional."
0x08. 2008 - Admitted he doesn't understand UNIX, saying, "I am more of a Win32 guy the past few years though, so I must ask [what iptables is]."
0x09. 2008 - Made legal threats against Thor Schrock. Backed down, and was publicly embarrassed by Schrock.
0x0A. 2010 - His mom gave him the house (worth $100,000). He currently lies about that and claims to be independently wealthy.
0x0B. 2010 - Wrote a buggy file manager in Pascal that performs terribly. Could not find anyone to pay for it.
0x0C. Managed to get malwarebytes to host his file manager because it's free. Lied and denied it's just a file manager, but Malwarebytes calls it what it is: a "Small program for managing the HOSTS file"
0x0D. 2011 - BarbaraHudson caught him in a lie - that he had plenty of +5 modded posts on slashdot. They were all at -1.
0x0E. 2011 - Attempted to re-add garbage to Wikipedia 20 times on the Windows hosts file. Had it removed each time. Complained in the editorial pages, but was shot down.
0x0F. 2012 - Called out on slashdot for his text file manager's extremely poor performance (11 minutes to sort 1.8 million strings). Ironically claims he "chose" Pascal because it performs better than C++. Pasted Python but failed to indent lines, indicating he did not understand even the basics of Python. 0x10. 2014 - Zontar schooled him, doxed him, caught him in several other lies. People chimed in on Slashdot to say they hated him. 0x11. 2014-2015 - Bouldin repeatedly explained why OS hosts files are not suitable security against botnets, but Kowalrus didn't understand the technical aspects. Currently seems very confused about basic networking and how malware works. Doesn't understand basic Python, and believes the hosts file cannot be bypassed even after seeing Python code that does the bypassing. When provided proof that malware with millions of infections (Ramnit, Gameover Zeus) can bypass the hosts file (and other OS protection mechanisms), he called the malware "edge cases." 0x12. Still has not accomplished anything since his long-since-deleted "security guide" from 2007 or his text file manager from 2010. Nevertheless, he declares victory over everyone, on every forum he has ever visited. Has no friends. Other events on Jan 31st: * Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn, and quartered. * Germany used poison gas at a large scale for the first time in history of warfare. * The Soviet Union exiled Leon Trotsky. * Harry Truman announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb. * Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.
0x0F. 2012 - Called out on slashdot for his text file manager's extremely poor performance (11 minutes to sort 1.8 million strings). Ironically claims he "chose" Pascal because it performs better than C++. Pasted Python but failed to indent lines, indicating he did not understand even the basics of Python.
0x10. 2014 - Zontar schooled him, doxed him, caught him in several other lies. People chimed in on Slashdot to say they hated him.
0x11. 2014-2015 - Bouldin repeatedly explained why OS hosts files are not suitable security against botnets, but Kowalrus didn't understand the technical aspects. Currently seems very confused about basic networking and how malware works. Doesn't understand basic Python, and believes the hosts file cannot be bypassed even after seeing Python code that does the bypassing. When provided proof that malware with millions of infections (Ramnit, Gameover Zeus) can bypass the hosts file (and other OS protection mechanisms), he called the malware "edge cases."
0x12. Still has not accomplished anything since his long-since-deleted "security guide" from 2007 or his text file manager from 2010. Nevertheless, he declares victory over everyone, on every forum he has ever visited. Has no friends.
Other events on Jan 31st:
* Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn, and quartered.
* Germany used poison gas at a large scale for the first time in history of warfare.
* The Soviet Union exiled Leon Trotsky.
* Harry Truman announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
* Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.