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Microsoft Claims 'No Known Ransomware' Runs on Windows 10 S. Researcher Says 'Hold My Beer' (zdnet.com)
Earlier this month, Microsoft said "no Windows 10 customers were known to be compromised by the recent WannaCry (WannaCrypt) global cyberattack," adding
that "no known ransomware works against Windows 10 S." News outlet ZDNet asked a security researcher to see how good Microsoft's claims were. Turns out, not much. From the report: We asked Matthew Hickey, a security researcher and co-founder of cybersecurity firm Hacker House, a simple enough question: Will ransomware install on this operating system? It took him a little over three hours to bust the operating system's various layers of security, but he got there. "I'm honestly surprised it was this easy," he said in a call after his attack. "When I looked at the branding and the marketing for the new operating system, I thought they had further enhanced it. I would've wanted more restrictions on trying to run privileged processes instead of it being such a short process."
i know nothing...Sgt Schultz
I'm usually a fan of MS, but that is some bull if I ever heard it. Maybe there is not a known ransomware because no one thought to make one yet, I didn't even really realize that OS was even out yet.
MS can't possibly know all the ransomware out there, however, I think MS does a terrible job at fixing anything. I had a friend who bought a MS product but in working with it he found a bug. He calls MS support. They research it but they say with his level of support, they can't go any further without premium support. So he pays for premium support. Premium support confirms that it is a bug. He asks when a fix is possible. They say they are not going to fix it. He asks why the heck did his premium support money do? For the privilege of telling him that it was a bug apparently.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
People want to be able to run whatever software they like.
Some people obviously do. But iOS is also highly successful.
Back in the days of Mac OS8, he proclaimed that the MacOS was virus-proof.
Big mistake.
By the end of the week at least a dozen or so viriii were released into the wild and Jobs had to eat humble pie.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
People want to be able to run whatever software they like.
Some people obviously do. But iOS is also highly successful.
But, there's a difference. Actually two:
1. the iOS App Store is likely VAST compared with the WIndows 10 App Store. That makes a VAST difference.
2. People who own iPhones/iPads understand the reasoning behind, and are used to, the App Store Restriction (which really isn't a restriction anymore, since iOS 8).
I think this is always silly when a company claims something like this, and I think everyone in the industry understands that. However, it gets headlines, and will be used for marketing. All the normal users though will never see this article explaining why it's bull, but they'll remember 'Hmm Windows S doesn't get ransomware'. Now maybe some of the marketing people really believe this statement, however I highly doubt any of the devs or engineering team truly thought 'ah ha! We've done it!'
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
You wish.
I often run suspicious files through AV websites like TotalVirus.com
You'd be AMAZED how much old stuff sitting in my inbox for 5 years won't be picked up by big-name anti-virus suites even with "heuristics".
And if you tweak it by just one byte (e.g. javascript viruses and changing a code-path ever-so-slightly), it'll usually zoom through ALL of them.
Sorry, but AV is just a constantly out-of-date database of things that MILLIONS of people have already caught, that is used as a lookup for every file access. In terms of protecting your computer, it's useless (or WannaCry wouldn't have happened, even on non-updated machines). In terms of doing so efficiently, it's absolutely atrocious.
Windows 10S is nothing more than a play to walled garden Windows, by appealing to consumers fears, all while the customer pays for the pleasure. Hopefully someone will file a class action for false advertising (since actually hacking the OS was a trivial 3 hours for someone who knew what they were doing).
It is high time that companies take cyber security seriously, before someone hacks a windows computer running some critical system and causes a major accident (oh wait, that has happened multiple times already). For far too long companies have played fast and loose with the word secure.
Is it possible for MS to make a hardened version of Windows? Probably, but it would require a fundamental re-thinking of how windows runs, and there would be a performance hit. MS would have to spend real resources on the security aspect, and that would take resources away from developing the shiny interface tweaks that no one gives a shit about but the MBAs think is critical...
If you disagree, please post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like
Does MS realize that infection/breach through macros is NOT a new/unknown/zero day thing? That's why the "Protected View" is in place in the first place..........Yes, the protection is in place....But it doesn't mean that a user isn't going to deliberately ignore any warnings just because, "idk I just thought it was a document from my friend and didn't think about it". That shit happens all the time! This is now a known exploit. I mean, seriously, go fix the issue MS.
Drivers for Windows 10 S must meet these requirements. I imagine that participants in a public driver beta test would use Windows 10 Pro instead of Windows 10 S.
I don't use my iPhone or my Android tablet as general-purpose computing devices. I use my laptop and desktop for those, and those had better run arbitrary software or they're of little use to me.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Isn't this essentially cheating? If Word is opened by a user, it's only opened at standard user privileges, even if that user is a member of the admin group.
The use of a macro is clever enough. But if it hinges on Word running as Admin, then I have to question whether this is anything more than a publicity stunt.
Read the whole story and think... Then you'll know this 'researcher' is just bullshitting. You already need to start word in admin-mode (first thing that makes ms their claim still stand), then you need to click on the activate macro's button, and in the end you still need to be able to install the malware which is not on the ms windows store and therefore cannot simply be installed, but that's something he doesn't even do claiming with some bullshit about not wanting his network to be infested.. no this is just a clickbait article by zdnet for triggering some extra ad revenue...