Experiment: Deleting a post from the Internet
Once you post something on the Internet, it is hard to get rid of it. As an experiment, I deleted one of my past posts, and I tried to remove all traces of it.
Is 2009 the year of Linux malware?
Posted 15 years ago
It is common knowledge that Linux users needn't worry about viruses because users don't run as root. I've never understood the reasoning behind this. Here are a few of the malicious things that a program can do without being root on Ubuntu 8.10:
Once malware has its grubby code all over your home folder, you are one fake dialog box away from giving it complete control over your system:
If you have ever run a program or script that wasn't included in your distribution, then you could have been infected with malware. (You weren't.)
Ubuntu in particular must be very enticing for malware writers, because:
Is 2009 the year of the linux desktop malware? How long until we see headlines like, "Researchers find massive botnet based on linux 2.30"?
Add an entry to .config/autostart
Change a line in .mozilla/firefox/*/prefs.js
Add a file to .local/share/applications
Putting them in .gnome2/system32 seems somehow appropriate
Just pick a port above 1024, and update the firewall with uPnp
put it in .mozilla/firefox/*/extensions/
call it "Ubuntu System Integration Plugin Helper"
If you are interested in more examples, The Malware Project (PDF) is a great read that takes you step by step through an actual social engineering experiment with users. The results will surprise you.
top, ps, and System Monitor with exact clones that neglect to display your processes. This is much easier than hacking up the Windows Task Manager internal memory. Or just do everything in kernel mode for ultimate captcha cracking, DDOS power.
Further Reading
Steve Hanov makes a living working on
Rhymebrain.com,
rapt.ink,
www.websequencediagrams.com,
and Zwibbler.com. He lives in
Waterloo, Canada.
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Steve Hanov
14 years ago
"The Malware Project" was not really a PDF file. When you downloaded it and double clicked it, it would "infect" your Ubuntu system by popping up a notification, creating some files, and bringing you to a web page that says "Thanks for participating in the experiment."
It only got a few hits and it's hard to keep up to date, so I haven't maintained it.
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ashish
14 years ago
Where is the PDF you have linked to here (called the TheMalwareProject);I tried clicking on the link through a Windows XP SP3 machine with Internet Explorer 7.0 /Opera 10.52.I am not able to access this file.
Please tell me what is the best way to access this file.I am interested in learning more about this issue.
Regards
Ashish
Email-technoconsulting4smbs@gmail.com
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LinUser
14 years ago
I agree that it is not immune to virus. But if i were a virus writer, which version of linux would I write it for? There are a gazillion different distributions with gazillion different versions of desktop.
Statistically if I chose to write for say opensuse, then I infect a few opensuse users. Not to mention a patch will come out as soon as its detected. A virus can be written but its damage will be contained, so quickly and easily.
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Jason
15 years ago
I agree with everyone else too, as long as everyone refuses to install linux, you don't have to worry about linux malware. No need to make any effort to protect your identity or banking info requried. :)
Are people out there that dumb? You've just made a very short list of how easy it is to install malware to keylog someone's banking info if they wanted on linux and it doesn't sink in. Great article!
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mario
15 years ago
That's factually a very serious problem. Not yet. But it will become.
Once Linux catches a significant market share, less technically informed users will use it. They are obvious targets for social engineering and malware scams.
It's still more difficult to install malware by the commandline. People that actually tinker with sources.list and terminal commands are expected to have a greater understanding of involved risks.
However with new users, this won't be the case. As you describe, some with copy and paste code and commands from formus/bbs.
There is nothing we can do about that. It's inevitable. Maybe the major forums are self-regulating, and malware trickery won't have as a large impact as with the Windows environment. Still, some user education might be in order. As you conclude, we are absolutely unprepared for when that starts.
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Brandon Thomson
15 years ago
Linux is not immune and your points are correct and well taken. However... malware will only become a significant problem if linux gets more market share. Malware writers target Windows because that's where they get the most leverage.
So unless 2009 is also the year of the linux desktop in a big way...
Once you post something on the Internet, it is hard to get rid of it. As an experiment, I deleted one of my past posts, and I tried to remove all traces of it.
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