Menace

[minthaka]

I've red a blog given by reed9, and it made me seriously worried:
How to write a Linux virus in 5 easy steps

How could we protect Linux from viruses, since it is not to hard to write a virus for Linux? I fear, that now, when Linux is just in front of a massive growth in user's number, it would be very important to strengthen its security. It seems for me, that currently the only security lies in small number of users. What is your opinion?

[DaGoomba]

I agree whole-heartedly that some form of security is needed aside from common-sense which, sadly, isn't very common. The important thing to remember about those "small number of users", is that they are human and bound to screw up eventually.

Most people won't bother with AVG or Ad-Aware because they believe Linux to have security like a brick wall. Nothing a little well-placed dynamite won't take care of.

[rokytnji]

A more accurate title for this email therefore might have been: How to write a Gnome/KDE virus in 5 easy steps.

This just tears up a Desktop. Core system remains unaffected. Besides, I run Icewm And Fluxbox. So still no big deal for me.

[hazel]

Lots of us don't use Gnome or KDE. I wouldn't use them even if I had the kind of hardware that runs them really fast because they're incredibly complex and I can't understand how the hell they work. The main reason I use Linux is because I like to know what's going on and feel in control of my computer, so I use fluxbox or openbox. Not being subject to this kind of malware is a useful bonus.

But a lot of young people have never felt the need to understand how their system works. After all, they grew up on Windows and nobody understands how that works. They move to Linux because they've been told it's safer, or because they're tired of paying through the nose for updates (and then finding they need a new machine to run them). Or they buy a netbook that already has Linux installed. For them, Gnome or KDE is the obvious desktop to run. These are the usual defaults after all and give them the kind of desktop experience they're used to.

I hate to think of these innocents getting shafted by a new generation of malware.

[minthaka]

What about moving config files into databases?

[MikeTbob]

What about moving config files into databases?

As noted above, you might be able to trash a Linux users /home directory or the desktop settings but without real root permissions the virus will do minimal damage no matter how you deliver it.

[D-cat]

Yeah, but unless people use a separate username to surf the net as they do for their personal files, trashing (or just stealing) a home directory can be plenty enough damage.

[schwim]

As noted above, you might be able to trash a Linux users /home directory or the desktop settings but without real root permissions the virus will do minimal damage no matter how you deliver it.

I would venture to guess that roughly 99% of the users out there could care less if the core system was unaffected if they lost their /~ data.

It reminds me of a conversation held long ago on the Fedora forum. As long as the planets are aligned properly and we can trust the bad guys not to do certain things, linux is completely secure.

[MikeTbob]

I would venture to guess that roughly 99% of the users out there could care less if the core system was unaffected if they lost their /~ data.

It reminds me of a conversation held long ago on the Fedora forum. As long as the planets are aligned properly and we can trust the bad guys not to do certain things, linux is completely secure.

You're probably right,,,I guess as long as the porn is safe then all is right with the world. If you feel that paranoid then you could always disconnect the machine from the evil Internets and happily stare at your monitor.

[elija]

You're probably right,,,I guess as long as the porn is safe then all is right with the world. If you feel that paranoid then you could always disconnect the machine from the evil Internets and happily stare at your monitor.

Or you could just do the sensible thing and trust no one which means that social engineering doesn't work on me. Of course I'm a sucker for anti-social engineering

Remember that just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they ain't out to get you!