Posted on 11/26/2015 6:20:04 PM PST by Utilizer
You, personally, have never had an infected Nix box, but it’s not impossible to infect them.
The kernels of every major OS on the market right now (MacOS, Win10, major Nix kernels) are hardened to the point of being impenetrable. The majority of malware and viruses from from programs installed on those systems. It’s functionally impossible to infect the kernel of an Internet-connected operating system if you’re using a modern OS.
Hey Tac, take some advice from someone whose gotten bit by the Utilizer troll: don’t feed it. He/she absolutely thrives on these sorts of bloody threads and is known around FR as a Linux troll.
Bottom line, he/she posts Microsoft bad press and then tries to win adherents to Linux by espousing its virtues. Microsoft is the biggest dog in town and is going to take flak from all sides on all things. I personally use Linux in both my home lab and in my corporate life, but I can tell you personally, esp. having to work around PCI, SSAE16, and a raft of audits, Linux is just as susceptible to vulnerabilities as Microsoft. Those vulnerabilities, while often similar, seldom mirror those affecting Microsoft.
Different sides of the same coin. Browse smart, people.
At worst, it's misinformation of lies by omission that could cause a non-technical lurker to believe that changing to Linux would render them immune to this kind of malware, and end up costing them dearly.
I’ve been in IT for 20+ years, and I completely understand and agree with your assessment.
I had an older family member call me about a year ago asking me about “that Linux computer.” After prying out of him what he’d heard, I advised him that installing Linux on his machine means he loses all of his non-backed-up data, and depending on the distro he chose, he might not be able to use things like his camera.
Linux is GREAT for people who are patient enough to learn a new operating system or who use computers for the bare minimum of email and web browsing. Beyond that, you’re better off with a Mac or a Windows PC. And besides, unwary users of even a Linux system could be infected by malware or a Trojan.
We’re on the same page. I’m just trying to keep you from expending your time and frustration on Utilizer. It’s a fool’s errand.
I did not start this thread to "prove" anything. Merely to start a conversation about this particular version of malware that is specifically targeted towards Win10 and Edge. If that does not include you, then how fortunate.
Glad to see you understand about trojans, and thank you for sharing.
Cheers.
Hmmm. Perhaps you should read the article referenced sometime. 'Till then, glad it does not seem to affect you personally.
And here's your contribution to the "conversation".
Yes, I too have gone almost completely over to Linux for the computers I run. Still meaning to look into how to run Virtual Machines to run assorted older proggies, but I love never having to worry about malware or adware corrupting any of these machines.
No more BSOD, no more crashes, no need to purchase more programs to run the things I wish to, whether it be recording or playing vids, burning or playing CDs and DVDs, writing and editing documents of various types with ease, or working on or generating graphics of all types.
Out of all of that screed, the only comment you made relevant to the topic is dead nuts wrong.
Thanks. I may give that a go. :)
Not sure how you garnered that I didn't read the article (I did), and by way of SHOWING you instead of TELLING you, here's a snippet from it:
It commonly spreads itself in large swathes of phishing emails in a tactic is known as 'spray and pray'.
So before you go off half-cocked at people, how about reading the article yourself? I said, and I'm quoting here,
Dyreza is spread through socially engineered emails and malware links in social media.
Not verbatim, but damn close.
And because I know you like to parse words, the spread through social media is also documented, although less common. Most major social media hubs use filters to prevent this scam from propagating, but many banking-vulnerable malware attacks start in social media. (Credentials: I'm an IT engineer in one of the largest banking/finance institutions in the US.)
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