Ambidextrous Linux/Windows Virus 361
Lam1969 writes "Kaspersky Labs has reported a new proof-of-concept virus that can infect both Windows and Linux systems. It's called Virus.Linux.Bi.a/Virus.Win32.Bi.a and affects ELF binaries and .exe's from windows. SANS has a brief item on the cross-platform virus as well, but no information about a patch or signature yet."
Netcraft confirms... (Score:5, Funny)
I'll beat you to it.. (Score:5, Funny)
Does this mean.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Not to worry (Score:5, Funny)
What bizarro Earth are you from?
Re:Whatever (Score:5, Funny)
Unfortunately, there's a very convenient vector indeed sat at the keyboard of the vast majority of PCs.
Re:How is it POC? (Score:5, Funny)
It wasn't slashdotted last time?
I, for one (Score:5, Funny)
Its almost like playing buzzword bingo.
Took long enough... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Whatever (Score:4, Funny)
Dammit! And I thought using 70s technology [wikipedia.org] would keep me safe from all these modern-day viruses.
Re:How does it work? (Score:3, Funny)
So, let's try guessing what the single one is... OpenBSD?
Virus Writer 1: Hmm, let's see... first we have to crack the unbreakable encryption on the root password...
Virus Writer 2: No, you idiot! You can't do that until you've found a security vulnerability in the operating system itself!
1: Well, there is the guy running the machine in the first place...
2: Yeah, like anyone would install a secure operating system that requires insane amounts of technical experience and just spontaneously fall for some virus scam thing...
1: I guess you're right then... oh well, back to waiting for another security hole...
Re:Not to worry (Score:2, Funny)
H4WT P1CS V1RU5 PR0T3CTION CLICK H3RE [slashdot.org]
Re:How is it distributed? (Score:5, Funny)
I have reverse-engineered the virus and discovered an insiduous distribution mechanism:
No problem... (Score:4, Funny)
My PET? (Score:3, Funny)
Woah, not my Commodore PET [old-computers.com] (Personal Electronic Transactor)? Nooooo..... I *love* that chicklet keyboard. And the awesome monochrome graphics. They have the playing card suits built in as *characters*, mind you. You can 1000 PRINT them in the built in BASIC!
Let me tell you, though, it was a bitch getting an entire TCP/IP stack working in the 4K of RAM and still have room for a web browser. And don't even get me started on how hard it was to get 100BaseT working over the exapasion port.
Guess it's finally time to retire the old PET.
Re:How does it work? (Score:3, Funny)
When it says 'linux and windows', it will no doubt mean linux-x86, which means that java type code isn't required, as the processor instructions are the same (it's apparently written in assembly code). System calls would have to be done differently, as would inserting the code into an elf/exe file to infect it. One way I guess would be to have different entry points into the code, the linux/windows machines would start running at a different point within the code, but when infecting a new file, it would copy both sections of code into it, rather than just the bit that's running. You could in theory make a virus that will spread to many more systems, but each one makes the resulting virus larger.
Re:Reactions: (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I'll beat you to it.. (Score:5, Funny)
Oh gee, wow! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Not to worry (Score:2, Funny)
Linux Infection Instructions (Score:5, Funny)
To Infect your Linux box with Virus.Linux.Bi.a, please follow these instructions.
Enjoy
Re:Linux Infection Instructions (Score:2, Funny)
Uh-Oh (Score:2, Funny)
And Mac fanboys may go about arguing that Windows and Linux are mere copy-cats and that they were the first to have Universal Binaries.
Re:Is this another do-it-yourself? (Score:3, Funny)