rich...@buzzhost.co.uk wrote:
On Fri, 2009-11-13 at 09:12 +0100, Matus UHLAR - fantomas wrote:
On 12.11.09 13:55, Chris Hoogendyk wrote:
I don't know about Linux viruses; BUT, I do remember less than ten years
ago when it was virtually impossible to build a Linux box with a hot
online connection, because you would get hacked before you could even
download the patches. I had a friend who built his system and got hacked
several times before he decided he needed to download patches ahead of
time and build it all in an off line environment. That gave him enough
time to go through all the patches and lock down procedures before he
put it online. He still got hacked again at least once after that.
I also heard stories of my son doing battle with hackers who had gotten
into his Linux system.
I think you may have your Windows -v- Linux mixed up and this kind of urban myth
No mixup. Firsthand observations. It's also the reason the department I
moved to around that time chose OpenBSD for its network related boxes
(firewalls, filtering bridges, etc), rather than Linux. There were too
many kernel exploits being turned up for Linux around that time. Again,
we're talking historical. We are just now converting old boxes to Linux
with IPTables as we replace them, mostly due to aging hardware finally
failing.
Caveats such as week passwords, open ports and advertising insecure services
are the domain of poor administration and understanding - they are not Operating
System dependent.
But they are in the realm of distributions. If an OS or distribution has
all that configured and open by default, then they are part of the
problem. Those distributing Linux learned that much more quickly than
Microsoft, but they were still part of the problem back in that time frame.
Exempting organised spam gangs and their infrastructure, it's probably fair to
say that
most of the spam I see has come from a mule Windo$e box. I'll worry about Linux
Desktop Botnets
when I see it happening :-)
These days, yes, it is definitely Windo$e boxes and botnets as you say.
Linux has largely become much more secure. However, you do still see
periodic posts on LinuxQuestions.org from people whose systems have been
compromised asking for help. Nobody is totally safe.
As someone else has said, we are way off topic. I had resisted
responding to any of the exchanges, but could not ignore being told I
had it mixed up or that this was just an urban myth. I'd just as soon
drop it now. I actually do have a massive internet botnet targeting my
servers across three departments right now. I've blocked thousands of IP
addresses, but I have to do it carefully, because my own users travel
and make mistakes with their logins.
--
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Chris Hoogendyk
-
O__ ---- Systems Administrator
c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
(*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
<hoogen...@bio.umass.edu>
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Erdös 4
