Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur! ----- http://maravind.blogspot.com/
--- On Wed, 7/16/08, gingerjoos <gingerjoos at gmail.com> wrote: > not really :) like the author says, a virus by definition > is not a I would suggest that you not listen to some "author" and use your common sense. > windows program. Due to various reasons Linux virii are > limited in Yes, it is _not_ a windows program, but nonetheless, the class of programs called 'virus' cannot so much proliferate in a *nix system. Anybody with a sound understanding of OS design (and who've read Maurice Bach), and assembly language can see that *nix has inherent protection towards memory based replication, and unauthorised file/block manipulation. The multi-level privilege protection of the x86 (386 and above) also comes into play. Low level interrupts like 'int 0x80' etc are hooked into the kernel and scanned for the uid/euid before permitted to execution. These in-built protections make Linux viruii practically impossible, or very very difficult. You can maybe write one yourself (as has been done using ELF-header hooks exploitation), and maybe 'infect' your personal accounts. But then again, it is very difficult to bring down an entire system, or target yet another similarly configured box. > variety and number, that's all :) maybe there are even > POSIX compliant > virii that can hit any UNIX :D Now THAT's an idea -- POSIX complaint Virii. I wonder if X/Open is granting a certification for them. :D > > maybe we should stop using the net altogether ;) Then again, an actual exploit is OS independant: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/07/14/Researcher_to_demonstrate_attack_code_for_Intel_chips_1.html > Absolutely. Some users are used to there being no > "root" in other > operating systems. Other users can't bear the > inconvenience of running > sudo/su to run stuff whenever they need to run root :) Even THEN, it is not so much of a PITA like in the Wind0ze world. Personally, I don't care, I am NOT the least afraid, and won't be concerned till I'm PERSONALLY hit. Call it over-confidence or arrogance. I am doubtful about the existence of a Linux virus. To end the discussion. Worms are very much a common malware in *nix systems. Remember Robert T. Morris Jr? -- Carb0n
