Virkkala <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Now, my curiosity is tweaked, and set running. What makes this so unlikely? > > 1. The fact that this is Dial-up. > > 2. The fact that this is a Mac. > > 3. The fact that this is a not-so-new (read: old) Mac. > > 4. The fact that the file was corrupted.
Arguments for all of those- 1) Dialup- the IP address usually changes every time you reconnect, and it's slow. You'd have to fingerprint the system, find a weakness and download whatever code (including searching for a tasty file to get). Possible, but unlikely- especially with: 2) Macs. There are a whole bunch more Windows machines, most with well known vulnerabilities. It's easier to set up a script of exploits to run for a specific OS than to try and attack every machine scanned. The vast majority of script kiddies scan for specific OS's- the OS's that they're familiar with, and have a large majority of potential victims... 3) Well, the pre-OS X machines are pretty secure by default. I haven't heard of any remote exploits for a standard Mac OS 9 and below installation. 4) I can't think of a reason for a cracker to corrupt a file that they download-- perhaps by accident. They'll try and destroy log files, and perhaps entire systems, but why one file? > On this last item, I note that a number of PC users I knew used to have fun > breaking into each other's "back ends" (or whatever they called it), > snooping. Now, snooping equates, to me, grabbing or reading files off of a > computer. But perhaps it's just snooping on what the user is doing online. > So the only time I should worry is when I'm actually connected to my bank? My biggest worry is someone breaking into a computer owned by a company that has my information. That's what has the biggest payoff, and that's what's happening. Keep an eye on theregister.co.uk and you'll see stories about information theft, usually involving breaking into company servers. I've heard of exploits that can sniff ssh sessions (even version 2) and https sessions, but not easily (the ones I've heard of involve messing with the mapping between the ethernet address and the IP addresses). -- Dana [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
