Linux/Rst-B - virus very much alive and kicking

[newbie2]

http://www.sophos.com/security/blog/2008/09/1748.html

[daleus]

Don't run anything as root, virus quashed.


Also, asking Sophos about Viruses is like asking the mechanic about your car, there'll always be something wrong with it, even if the car is a day old.


they're a business.


gb2experts-exhcange

[cdenley]

http://www.sophos.com/security/blog/2008/09/1748.html

I'm sure you can find plenty of "dead" "viruses" which still infect servers. Some people can be running Linux servers which haven't been touched by an administrator for years. If some of these get infected, that doesn't mean any current linux release is vulnerable to a virus.

Also, as mentioned, that "virus" requires you to run an infected binary as root. You can write a malicious binary such as that for any OS. It doesn't actually exploit any vulnerability in the software, only the administrators stupidity.

[cariboo907]

From the article
As has been said on this blog a few times now, the biggest security vulnerability sits behind the keyboard. It looks like we’ve simply managed to prove that the vulnerability is cross platform. :-)

None of these things will run unless they have root access, so don't run anything as root.

Jim

[tjandracom]

cariboo907 wrote: None of these things will run unless they have root access, so don't run anything as root.


I agreed with that. That's why in default ubuntu installation (and many distros), graphically login as root is disabled. never login as root, use "sudo" command instead.

[Sycron]

How it can spread ? I mean where do i get it. No matter the number of infected computers, but if i'm only using trusted software from repositories and navigate thru some webpages, linux will NEVER got infected, and YES don't run something as root unless you know what are you doing.