The BBC have a botnet and I have a question
Click, a bland and normally inoffensive computing programme broadcast by the BBC in the UK decided to warn it's viewers about botnets (again) but this time they raised the stakes.
The programme makers descended into the interwebs underground, purchased a botnet and used it to send spam to email accounts that they owned.
The Guardian questions the legality of this (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/mar/12/bbc-botnet-legality-questioned) and references a good blog posting at http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2868.
I'm just amazed that given the artifice of television that they actually went and did this when it could easily be simulated using computers they controlled. The BBC changed users' desktops wallpaper to display a warning.
Very nice of them. Of course no one is supposed to do this and it's outlawed by the Computer Misuse Act. You can't go accessing someone's computer even if your intentions are honourable.
Doubtless they won't get prosecuted but there is the issue of what the hell the money was used for. Maybe we should send the FBI and RIAA around to have a word about supporting terrorism and copyright theft
Anyway there was that question I promised. I know what I'm doing with computers. To normal people I'm a god but here I'm probably average. My laptop has AV, a firewall and I run Spybot every now and then. I use Firefox with NoScript and I employ common sense re security. Windows is patched and up to date.
But how safe am I? What could I do to improve matters and what other software could I run to ensure I haven't installed malware?
The programme makers descended into the interwebs underground, purchased a botnet and used it to send spam to email accounts that they owned.
The Guardian questions the legality of this (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/mar/12/bbc-botnet-legality-questioned) and references a good blog posting at http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2868.
I'm just amazed that given the artifice of television that they actually went and did this when it could easily be simulated using computers they controlled. The BBC changed users' desktops wallpaper to display a warning.
Very nice of them. Of course no one is supposed to do this and it's outlawed by the Computer Misuse Act. You can't go accessing someone's computer even if your intentions are honourable.
Doubtless they won't get prosecuted but there is the issue of what the hell the money was used for. Maybe we should send the FBI and RIAA around to have a word about supporting terrorism and copyright theft
Anyway there was that question I promised. I know what I'm doing with computers. To normal people I'm a god but here I'm probably average. My laptop has AV, a firewall and I run Spybot every now and then. I use Firefox with NoScript and I employ common sense re security. Windows is patched and up to date.
But how safe am I? What could I do to improve matters and what other software could I run to ensure I haven't installed malware?
12 Comments
joedirtUm, you are f-ed if you ever open acrobat pdf from the browser.
I nuked that crap acrobat reader from my system and use foxit reader.
I got a trojan (not detected by AVG) and had to manually remove it with System Rescue (linux) bootdisk. (Sent the little bugger files to AVG). I only noticed because it was launching IE every 20 mins to go to some spyware ad sites. I'm 100% sure it was looking at a relatively normal but maybe risky website and got infected through PDF holes.
Anyways, just check for trojans, and anything going out on the internets.
I think you must have these: autoruns, tcpview, procmon, RootkitRevealer or AVG anti-Rootkit. (the first files are all freeware SysInternals/now Microsoft) Basically, just know what is normal and what should be running on your computer and what is harmless. You are pretty good with a firewall and AVG. Update Acrobat or toss it.
DeanoTossed Acrobat ages ago if only because it was so slow. Thanks for the tips!
xxovercastxxCaution and a firewall are enough to protect you from the vast majority of threats. It's been years since I last saw a virus/worm/exploit that didn't rely at least partially on social engineering.
Antivirus is always helpful. Avoid anything that tries to replace the Windows Firewall (like Norton Internet Security). They all seem to really fuck up your system, in my experience, and there's no reason to replace a perfectly good software firewall anyway. If you're using commercial AV, make sure you've got a subscription or it's a waste. A lot of people swear by AVG or clamwin; I'm a fan of avast.
If you want extra tinfoil for your hat, you can make use of virtual machines (http://www.virtualbox.org/) or sandboxes (http://www.sandboxie.com/) to isolate activities from the main system. There's also RVS (http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/) and Windows SteadyState (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx) if you're just looking for a way to quickly restore your system if/when you believe it to be compromised.
Rather than be overly paranoid about security, I usually just make sure I can wipe my computer clean at any time with no risk of losing data. If I suspect something is wrong, I do a new install rather than screwing around trying to diagnose the issue. It's far more practical at work, but it's still not too bad at home.
gwiz665You're safe enough, anything more and you're paranoid.
Computer safety is not hard as long as you use common sense and be careful when you're on "suspicious" pages.
I recommend avira antivir, keiro/sunbelt firewall (or comodo firewall) and spybot S&D. If you use Win7 beta, you can just use windows firewall, it's much improved there.
gwiz665I was a fan of avast, but I thought it felt too sluggish. Antivir is way faster.
Don't buy a firewall or antivirus, ever. It's a waste of money. The free alternatives are just as good.
Stay far, far away from Norton.
jonnyused it to send spam to email accounts that they owned.
How would that be illegal if they owned the accounts? Or did you mean they "owned" a list of valid emails derived from usage on their website?
What could I do to improve matters and what other software could I run to ensure I haven't installed malware?
Buy a Mac. You might also find everything else in your computing life getting easier as well.
Ornthoron>> ^jonny:
Buy a Mac. You might also find everything else in your computing life getting easier as well.
Or install GNU/Linux.
gwiz665jonny & ornthoron, you're both horrible, horrible people..
EDD>> ^jonny:
Buy a Mac. You might also find everything else in your computing life getting easier as well.
NOOOOO, jonny, not you too!!!
P.S. http://www.videosift.com/video/BBC-Click-sets-up-a-botnet-spam-ensues
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)
Yes, preview on Mac is nice and simple and un-laden with bloat-ware. I don't understand how Adobe can make such great products like Photoshop and Illustrator and such a piece of shit like Acrobat Reader. Doesn't seem like the same company.
Also Gmail's new pdf reader is nice and fast.
xxovercastxx>> ^gwiz665:
I was a fan of avast, but I thought it felt too sluggish. Antivir is way faster.
Don't buy a firewall or antivirus, ever. It's a waste of money. The free alternatives are just as good.
Stay far, far away from Norton.
I'll have to give it a look when I get my Windows PC up and running again. I've never heard of Avira before.
Tests have shown that the free alternatives aren't quite as good as the commercial products, but I say they're good enough. The extra 1% detection rate you get with Symantec isn't worth whatever they charge.
Deano>> ^jonny:
used it to send spam to email accounts that they owned.
How would that be illegal if they owned the accounts? Or did you mean they "owned" a list of valid emails derived from usage on their website?
What could I do to improve matters and what other software could I run to ensure I haven't installed malware?
Buy a Mac. You might also find everything else in your computing life getting easier as well.
The illegal behaviour is accessing pcs without permission and is a crime under the Computer Misuse Act. Given the various controversies over faked call-ins, competitions and the Russell/Brand debacle you'd think they would avoid their teatime IT programme buying a freaking botnet.
No to Macs! Mainly because of the cost but I just don't think I could change from Windows now.
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