Re: security (malware) issues in Linux bases OSes
T o n g wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:25:35 -0500, H.S. wrote:
>
>
>> In the last some weeks I recall reading in one of the mailing lists that
>> it is just a matter of popularity that we are not seeing bad intentioned
>> debs or rpms on the internet. If Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora were to become
>> sufficiently popular, the claim is that it would be just as easy and
>> popular to infect these OSes by making a user install something like
>> NakedBrittany.deb as is now the case with Windows users.
>>
>
> Don't know where you get it from, but seem to me the person who made such claims is a clueless Linux
> newbie himself. Debian have package signature signing and checking years ago, even for non-official repos.
>
But neither of these help in case a stupid user receives an e-mail saying:
Run 'sudo dpkg -i FreePornPics.deb to see <insert celebrity name here>'s
secret sex tape'.
(Or some variation thereof.)
I think, however, this will only become a problem if Linux gets really
popular, especially along newbie users. And the variety of distributions
will make this kind of attacks harder: a .deb virus will not work on RPM
distros, and vice-versa.
For now, I see no reason to worry.
--
Out of sight is out of mind.
-- Arthur Clough
Eduardo M KALINOWSKI
eduardo@kalinowski.com.br
http://move.to/hpkb
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