Re: security (malware) issues in Linux bases OSes

[Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson@cox.net>]

On 02/15/2009 05:26 PM, Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
> On Sunday 15 February 2009 15:48:37 Ron Johnson wrote:
> > [W]hat's to stop Joe Wannabe from doing this?
> >
> >      $ sudo dpkg -i NakedBrittany.deb
>
> What's to stop Joe Wannabe from doing this?
> sudo rm -rf The Great American Novell / Movie
>
> Neither is an actual security issue.

Depends, I guess, on your definition of "security".  Both require 
user interaction, and while the "sudo rm" certainly would be a 
disaster, installing NakedBrittany.deb would/could install a 
rootkit, keystroke logger, etc, etc.

> > and the
> > other thru a poorly-working (official) Debian patch to ssh. (Or was
> > it SSL?)
>
> I don't recall this actually causing the Debian servers to be compromised.

Ah, you're right.  It was back in July 2006 that gluck got compromised.

--
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA  USA

Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification