Re: Viruses and rootkits WAS Re: weird problem with one mail account in Thunderbird....ISP or what ?
On Thursday 28 May 2015 21:42:51 Frank wrote:
> On 28/05/15 04:22 PM, Lisi Reisz wrote:
> > On Thursday 28 May 2015 17:52:33 Frank wrote:
> >> On 28/05/15 12:37 PM, Lisi Reisz wrote:
> >>> On Thursday 28 May 2015 17:26:31 Darac Marjal wrote:
> >>>> On Thu, 28 May 2015 11:34:44 -0400
> >>>> Frank <debianlist@videotron.ca> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> [cut]
> >>>>
> >>>>> One more thing on this problem:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Are there in fact any viruses that can infect Linux systems? I
> >>>>> know about rootkits but I gather they are rare. But the guys at my
> >>>>> ISP are so insistent I am beginning to wonder
> >>>>
> >>>> There are viruses that run on Linux. Wikipedia has a non-exhaustive
> >>>> list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware#Viruses
> >>>>
> >>>> As Wikipedia points out, though, Linux tends to find it easier to
> >>>> close the vulnerability that allowed the virus to run in the first
> >>>> place. And, in many cases, vulnerabilities are found BEFORE they're
> >>>> exploited (compare that with Windows, were someone might find a
> >>>> vulnerability and start exploiting it and then no-one else might find
> >>>> the same problem for some years).
> >>>
> >>> Altough there have indeed been proof-of-concept viruses for Linux, I
> >>> understood that there had not yet been any in the wild. But that is
> >>> viruses, not other forms of malware.
> >>>
> >>> This problem arises when you open Firefox, not when you boot up? And
> >>> it happens when you open Firefox, even when the computer has been
> >>> running for a while?
> >>
> >> It's not Firefox we're talking about ..it's Thunderbird and it only
> >> affects one account, even though I have 3 on the same ISP.
> >> No connection with booting - no connection with anything other
> >> than that one account not being able to logon using IMAP.
> >>
> >> It's the ISP security guys who are insisting in their words "the account
> >> or perhaps your whole computer is infected".
> >
> > Yes, sorry. I meant Thunderbird. But the questuiosn are still relevant,
> > since I was thinking of Thunderbird.
> >
> > Lisi
>
> No. As is I said the problem is not related to booting in any way.
That's what I was asking. Had there been any time (not causal link) I had an
idea... That's all.
> It
> just appeared out of the blue. It now appears they had blocked that
> account because their system (or they) thought/thinks it is/was
> infected. And it's impossible to deal with these guys. One of them
> tried to tell me he had a masters degree in Computer Science...to which
> I replied what are you doing handling complaints like this...should you
> be working for Google or somebody of that nature :)
;-)
I once told a lawyer that she couldn't do arithemetic. She was put out and
said that she had an A in A level Mathematics. I said that she still
couldn't do arithmetic.
Lisi
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