Re: new to linux

From: ERACC (junkmail_at_eracc.com)
Date: 08/21/05 

Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:37:36 -0500

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:33:14 +0400, Chris Elvidge wrote:

> Andy Fraser <andyfraser31@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Not needed. There are no known Linux viruses in the wild. There /are/
>
> In a careless moment: Linux/Lion.worm.a

Not a virus. Is a worm.

> Linux/Hacktop trojan

Not a virus. Is a trojan horse.

> Network associates and F-Prot seem to acknowlege these.

They did NOT acknowlege them as "viruses".

Computer virus defined:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus_%28computing%29

Computer worm defined:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm

Computer trojan horse defined:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_%28computing%29

Viruses in Unix-like systems have a great deal of trouble spreading
themselves. It is near impossible for a computer virus to spread in a
standard Unix-like OS. Since worms take advantage of known flaws in
services, are self-contained and usually designed to get a root shell
worms are more dangerous to Unix-like systems than either viruses or
trojan horses. To be effective on a Unix-like operating system a
malware application MUST GET ROOT (aka administrator access) to be
able to do much at all. Only environments that grant the luser root
by default would allow the easy replication of virus and/or trojan
horse malware.

Gene (e-mail: gene \a\t eracc \d\o\t com) 

-- 
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