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Linux boxes make ideal botnet controllers

Posted by jenwren1010 on · 6 comments
DaniWeb; By Davey Winder 		Mail this story
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The cold, harsh truth is that Linux systems are pretty much ideal for being compromised for use as a botnet controller, ironically more often than not being in control of a virtual army of infected Windows PCs.

Billy McCourt, a SophosLabs UK researcher, wants your help to determine just how prominent these Linux based botnet controllers are. In order to do this he is asking that anyone who is not running some kind of anti-virus solution on their Linux boxes to run the small rudimentary Linux/Rst-B scanner and contact the labs with the results if they show that you have been infected.

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Comments (6)

rijelkentaurus ·
Nice advertisement for Sophos. :-|
jdixon ·
Yeah. No information whatsoever on how the virus is getting on the systems. you notice.
jhansonxi ·
Sophos must be getting desperate. Too many anti-malware companies to compete with and now Windows Live OneCare is cutting them off at the source.
tracyanne ·
Quoting:No information whatsoever on how the virus is getting on the systems.


Yes there is, it gets in via Sophos's honey pots.
jdixon ·
> ...it gets in via Sophos's honey pots.

A deliberately weakened system designed to be easily attacked.

So, what makes them think it's getting onto any non-honey pot systems?
tracyanne ·
Quoting:So, what makes them think it's getting onto any non-honey pot systems?


They don't..... they want you to think it does. Specifically they want you to think it gets into your system. It's actully well crafted fear campaign style ad, I tip my hat to them (well I would if I had one).

More important they want you to think they, and they alone, have the solution. Personally if i felt the need for AV, I'd use ClamAv, it's Free Software.

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