myspace viruses??

Very funny. After clicking the above link, I went to the site, which apparently has implanted something on my computer. The scrolling function is now locked in a loop, and attempts to access my favorites to reach a different site instead brings me to http://www.unicycle.2ya.com, which seems to have taken over unicyclist.com. When I close my browser and re-open it, same thing. But I’m accessing now from a different PC…with only difference being I haven’t gone to the sex study from this machine.

And to make it even more fun, when I tried to Shut Down, every click of that button just caused it to highlight Stand By as an option instead…no shut down executed. And when I try to access my virus scan from my toolbar, the toolbar just expands and contracts, doesn’t let me select anything. Good thing I still know how to pull the damn plug out of the wall.

Ugh.

Update: The plug pull reboot method seemed to work. Back to normal.

Uhm… Sounds like your cat was standing on your keyboard or something. That site is clean.

I’m alergic to cats…none in the vicinity. The effect happening was quite real, whether the site caused it or not.

im keen to learn how to code viruses. for a both good and bad reasons. the good reason is that id like to make a program that forcibly updates a chosen software, then deletes itself without you knowing anything has happened. much like good bacteria. the other reason is obvious. apperently to learn how to cade them you hit up as many dodgy porn sites as possible, then collect all you viruses and dissasemble them. of course id need to use a different pc or do a backup beforehand.

and yes, myspace is filth.

It is possible for Myspace or any other web page to give you a “virus”. They do it by using browser exploits to get your machine to run arbitrary code. Getting your computer to run arbitrary code is security speak for ownage. It means the attacker can run any code they want in the context of the logged in user or possibly as system if they’re lucky enough.

What happens is the web page takes advantage of a vulnerability to get arbitrary code to execute due to a buffer overflow or similar error in the code.

Here’s a description of one such attack that has happened. In that case it was ad banners on MySpace serving up the exploit code. In other cases it has been Flash objects on MySpace pages that try to exploit older versions of Flash. There have also been some QuickTime videos linked to from MySpace that try to exploit known vulnerabilities in older versions of QuickTime.

Those problems aren’t unique to MySpace. Most any web site is vulnerable to some of the same attacks. For example a high profile news site has served up banner ads that tried to run exploit code in the past. But MySpace is popular because it gets lots of visits and the users there like to download, view, and click around. MySpace is also a target because it makes it easy to create user created content and links or embedding to sites that serve an exploit.

You can protect against those sorts of attacks by making sure your computer software is up to date and that all available security fixes have been applied for programs that you use.

You can run a quick security scan at Secunia to check a small set of common programs and make sure they’re up to date.

You can also protect yourself and your computer by hardening the browser security level (limit what sites can run JavaScript, limit unnecessary features, etc.). You can also run as a limited user instead of an administrator level user. Vista makes it more convenient that XP to run as a limited user.

Other hardening steps are to do things like enable DEP (Data Execution Prevention). DEP will catch many of the buffer overflow attacks against the browser and other software on the computer.

Sometimes macros and hotkeys get turned on in windows by accident that can cause that sort of behavior as well, or a mouse button sticks or something of that sort. Restarting usually fixes it. They can be really frustrating. It’s not standard virus behavior.

Tom’s tongue is/was firmly planted in his cheek. He’s a Windows support guru. No Windows problem is going to get him stumped.

Reread the post with the sarcasm meter on. Casual internet link contacts leading to a circle jerk… All makes sense now. :wink:

Don’t go there. Too much knowledge and experience in that area is NOT a plus on the resume.

If you want to learn how to reverse engineer buffer overflow exploits then that can be good knowledge. But don’t go too far. Don’t write any actual infecting code. You can write POC for an exploit that pops up calc or a command prompt, but don’t ever go any further than that. Don’t get familiar with the underground computing groups. That will end up being a constant landmine in your future career that will likely get you fired from more than one job.

If you plan to do network admin or any IT job that requires trust then you’d better keep yourself clean. Stay away from the blackhat groups and blackhat web sites. Too much knowledge or interest in those groups will kill your trust level with any employer. And network admin jobs are about trust.

it’s great that we’ve returned to a time when you can tell the good guys from the bad guys, cuz the bad guys wear black hats, hey cowboy?

Huh, and I’m not usually one to fall for such a thing… It was SUCH a long reply though… that’s what made me think it was real.

no this thread is real, atleast that wat i think you guys are talking abotu

Nope.

There, I re-gained my “Man Status” by being right about something else.

im not intending on working in IT, nor do i intend to release any viruses etc. but there are so many times such knowledge is usefull. for example when a computer illiterate person (in this case my grandmother) needs help then you naturally think of using remote desktop. but this requires people to accept an email allowing you to use remote desktop…every time you use it. which, for a computer illiterate, is difficult or impossible. in cases such as this, the only way to help is to use afforementioned “dodgy” methods.

if anyone knows any software package or program that will alllow me to gain access, let me know. naturally, back orifice etc. is out of the question.

Hamachi

Use Hamachi to create the secure connection then do your remote desktoping over the Hamachi connection.

No blackhatting needed.

if you are sus about site giving you virus’s just install a firewall and that way you can se EXACTLY what programs etc are accessing the internet… youtube, myspace etc doesnt give you virus’s… as its been said above they are only websites…just dont download of fishy links…

A firewall is not a reliable way to see exactly what programs are accessing the internet. The effective malware nowadays knows how to get around outbound software firewall protection. Relying on outbound protection is also a bit like closing the barn door after the cows have all escaped. If outbound protection get triggered you’ve already had unknown code execute on your computer. You’ve already been pwned at that point.

The other point is that you CAN get malware just from visiting a web site. You don’t have to download anything or do anything other than visit the site. That happens when a web site takes advantage of a security exploit in the browser or one of the components loaded by the browser.

Getting infected just by visiting a reputable web page isn’t the most common way that people get their computer infected, but it does happen.

The more common ways of getting infected are:

  • Installing cracks or warez
  • Installing themes or screensavers from untrustworthy sources
  • Installing special codecs to be able to watch pR0n
  • Installing icons or smileys for IM programs
  • Installing free games from untrustworthy sources
  • Opening email attachments from unknown senders
  • Visiting underground web sites catering to cracks and warez. It’s not unusual for those sites to run some exploit code on their visitors just to see if they can pwn you and make their bot net even bigger.

Way down on the list would be visiting reputable mainstream web sites like MySpace. The more likely way to get infected through MySpace is to do something like download and install some new screensaver or other program that someone on MySpace tells you about. That’s not really a MySpace exploit. It’s more of a problem that the user is willing to install and run unknown programs from places they can’t verify as being trustworthy.

Here’s a report of a MySpace page that is able to infect you with malware just by viewing the page.

Alicia Keys MySpace page is hacked

Hackers seize Alicia Keys’s MySpace page, launching malware attacks

Yes, those kinds of attacks do happen on MySpace and on other web pages. Yes, you can get infected just by viewing a web page. Yes, MySpace seems to be one of the more common high profile places for those sorts of exploits.

It’s a two pronged attack. They first try to redirect you to an exploit web site by the use of an image map. If that doesn’t work they try to entice you to install a fake codec. The first trick won’t work if you have a fully patched Windows machine. The second attack won’t work if the user is savvy enough not to install unknown and untrusted software.

The attacks can be mitigated by setting up the kids to run in standard user level accounts instead of administrator level accounts. That will keep them from being able to install random software (fake codecs and other garbage) and also help lessen the impact of an exploit (the damage will be theoretically limited to just the users account and not the whole computer).

So get the kids Vista and run them as standard users. Keep the computer fully patched from Windows Update and also check for updates for QuickTime and other programs (Apple has had some frequent security updates for QuickTime).

And the Mac users shouldn’t get too smug. They’re starting to develop fake codecs for the Mac as well that install malware on the pristine OS X.

If you aren’t able to keep your machine up to date (fully patched) and aren’t savvy enough not to install fake codecs then you shouldn’t be going to MySpace and pretty much any place else on the web.