Why not simply have a computer's operating system hard-wired into it the way the old Vic 20's did? Instead of running programmes from a hard drive, programmes could be distributed on chips. The chips could be plugged into a "chip board" inside the computer. To install a new programme, one would simply insert the chip the way one loads a cassette into a VCR and let internal mechanisms do the rest. This way, once you reboot your computer the virus, worm or trojan horse or whatever it is would be destroyed. So what if it's more expensive and inconvenient? Think of the reduction in monetary losses, stress, and lost time. Think of the increase in peace of mind. Combine this with a firewall programme (on a chip, of course) and you've got a nearly impregnable electronic security system. We could still have hard drives, but any programme on a hard drive would need direct user confirmation before it could be read into memory and direct user confirmation again berore it could be executed. Also, the computer should give a plain language description of just what any given programme does before we allow it to read that programme from the disk in the first place. In addition to this, we could have a panic button on the computer itself (not the keyboard) kept behind a protective door to prevent it from being accidentally pressed. When pressed, this button would "pull the plug" on the computer's network and internet conections and cause the hard drive to be written over with an endless string of zeroes until the entire disk has been wiped. This would be followed by writing an endless series of zeroes on the ram as well as the memories of any device containing memory connected to the computer. The computer would then reboot and write the zeroes again. While this would be inconvenient, the operating system and application programmes would be left intact and the computer would be perfectly functional.
Lets get this straight, virus writers do not perform a a valuable service. White Hat Hackers and others who find the flaws and then NOTIFY the authors perform a valuable service. There is nothing valuable about wreaking havoc and sucking badwidth. Most of these viruses cost companies millions.
Microsofts software is no more flawed, less secure, or buggy than any other code out there, but guess who has a big fat target on their chest? Why would you look for buffer overflows in the f-ing BeOS? We could write the most effective virus out there for OS2 Warp and about 200 people would give a rats ass.
There is no way to stop people from writing viruses, and there is no way to have a proactive virus scanner. No AV software can detect a virus it does not know about so everything is reactive. The best thing you can do is keep your PC's up to date with patches, visit sites like slashdot frequently, and do egress filtering. Watch your firewall logs!!
Just a quick response -- I registered just to make this response. Let's be clear -- there are no legitimate purposes that can be served by trojans, spyware, or viruses. If you don't ask me for my permission -- you have no right to go beyond given boundaries. End of Story.
It is a rationalization clear and simple to justify such conduct on grounds that 1) it exposes holes weakness and defect in Microsoft and other similar operating systems. (Makes as much sense as setting fire to a set of children's pajamas just to ensure that the manufacturers become responsible and make fire retardant pajamas. The means does not justify the ends.. . There is no justification to require innocent people and companies to suffer the ultimate damage that hackers, virus trojan spyware wreak.
The argument confuses the duty of someone to make the best product that can be made with the obligation with the obligation to respect another's right to be free of intrusion, harrassment, invasion of privacy.
Personally I have spent over the last 10 years trying to deal with the problems these kids/adults without a life or a conscience have wrecked. The last 24 hours were spent cleaning and restoring my son's computer because someone hijacked his internet face page and infected the computer with trojans. They managed to prevent access the internet -- disable spyhunter, nortong (Security) and Bullguard. I could not even get on line or through safemode to deal with the problem until about four hours ago.
If you think that the balancing about making Microsoft be a better company is worth the risk of damage caused by malacious script. Then think about my 16 year old son who for the last three days hasn't been able to complete his assignments before this semester. Or think about my daughter, a senior who lost her ability to finish her internet research or work with her school mate doing her video editing on the final project so that she can graduate.
This may be a vent --- and I may be preaching to the choir... But I am betting that hackers and trojan and viral writers have a need for silent glory and read these pages as well.
Any body who thinks virus writers should be set free should get there head examined the only reason windows has so many holes in it is because what he's trying to protect against is the open source invasion.That don't even excuse virus writers. Yes sasser was basicly harmless But any one remember msblaster that allbut crippled pc computers here in the U.S. repair shops were going full tilt. I live in a rural area we have maybe three shops in a 50 mile area and they were getting 30 to 40 computers a day all wit blaster on it nobody was smiling then. some of the clients that I repaired for worked in hospitals and they told me that the computers they had dealt with records, now think pjjohn would you like your records mixed up or lost because of virus removal! or better alot of equipment in hospitals run on computers how would you like it if your operation went south because the equipment malfunctioned because it got hit with a virus no knew about until it was too late. My thinking is simple if you think what's the worst that can happen beyond you getting caught you probably won't do it. If your that bored with your life go out and see how what you do effects everyone or better yet, volunterr somewhere do something worthwhile.
dude man said... the maker of the virus and any shouldnt get time. if componies like microsoft and any anti virus company really wanted to stop viruses, they would make some thing that reads whats being emailed and put on the internet. and i know that it is possible to do that because i was reading some thing saying that it is required for poeple in some country to have a device on there computer that records what they do.
Guess what? There is already something that does just that. It's called the TCPA. What your talking about is an invasion of privacy. What if someone comes to your house and arrests you because you put the word "Virus" in an e-mail to your grandmother? Don't punish the masses for the work of a few people. It's not fair.
Back the the TCPA. Here's how it works. PC makers would put an extra chip on the motherboard. This chip would basically have a 'blacklist' of files, and a 'whitelist' for programs. See, here's how it would work:
User turns on machine.
Processor activates
TCPA chip activates
User activates
Now back to the blacklist. This would be a list of documents and programs downloaded from servers that would be barred from use. That means that if a political leader had enough money, he could silence someone from speaking the truth about what he has done wrong. That means NO COMPUTERS ON EARTH WILL BE ABLE TO VIEW THAT DOCUMENT. But that's not the only problem. If the TCPA goes into effect, that means ALL FREE SOFTWARE WILL BE ILLEGAL! That means no more Linux, no more AVG free edition, no more free ANYTHING. The managers at the TCPA would charge thousands of dollars to put the program on the 'white list', or a list of programs and documents that are allowed to be viewed. That means that the people at BullGuard would have to pay thousands of dollars in order to have their program usable on ANY PC AT ALL. This would literally destroy every small business and end any sort of software research that involved any sort of generosity. That means no more of those flash animations that you get from your friends and family.
The TCPA can be summed up like this. If the TCPA goes into effect, the big companies like Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Dell, Compaq, HP, and any other big company on the TCPA train----Would control the global market. No more competition for them. It's all smooth riding. What does this mean to the average user? YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH WITH THE TCPA NO LONGER EXISTS. No more opinions about the current president. No more liking McDonald's over Burger King. And as for China----It would turn into a third world country. It has been a long time goal of Bill Gates to take down the chinese market. They're already switching their machines to Linux in fear of Bill Gates. This would not only ruin the world financially---But also politically. This may sound overrational to you, but it makes total sense. If the TCPA goes in effect, even in just the United States, that is the first spark of World War 3. The USA controls most of the software market. If the USA can charge $800 for Windows and $20,000 for a machine--Goodbye global economy--Nobody's going to let that happen. I can tell you what will happen if the TCPA goes in effect. First the entire UN will have a meeting without US attendance to talk over the situation. Then they will call up the US leader to convince him to end the TCPA. If he doesn't end it---It's an all out war with the United States. Not even our good friend England will help us. That means no more USA superpower. It's communism all the way. No more republic government, no more democracy, no more basic rights. Everything will be obliterated---Even the big companies.
but to a point I would agree, a chip like that would interfere with a lot of your freedoms but, start a war?, doubtful. The world is sick and tired of terrorism but it does not stop them from griping about W's being in Iraq. As an American I believe in the free enterprise system as well as small business and even big business knows it needs small business to feed them, always has, always will. no ww3 going to be over something stupid like the rest of the wars, have no fear. I will also agree that a chip like that would effctively stop open source Like Linux, I think that's why it's trying to go mainstream. I'm a fan Of Linux myself, and i've said it before,if Bill Gates would quit trying to write OS's that would exclude things like linux, and write more secure OS's he would be better off. That gentlemen is how you stop virus writers, get the whole geek community together and quit mollycoddeling the pukes that do that and write a more secure os like Linux.
but to a point I would agree, a chip like that would interfere with a lot of your freedoms but, start a war?, doubtful. The world is sick and tired of terrorism but it does not stop them from griping about W's being in Iraq. As an American I believe in the free enterprise system as well as small business and even big business knows it needs small business to feed them, always has, always will. no ww3 going to be over something stupid like the rest of the wars, have no fear. I will also agree that a chip like that would effctively stop open source Like Linux, I think that's why it's trying to go mainstream. I'm a fan Of Linux myself, and i've said it before,if Bill Gates would quit trying to write OS's that would exclude things like linux, and write more secure OS's he would be better off. That gentlemen is how you stop virus writers, get the whole geek community together and quit mollycoddeling the pukes that do that and write a more secure os like Linux.
Eagle
Actually it kind of makes sense. Europe and Asia have been out to get the USA for awhile now. They will take any chance they get, and the chance comes with the TCPA.
But I do see your point. It might be too overdone, but it is still a possibility.
if that were the case then why pray tell why would China go to something like Linux, I mean think about this, the nuclear research labs at los alamos use Linux on they're servers. So if our government labs use linux then and other countries use linux it does'nt leave room for they are out to get us does it?
couldn't resist, just couldn't figure how with 30 nations including China, Mexico, God only knows who else, how that could work. checking out that link though, would'nt want you misinformed.
I think I threw in a few logical points in there, but for the most part it was all from that website.
Don't think I just admitted I lied...I just simply said some of it didn't come from the site...It came from logical thinking (AKA connecting the dots?).
all said and done, the writer (or should i honour him by calling him an author), had had 14 days to write the malicious code, after he got to now of the same through microsoft's bullettin... all registered users too got the bullettin and if they had downloaded the patches and installed them, the damage would have been much less... imho, microsoft should distribute cd's containing the patch (if it is of a big size, to help persons like me who are on a dial-up 56k) to their registered users... if linux gets good support from the software companies and hardware developers, the day will soon come when microsoft will have to up it's ante, otherwise it will stand to lose millions like it did in thailand, where the government is actively supporting linux. over here, in india too, all the major companies and vital installations are using either linux or unix... opinions in this regard would be highly appreciated... cheers & sunshine... pupudada
p.s.: let us not forget, irrespective of being a juvenile or an adult, one has to be an extremely good programmer to develop these virii... inspite of the fact that there are tools (software) available on the net for making these malicious pieces of code.
but to a point I would agree, a chip like that would interfere with a lot of your freedoms but, start a war?, doubtful. The world is sick and tired of terrorism but it does not stop them from griping about W's being in Iraq. As an American I believe in the free enterprise system as well as small business and even big business knows it needs small business to feed them, always has, always will. no ww3 going to be over something stupid like the rest of the wars, have no fear. I will also agree that a chip like that would effctively stop open source Like Linux, I think that's why it's trying to go mainstream. I'm a fan Of Linux myself, and i've said it before,if Bill Gates would quit trying to write OS's that would exclude things like linux, and write more secure OS's he would be better off. That gentlemen is how you stop virus writers, get the whole geek community together and quit mollycoddeling the pukes that do that and write a more secure os like Linux.
Eagle
Actually it kind of makes sense. Europe and Asia have been out to get the USA for awhile now. They will take any chance they get, and the chance comes with the TCPA.
But I do see your point. It might be too overdone, but it is still a possibility.
fully agree, the first virus, `the brain' which used to affect floppy discs were developed in pakistan... not that i'm blaming them, but nowadays all countries have persons who either make viruses or do hacking... it's not regional... remember `metnick' (hope i got the surname right)
I believe the name was right but, let us remember the definition of hacker. A hacker is someone who goes looking into an operating system for the sole pourpose of making it work better and more efficiantly, not to write viral codes, or do malicious intent. the term for that is cracker, one who goes in with the intent to do serious damage, and harm to not only the system but to whomever else he can affect as well. I was taught by a self proclaimed hacker and that was the definition that came down from the days of the home brew club back in the 70's.
i fully agree with you, but i'm comparing these code writers of virurii with hackers who hack into a machine to dig out useful information like hacking into a bank's server (why don't they de-centralize them after office hours and put on real experts to monitor the workings during working hours). if you've studied the url's of most of the warezes (is that the right plural term?), you'll see that they are nested levels deep into servers that distantly do not belong to them... you'll not believe it, but i've once seen a warez in... believe it or not... (due apologies to ripley) one of microsoft's servers. as far as crackers (which is the actual term for the reverse coders) are concerned, they are a different breed all together... nowadays even they (just look at the .nfo files of current releases' cracks) write... `this is just a work of art, if you really like the software, please go and purchase it'... looking forward to your response, anyone interested in sharing a hot cup of tea with me??? take care, cheers & sunshine... pupudada
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the only reason windows has so many holes in it is because what he's trying to protect against is the open source invasion.That don't even excuse virus writers. Yes sasser was basicly harmless But any one remember msblaster that allbut crippled pc computers here in the U.S. repair shops were going full tilt. I live in a rural area we have maybe three shops in a 50 mile area and they were getting 30 to 40 computers a day all wit blaster on it nobody was smiling then. some of the clients that I repaired for worked in hospitals and they told me that the computers they had dealt with records, now think pjjohn would you like your records mixed up or lost because of virus removal! or better alot of equipment in hospitals run on computers how would you like it if your operation went south because the equipment malfunctioned because it got hit with a virus no knew about until it was too late. My thinking is simple if you think what's the worst that can happen beyond you getting caught you probably won't do it. If your that bored with your life go out and see how what you do effects everyone or better yet, volunterr somewhere do something worthwhile.
Rather radical huh xbot,
Hey xbot,
No prob Xbot just want to take alook see any how, didn't know there was anything like that mod chip out there.
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