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The Persistence of Hoax • The Registervar RegArticle = { id:31720, pf:0, ec:'', rating:{count:0,avg:0}, kw:[] };#sec-security a { font-weight: bold }#sub-sec-virus a { font-weight: bold }document.write(RegNIR('sec.antivirus'))google_ad_client="pub-6455808816405956";google_targeting="content";google_ad_channel='the-reg_misc';google_ad_output='js';google_max_num_ads='6';google_ad_type='text';google_language='en';google_encoding='utf8';google_safe='high';google_feedback='on';Skip to content
HardwareSoftwareMusic & MediaNetworksSecurityPublic SectorBusinessScienceOdds & SodsCrimeEnterprise SecurityAnti-VirusSpamIDSpywareCash ’n’ CarrionNewslettersFeedsJobsWhitepapers The Persistence of HoaxTrack this topic   Print storyVmyths - good ride while it lastedBy George Smith, SecurityFocus • Get more from this authorPosted in Anti-Virus, 14th July 2003 12:13 GMTVMware whitepaper - The business case for VirtualizationVmyths.com is fading into the sunset, while the virus hoaxes it steadfastly debunked seem to live on forever, writes SecurityFocus columnist George Smith."I received the e-mail this morning from someone who got it from the governor's office," came the tired complaint.Somewhere in the world, government workers in high place had fallen for the "Teddy Bear" hoax, a.k.a. "jdbgmgr.exe." Lemmings were heading for the cliff to delete the "virus," obeying the e-mail suggestions of the joker who wrote the trick. If one finds a file on the PC, anything cryptic-looking -- like a program with the stuffed toy for an icon, it must be a virus. Doubly so, if someone you know carries the news.No one would stop to think that since they do not know anything of the contents of their computer, they weren't in any position to distinguish what is good or bad, what should be removed or not.For months, even years, a wealth of information has existed on the net about Teddy Bear and still it comes on, wrote the correspondent.Why?Most people expect their computers to behave poorly. I do. Add to it a mystification on the true nature of computer viruses and fertile ground exists for manipulation.Plus folks just aren't naturally the critical thinkers they would like to assume themselves to be.In the work world where obedience to authority is the code everyone lives by, it's easy to just go along with the e-mail from someone superior, who must be, after all, superior in all things.Entire legions are trained in this by corporate, academic and bureaucratic rule of law. Officially, if not by the coffee machine, the CEO of Carcinogens Corp. is omniscient. The Dean of Gobble-Wallah Tech is a flawlessly smart man. And the assistant Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Purity -- she would never send out a mass e-mail warning if it weren't backed up with rock hard fact.Users of anti-virus programs began asking questions like: "Why doesn't my software detect 'Bud Frogs' or 'BuddyList?'"What isn't always spoken of are the many who just delete it silently on arrival without hitting the reply button to correct the mailer of the mess. They've reasoned it's not worth wasting the time to do so or that there is risk involved in such a process.There's no simple way to correct the fooled and there are often penalties for doing it."Bloor, you were insubordinate to me in company mail," replied Carcinogens' CEO coldly.Hoax KillingRob Rosenberger knew well the psycho-social mechanics of the virus hoax in the mid-90s. He was the first to set up an easily used, professional-looking archive documenting them -- a website which became popularly (or infamously, if you starred in its editorials) known as Vmyths.com round about 2000.By then, the archive had accumulated tens of thousands of cites, links and references from government agencies, computer advice functions, the media and the corporate west. This was thanks to people who needed a place where they could diplomatically send peers prone to mesmerization by GoodTimes or "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus.'"The compilation of hoax information was not y. It was tedious work and few were interested in it. For a while, the anti-virus industry viewed it as a waste of resources. Hoax pages were not something that could be pressed into service selling software.The narrow mindset changed as Vmyths picked up reputation and users of anti-virus programs began asking questions like: "Why doesn't my software detect 'Bud Frogs' or 'BuddyList?'"Indeed, what do you say when everyone knows it is the way of anti-virus software to miss new viruses until its next update? Hence the need for a-v pages which separate the real from the imagined.Hoax killing is still not without interesting challenges in 2003.It has and always will be a game of catch-up and no matter how much information one makes available, people have to be shown it again and again. But spam filters have become an unexpected and pitiless foe -- complicating the battle by their fiendishness.The worst are prone to killing all e-mail that contains any mention of virus hoaxes by name. Subsequently, Vmyths now finds that sending out hoax alerts to people who had requested them regularly results in thousands of bounces when, unknown to the requestor, their ISP spam filter mindlessly declares such a bulletin unlawful.So, Vmyths was a good ride while it lasted but it comes to an end when Rosenberger ships out for the Persian Gulf theatre of the war on terror tomorrow. Updates of the service will stop and there'll be no more hands-on debunking.I'll miss it, but as former Editor-at-Large for the site, I'm not unbiased.The archives will remain; others elsewhere might pull up some of the slack. Hoaxes will persist but those preyed upon by them will make it through.Let's wish that Rosenberger's duty is only as long as necessary to win his part of the war and that he return free of disease and with all pieces intact.George Smith is a Senior Fellow at GlobalSecurity.org, a defense affairs think tank and public information group. He also edits the Crypt Newsletter and has written extensively on viruses, the genesis of techno-legends and the impact of both on society.VMware whitepaper - The business case for VirtualizationWhitepapers Rethink virtualization in business termsRead about how HP and VMware can help you gain greater business advantages with virtualizion. The Business Case for VirtualizationReduce costs and increase agility with an integrated HP virtualization solution with VMware Implementing energy efficient data centersThis paper explains how to quantify the electricity savings and provides examples of methods that can greatly reduce electrical power consumption. Distribute the workload for greater efficiency and powerHP and VMware virtualization dynamically distribute capacity needs across available resources and simplify management, enabling better performance with a consolidated IT environment. HP and VMware take the cost and complexity out of ITCombat server sprawl with virtualization, which allow you to, in essence, transform hardware into software.Search more ResourcesMost readApple tells Mac users: Get anti-virusSamsung digital picture frame CD infected by virusChinese researchers inadvertently release IE7 exploit codeFacebook worm hijacks web searchApple anti-virus advice was nothing new $(function() { $('#microbite_col1').flash('/Design/graphics/flvplayer.swf', 9, 336, 92, { file: 'http://go.theregister.com/podcast/2009/01/06/microbite4.mp3', autostart: 'false', backcolor: '000000', frontcolor: 'ffffff', lightcolor: 'cc0000', screencolor:'cccccc', skin: '/Design/graphics/regskin_no_fs.swf', abouttext: 'The Register MediaPlayer, based on JW FLV Media Player', image: 'http://regmedia.co.uk/2009/01/07/microbite_336x60_ep4b.png'}, { allowfullscreen: 'false', id: 'single' }); });Win 7 beta puts fresh face on Vista More polish so you don't spitPopular WhitepapersAn improved architecture for high-efficiency, high-density data centersWaste not, want notBlind SQL InjectionAre Your Web Applications Vulnerable?Securing your Online Data Transfer with SSLA Guide to understanding SSL Certificates, how they operate and their application...The Register Guide to Extended ValidationA Primer on extended validation SSL certificates and the implications for consumers and businessesSearch Engine Link SpamRisks, Threats, SolutionServer Consolidation and ContainmentWith Virtual InfrastructureMacworld: The Works All our coverage in one place Sponsored linksHP 3G Notebooks - special pricing available now Microsoft® Visual Studio 2008 Don’t Miss Scareware mongers hitch free ride on Microsoft.com and othersAttack of the open redirects Home Office death list 'stops ID fraud'I impersonate dead people Boffin brings 'write once, run anywhere' to Cisco hijacksCurse of the ROMmon American Express bitten by XSS bugs (again)Card accounts still nakedBook ShopSend us News TipsThe Week’s HeadlinesThe Register ArchiveThe Top 20 Stories RegAd('leaderboard', 'reg.security.4159/antivirus', 'pos=top;dcopt=ist;sz=728x90', VCs);RegAd('mpu1', 'reg.security.4159/antivirus', 'pos=top;sz=336x280', VCs);RegAd('mpu2', 'reg.security.4159/antivirus', 'pos=btm;sz=336x280,160x600', VCs);RegAd('trailerboard', 'reg.security.4159/antivirus', 'pos=btm;sz=728x90', VCs);Channel RegisterRegister Hardware PrivacyAdvertise with UsCompany Info© Copyright 1998–2009_qacct="p-2eBUE6aI-a5qo";quantserve(); document.write(RegGA('UA-5556292-1')); |
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