Re: No need for AV tools on Linux, eh?

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On 02/10/2011 03:06 PM, jdow wrote:
> Apparently it is active in the wild now. If a machine is not patched to
> the hilt, which Fedora discourages with updates that make the machine
> unusable once and awhile and upgrades needed several times a year it
> seems, you have problems.
>
> It is an exploit. It attacks Linux machines. That's proof that such
> things exist. If they exist then zero day exploits also exist that
> just have not been discovered yet. Safe is better than sorry.
>
> {^_-}
> On 2011/02/10 13:49, Fernando Cassia wrote:
>> On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 6:06 PM, jdow<jdow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>   wrote:
>>> heads up:
>>>
>>> if case you are using spamassassin milter:
>>>
>>> active exploits going on.
>>>
>>> <http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2010/Mar/140>
>>> <http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/38578>
>> Are you using a time machine to report news, from the past? look at the dates...
>>
>> Published:  	 Mar 07 2010 12:00AM
>> Updated: 	Apr 27 2010 02:22PM
>>
>> FC

Such things have been going on against UNIX and then Linux machines for 
many many years.

The fact of a new attack vector neither diminishes security nor does it 
need to cause a great alarm.

Any administrator worth his salt will read the CERT advisories when they 
come out.  He/she will also test updates in a closed test environment 
for capabilities before pushing it to production.

Also, a good administrator already knows that 'Any compute platform 
connected to a network is vulnerable.' and 'Even the most secure systems 
are vulnerable if they can be accessed.'

There is little use for systems that cannot be accessed, and so a good 
administrator is aware.

The real issue is two fold:

1. The vast number of compute systems across the Internet that are not 
managed at all.

2. The inability of platform creators to consider security as a priority.


Personally, the more security a system has, the more that security 
interferes with the operation and maintenance of the system, thus by its 
very nature it encourages users to defeat any security measures they 
encounter in order to enable or restore desired functionality.

These things are not operating system dependent.  They are the nature of 
all computing devices, from automobile engine tuning, to cell phone 
rooting.  From disabling SELinux in order to use an apache plugin or 
module, to leaving mysql open to the Internet so that you can use 
phpMysqlAdmin from home.

And the list goes on and on.  All of those activities are FAR more 
concerning than another email exploit.


Good Luck
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