botnetWorks - Call for experimental botnet beta testers

[FromTheRafters]

@news.eternal-september.org:


It's not malicious for stealing cpu cycles alone. It's considered
malicious
because it makes unwanted changes to other aspects of the system,
sometimes
with dire results; and not intended by the author.

***
Are you saying they (viruses) are considered malicious because they tend
to be buggy?
***

Obviously this applies to viruses, and not this fellows botnet for
sale...

***
I was just trying to show that the definition (Turing machine
computational model) of "virus" is less like "malware" and more like
"neutral" as in more like an automated copy/paste operation performed on
itself. Sure, if a contemporary virus infects programs that the user
doesn't want infected, it is malware (makes unwanted modifications). The
term "virus" does not mean "malware" while the term "botnet" apparently
does - else they would be called "distributed computing networks". So
botnet will always have a negative connotation, by definition (just as
Pluto will never again be a planet, by definition).
***

 

[Dustin Cook]

***
Are you saying they (viruses) are considered malicious because they
tend to be buggy?
***

No. Not all viruses are really that buggy, many are, but not all. It's
malicious because it makes unauthorized changes to a program. The
changes while necessary for the viruses own survival can result in
damage to the host executable or boot sector. Sometimes it's buggy code
in the virus completely to blame for this, and other times it's just a
bad call for the virus; it ran into an oddball executable that isn't
cool with the necessary patching.

A benign virus is malicious because of these unintended side effects.

***
I was just trying to show that the definition (Turing machine
computational model) of "virus" is less like "malware" and more like
"neutral" as in more like an automated copy/paste operation performed
on itself. Sure, if a contemporary virus infects programs that the

I've always thought of file infectors as modified file copying programs.
Instead of copying source to target directly, they insert themselves in
some form into the stream and wind up being one with the target.

user doesn't want infected, it is malware (makes unwanted
modifications). The term "virus" does not mean "malware" while the
term "botnet" apparently does - else they would be called "distributed
computing networks". So botnet will always have a negative
connotation, by definition (just as Pluto will never again be a
planet, by definition). ***

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[FromTheRafters]

No. Not all viruses are really that buggy, many are, but not all. It's
malicious because it makes unauthorized changes to a program.

Fred Cohen's demonstration virus always asked for permission to infect.
So did his theoretical "compression virus". It is not out to steal
computing power to accomplish some malicious task. It is still a virus
(even of the type that must "infect" by definition - to exclude
diskcopy).

The
changes while necessary for the viruses own survival can result in
damage to the host executable or boot sector. Sometimes it's buggy
code
in the virus completely to blame for this, and other times it's just a
bad call for the virus; it ran into an oddball executable that isn't
cool with the necessary patching.

A benign virus is malicious because of these unintended side effects.

Any program can be buggy, it doesn't make them malicious. Why must it be
for viruses?
(pity the poor, much maligned, code known as a computer virus) )

[...]

I've always thought of file infectors as modified file copying
programs.
Instead of copying source to target directly, they insert themselves
in
some form into the stream and wind up being one with the target.

Like "The Fly"? )

 

[Jim]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:23:41 -0400, za fORGER wrote:

I'm dreadfully sorry about the intrusion chaps. I asked Ari for 'proof'
regarding a certain statement, and now he's wet himself, and having a fit.

Ces't la vie. <shrug>

Your French is even worse than your English.