Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Terrorist on Film Tech????

This is topic Terrorist on Film Tech???? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 09-23-2001, 02:20 PM:

In the past week or so there have been a number of discussions in the Film Tech pages about the WTC massacre. During that time I have voiced my opinions about various things under various topics. It seems as though one of us is not satisfied with simply arguing the issues. In one day I got two virus laden emails. Normally I would just shrug it off. These things happen. However the second virus was sent anonymously. This is quite uncommon and is to me highly suspect. Shortly there after I received a note saying that I had been sent an e-greeting card. Upon going to the site to retrieve the card, I got a note from the web host that said that the site had been shut down by him(?) and it would not be allowed back up. Further if anyone had received any kind of greeting card from that site they should delete it and any files that it contained or were down loaded. This evidence leads me to believe that there is a "terrorist" (if you will) on the Film Tech Forums. This person(s) apparently is not satisfied with simple discussion(s) nor apparently do they believe in freedom of speech unless it agrees with their personal beliefs. What ever their intention was, I have been unaffected. My views have not and will not change, nor will I spend any time other than the time to compose this warning to others, trying to find out who did it. But I doubt there is anyone (except the perpetrator) who will not agree that this type of behavior is pretty pathetic. This note is just a reminder to those who post on Film Tech that there are those who will resort to this type of behavior even here on this forum, and all who voice their views should remain on guard and vigilant against terrorism in any form.

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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 09-23-2001, 02:59 PM:

It's not just film-tech. Every forum/chat site I've checked during the past two weeks has had significantly increased hostility among members. There is something about the type of tragedy we had, with the mixed opinions and emotions thrown in, that tends to amplify people's emotions when responding and makes personal attacks worse everywhere. This is happening on normally peaceful USENET groups I read, as well as on WWW forum sites that are normally fun and peaceful. I think it will pass soon, though.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 09-23-2001, 03:25 PM:

In the last week I have recieved 3 infected emails from closed hotmail or yahoo email accounts. I think this is probably a common problem with a comercial list being circulated of email address that has gone astray

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-23-2001, 06:06 PM:

There is a new worm going around, called NIMDA. One guy I know (who works in Fairfax Virginia) has been spending all weekend taking preventive measures and/or disinfecting nearly 10,000 computers. Greg and Gordon's case may be isolated, but this worm spreads itself.

Non-members can't participate in the forum, but anyone can read it. I'm surprised I haven't gotten viruses from TES

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-23-2001, 06:12 PM:

I just got done fdisking and reloading Windows ME on my computer at home. We have ME on just about every computer at work and it seems to be more robust and more tolerant of viruses than other OS's do. The computer also runs faster for some reason (according to SiSoft Sandra).Fortunately I didn't loose anything. When things start acting wierd I save all the files I need to and then re do the drive. All important stuff is stored on two other mirrored drives anyway. All is well now.
Mark @ GTS

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 09-23-2001, 06:15 PM:

There is opinions voiced that one should reformat a drive and do a clean install every year to keep a system in top form

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-23-2001, 10:02 PM:

Even I, here at WebTV, have gotten over 15 of those "Hi, how's it going? emails with attachments in the last 3 days.

One of them had an exact message that I recognized, but I didn't open it since I didn't know the sender. WebTV has told me that viruses can't be loaded into my system, but I wont take any chances.

I think that this might be just the tip if the iceberg.

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 09-23-2001, 11:00 PM:

I heard a report on NIMDA on TechTV. The danger of this virus is that you don't have open attachnments, necessarily, to become infected. By just visiting an infected site, the virus can infiltrate your system.

The show I was watching (The Screen Savers) recomended that users of Windows platforms use Windows update to patch the problem.
Or goto www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com to download the patch.
The patch is 7mb, but very valuable.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-24-2001, 12:34 AM:

I think I'll write a virus or worm that affects WebTV users (for Bruce) and BeOS users, since they probably feel lonely. Maybe I'll also make it infect obsolete OS's like NeXTStep as well.

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 09-24-2001, 02:54 AM:

I too have received umpteen viral emails, and also lately I've noticed that a lot of web sites are infected with something called Java JC Exploitaion virus. I run Norton AntiVirus set to scan all files, and it picks that one up several times a day.

Greg you are being overly paranoid, I watched that thread closely, and don't necessarily agree with all of you or others opinions. Does that make me a terrorist??

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-24-2001, 03:00 AM:

I too got the e-greeting card and a message from an anonymous address, both last Thursday, which was detected by Norton Antivirus as being infected with W32/Magistr.b@MM virus. I have two e-mail addresses - one I use to subscribe to listservs (which is also the address on my entry in this board) and another which is purely personal and doesn't get given to anyone who might pass it into the hands of spam e-mailers.

When I went to the e-greeting card page it tried to run a VBS script. I've blocked these on Internet Explorer and refused to let that one run, so if it did contain any nasty code I think I've avoided it.

Both suspect e-mails went to my 'public' address. A lot of people have that address, but given that Greg received an identical set of messages this would seem to indicate that something funny is going on.

Either that or 14 year-old Andrew Wotshisface is up to his old tricks again...

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 09-24-2001, 07:56 AM:

I feel left out.

Nobody sends me virus emails. Since I read my email with Agent, which is text only, it wouldn't make any difference. I'm much more concerned with java and "improved" html and how they apparently doesn't stay in the sandbox. Unless I'm visiting a trusted site, I now surf with java off, or through anonymizer.

Greg, sorry to hear you are having problems with emailed viruses. We might disagree strongly in our views, but I can't see myself or anyone else who is trying to suggest tolerant viewpoints doing something so intolerant and agressive. However, you do make a good point about watching out for personal terrorism, and I'll be on the lookout for evidence of it.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 09-24-2001, 09:02 AM:

"I watched that thread closely, and don't necessarily agree with all of you or others opinions. Does that make me a terrorist??"

Only if you engage in terrorist activities. Disagreement is the norm, you are entitled to disagree and voice that dissension. Freedom of speech is one of the building blocks of our nations greatness.

as far as being paranoid, you're right I am. But, as I understand the MO of viruses and e-mail terrorists the idea is to make the virus look as though it came from someone you know. An anonymous email with attached virus would not seem to fit with that and might suggest deliberate intent. Also a greeting card sent specifically to someone with attached virus....well that's getting a bit personal. But you are right, it could be a coincidence

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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-24-2001, 10:02 AM:

Joe:

If you are writing a program to kill WebTV users, its too late. MSN-TV that now handles WebTV has beat you to it!

I am working on a newer computer RIGHT NOW and will have it going and online soon.

I take all these viruses seriously. This is another form of terrorism to me. These people that write these shit virus programs and send them out to others are equally as guilty as the ones that pass them on knowingly.

Something that bothers me is that I, too have multiple email addresses. The one that I use only for family has been spammed several times in the last few days. There are only 5 people with this address, or, so I thought...

The one that I use for all the newsgroups, etc, is loaded with spam.

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 09-24-2001, 10:47 AM:

I still read my email on a UNIX machine before I use Outlook to download it to a PC. When looking at the messages on the UNIX machine, I go ahead and delete any messages that are junk, and then only download the messages that have attachments (that are work-related or expected) after filtering them in this way.

The "Mail" command on UNIX knows nothing about MIME attachments, so there is no way to get a virus or to have anything malicious happen if this type of message filtering is done, unless someone I work with sends a document as an attachment and doesn't know it's infected.

I've gotten plenty of email virus messages, but they've gone straight to the bit-bucket before having a chance to get to my PC.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 09-24-2001, 11:35 AM:

Is tht Linux or real unix. I've been wanting to set up a Linux machine for some time

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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 09-24-2001, 12:47 PM:

quote:

Is that Linux or real unix. I've been wanting to set up a Linux machine for some time

It doesn't matter. SGI, Sun, DEC, or Linux PCs will do. It's hard to call anything "real UNIX", since every UNIX workstation vendor had their own version of UNIX, anyway.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 09-24-2001, 05:01 PM:

More wannabe terrorists- From yahoo...

Computer security experts on Monday warned of a new virus that deletes files while masquerading as a program that will allow people to vote on whether the United States should go to war over the Sept. 11 hijacker attacks.

The ``Vote Virus'', which so far is not wide spread, circulates via e-mail to users of Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook e-mail program, said Simon Perry, vice president of security solutions at Computer Associates International Inc.

The virus, punctuated by strange grammar and a mix of lower- and upper-case letters, appears with the subject line: ''Peace between America and Islam!'' and the body of the e-mail reads: ``Hi. Is it a war against America or Islam!? Let's vote to live in peace!'' Perry and other experts said.

When the attachment entitled ``WTC.exe'' is opened, the virus tries to delete all the files on the computer's hard drive and sends copies of the e-mail to every address listed in the computer's address book, he said.

The virus also defaces any Web pages that are hosted by an infected computer to read: ``America ... few days will show you what we can do!!! It's our turn ))) ZaCker is so sorry for you,'' according to Perry.

In addition the virus, which is a worm because of its self-propagation capabilities, deletes the Windows directory files, tries to download a ``backdoor'' on the computer and unsuccessfully attempts to reformat the system, said Vincent Gullotto, senior research director of Network Associates Inc.'s Antivirus Response Team. A ``backdoor'' would enable someone to get remote access to the computer without permission.

The virus also can delete antivirus software on the computer, according to Vincent Weafer, director of Symantec Corp.'s Antivirus Research Center.

---end quote

Ya gotta admire the idiocy of some crackers. Deface a web page hosted on a computer, then try to install a backdoor, then try to erase everything you just tried to do. Yep, that sure is smart.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-24-2001, 06:18 PM:

What's the difference between Outlook and Outlook Express? Should I care?

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 09-24-2001, 06:34 PM:

Basically, Outlook is the "professional" version (packaged with MS Office) and uses a mail server to store emails, etc., and can also perform calendar functions like scheduling meetings and such between multiple users on the server. Outlook Express is packaged (free) with MSIE and is an email and newsreader. OE downloads the emails from your ISP's mail server to the local drive.

Outlook's popularity and its use of a central server is why virus writers like it so much...

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 09-24-2001, 07:39 PM:

I've been tracking the number of Windows viruses since February. There has been a RAPID increase since the middle of June. From Mid-February to Mid-June, the list grew by about 1000, or about 250 per month. Since June, the list has grown by almost 5000, or over 1600 per month. Last week, the virus definitions were updated almost every day.(This is using Norton Antivirus as a source.)

I didn't get one of the greeting cards, but I got one of the e-mails with the readme.exe virus attached. Fortunately, I had my protections up, so I was able to get rid of it immediately.

I recommend using UPDATED virus protections, and by that, I mean checking at LEAST 2 times per week. I also highly recommend a piece of software called PEST PATROL from www.safersite.com. This protects from over 26,000 "pests" which are not viruses but spyware and other bad things. Corporate license is $29.95...individual for $19.95. Updates are free. This thing found some VERY nasty spyware on my machine that I didn't even know I had! I highly recommend this software (and I have no affiliation with the company in any way.)

We must remember here that the total number of viruses in the Macintosh world is less than 100.

Mark Lensenmayer

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-24-2001, 10:04 PM:

Virus problems are one of the reasons why I haven't been around lately. My computer didn't get infected (knock on wood), but I have spent several evenings working on my friends' machines getting their problems solved. On top of that, Southwestern Bell has had all kinds of problems with their DSL network throughout Texas and Oklahoma, but that is an entirely different rant.

Various strains of the Magistr virus are circulating like crazy. There had been one hoax about the "sulfnbk.exe" file, which is found in the C:\Windows\Command folder. That's actually a real file that is vital to a Windows installation. But since then some strains of the Magistr virus are found in files attached to e-mails with the same "sulfnbk.exe" file name. Beware of others such as "New_Napster_Site.exe". Well, just don't open any attached file at all unless you know for sure what it is, especially any .exe or .doc.pif file.

The Magistr virus is usually pretty easy to fix, if you find it early enough on your machine (before it starts making your icons run away from your pointer and popping up dialog boxes that say "you are a shithead"). Most anti-viral sites and SARC will offer instructions on removal --which should be followed to the letter. Some fixes will toast your current browser installation. Others might cause you to have to reinstall your OS. In some cases, reformatting your hard drive may not be enough. Some viruses are actually able to flash your BIOS chip on the motherboard, either to infect the BIOS ROM or just to make your motherboard unbootable.

I had a call from a friend up in Tulsa who works at a sign shop there. Their entire computer network got taken down by a virus last week. I forget the name of it, but it replicated itself thousands upon thousands of times over on each machine. Every computer on the network had to have its hard drive FDISKed and reformatted. Luckily for them they at least backed up their artwork data.

Running the latest version of virus protection software, be it McAfee, Norton Anti-Virus or something else is a good idea. It is even better to update the DAT files and run a full system scan at least once a week. But that alone is not enough.

Every computer connected to the Internet, especially any Broadband type, has to use a Firewall of some sort. For those who might not know why they need a firewall, here's the point: monitoring which e-mails you open and which discs you use will not protect you. Some scumbag can sniff into your computer without you knowing it and plant some form of malware right in your computer's start up routine and get your machine infected that way. A firewall will monitor what data packets come in and out of your computers ports and offer a much better form of security than just some AntiVirus watchdogging.

Hardware firewalls are good. Software Firewalls are better than nothing. Anyone can download a copy of Zone Alarm off the Internet for free. Black Ice is arguably one of the best software firewalls, but that one you have to buy. Zone Alarm is pretty nice. It warns you when someone is pinging your computer and gives various warnings to the types of access attempts made. It will provide a return IP on where request is originating. This won't catch every cracker out there, but someone's repeated pings on your machine can be stopped at that IP point, via that IP's service provider. I got my ISP's abuse department all over some fellow at the University of Dayton just last week when he tried over 100 times to get access to my machine. I just kept track of the warnings log and e-mailed it over as proof of the attack attempt. Pretty good app to have, especially when it is free.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-24-2001, 11:40 PM:

Tonight, the company where I now work had its computer hacked. When the tech tried to re-boot, it came up with a screen that said "we have taken over" all over it. He eventually got it back up and running using some back-up discs, etc, but, I never got my equipment running again, so they sent me home early.

This is creepy. It almost makes me not want to go online with Bellsouth.com.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 10-04-2001, 09:19 AM:

Virus alert
Freddy Van der Elst (a.seven.a@ntlworld.com) has a computer that is sending out viruses of different types either by design or accident. I got two this morning one entitled
"lezing kris 030401"
another was
"ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER SCORSESE PALMA APRIL 1999"

Don't open these, they are two differnt types of viruses

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Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/