The Microsoft Antivirus Reward Program
Hey All,
Please excuse the hypertext, but this came from LAN1s website, http://www.lan1.co.nz/default.aspx?p=snippet&story=1 , Fasinating...
The Microsoft Antivirus Reward Program
In an effort to help law enforcement agencies identify and bring to justice those who illegally release damaging worms, viruses, and other types of malicious code on the Internet, Microsoft has created the Microsoft® Antivirus Reward Program, initially funded with US$5 million. Through this program, Microsoft will offer monetary rewards to persons who provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching malicious viruses and worms on the Internet. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, in coordination with Interpol, will investigate leads that are provided through this program in order to identify and prosecute those responsible for such crimes that harm the private industry and the public.
$750,000 in Awards Currently Offered
Microsoft is offering three rewards under the Antivirus Rewards Program.
. The first reward, in the amount of US$250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the MSBlast.A worm (also known as Blaster). The worm was designed to prevent consumers from installing the latest software updates by attacking Microsoft's Windows® Update website, which provides updates to help users protect their computers against malicious attacks. . The second reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Sobig virus. This virus, the first variant of which was detected on January 10, 2003, attacked individual machines and sent itself to each e-mail address in the computer's contact list. The Sobig.B and Sobig.C variants of the virus made messages appear as if they had come from official Microsoft e-mail addresses. . The third reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Mydoom.B worm. Mydoom.B is a variant of the MyDoom.A worm, also known as the Novarg worm, which spread quickly to infect computers worldwide. The release of Mydoom.B triggered the first alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new National Cyber Alert System.
Guess it's cheaper to pay out rewards than it is to fix the vulnerabilities that make the exploits possible.
Jodi
On Tue, 2004-11-09 at 09:13, Lindsay Druett wrote:
Hey All,
Please excuse the hypertext, but this came from LAN1s website, http://www.lan1.co.nz/default.aspx?p=snippet&story=1 , Fasinating...
The Microsoft Antivirus Reward Program In an effort to help law enforcement agencies identify and bring to justice those who illegally release damaging worms, viruses, and other types of malicious code on the Internet, Microsoft has created the Microsoft® Antivirus Reward Program, initially funded with US$5 million. Through this program, Microsoft will offer monetary rewards to persons who provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching malicious viruses and worms on the Internet. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, in coordination with Interpol, will investigate leads that are provided through this program in order to identify and prosecute those responsible for such crimes that harm the private industry and the public.
$750,000 in Awards Currently Offered Microsoft is offering three rewards under the Antivirus Rewards Program.
• The first reward, in the amount of US$250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the MSBlast.A worm (also known as Blaster). The worm was designed to prevent consumers from installing the latest software updates by attacking Microsoft's Windows® Update website, which provides updates to help users protect their computers against malicious attacks. • The second reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Sobig virus. This virus, the first variant of which was detected on January 10, 2003, attacked individual machines and sent itself to each e-mail address in the computer's contact list. The Sobig.B and Sobig.C variants of the virus made messages appear as if they had come from official Microsoft e-mail addresses. • The third reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Mydoom.B worm. Mydoom.B is a variant of the MyDoom.A worm, also known as the Novarg worm, which spread quickly to infect computers worldwide. The release of Mydoom.B triggered the first alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new National Cyber Alert System.
wlug mailing list | wlug@list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
Sure, but if there's an unknown potential flaw in a window of your house, which causes it to break if tapped three times or somesuch, and a thief uses this to break in and steal all your stuff. Regardless of the fact that the window company may or may not be fixing the issue in future, would you make such snide comments if the police etc still hunted the thief and the window making company put up some incentive to assist this? I don't think so.
Not trying to defend MS here or anything like that, just that the whole "it's cool to bash microsoft without thinking about it, because we're linux people and therefore we're so much smarter/better than them" attitude grows tiresome at times.
Quoting Jodi Anderson jodi@waikato.ac.nz:
Guess it's cheaper to pay out rewards than it is to fix the vulnerabilities that make the exploits possible.
Jodi
On Tue, 2004-11-09 at 09:13, Lindsay Druett wrote:
Hey All,
Please excuse the hypertext, but this came from LAN1s website, http://www.lan1.co.nz/default.aspx?p=snippet&story=1 , Fasinating...
The Microsoft Antivirus Reward Program In an effort to help law enforcement agencies identify and bring to justice those who illegally release damaging worms, viruses, and other types of malicious code on the Internet, Microsoft has created the Microsoft® Antivirus Reward Program, initially funded with US$5 million. Through this program, Microsoft will offer monetary rewards to persons who provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching malicious viruses and worms on the Internet. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, in coordination with Interpol, will investigate leads that are provided through this program in order to identify and prosecute those responsible for such crimes that harm the private industry and the public.
$750,000 in Awards Currently Offered Microsoft is offering three rewards under the Antivirus Rewards Program.
⢠The first reward, in the amount of US$250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the MSBlast.A worm (also known as Blaster). The worm was designed to prevent consumers from installing the latest software updates by attacking Microsoft's Windows® Update website, which provides updates to help users protect their computers against malicious attacks. ⢠The second reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Sobig virus. This virus, the first variant of which was detected on January 10, 2003, attacked individual machines and sent itself to each e-mail address in the computer's contact list. The Sobig.B and Sobig.C variants of the virus made messages appear as if they had come from official Microsoft e-mail addresses. ⢠The third reward, in the amount of $250,000, is for information that results in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the Mydoom.B worm. Mydoom.B is a variant of the MyDoom.A worm, also known as the Novarg worm, which spread quickly to infect computers worldwide. The release of Mydoom.B triggered the first alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new National Cyber Alert System.
wlug mailing list | wlug@list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jodi W. Anderson, Mr (BA, A+, MCP) - Computer Systems Consultant Waikato University Library - Computing Operations Group Ph: +64 7 838 4323 email: jodi@waikato.ac.nz
"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before."
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux)
mQGiBEE7vXkRBADqdMs07cJuvCn02bG8FSR2iOW2V8M7KB0v5vnmkVI/DPsbbCxf dE23r/6ag1kYS8R8WvnYNUkjOoTKXslmLPFnq6+7Rp3K7g6X4dKyXknGThfai9KW kfdurINrR8FVKvIieidXNrAzl2ADquQ0WPtJCI1KbRb2kL3/tW6AumRS5wCg5fmM kW6Ml3RRfKGqSBRCOfVl7P0D/iCrQjXTskuT0mU/7ZJCQlP09PO5SDoe1vUX2tiB WlbmDnm4t46V1QATybUKM/V8J5rVOsigO/Nv/+9W8VC0KhBs8BR1lVT3jFy91pXr k9MhhjDjb6nhpeM771jdpOFYt+g+Lq/Q5MXKoAIxrEoycKM3JoI/yPwixoJWZlgx CdsvBADRnk/JAPNsWrjfCxLXcpE9b6x/pINncoCK+NKf16ONfw5ArkdFhJdWeJss nOvfEcBzY2RdJOJ5mQA8XnXoeGWrreT5TTUMsvoCF5/UJ1Zuuu0L8hOw0DKg9W0m QwbA7qkDZC9lMqCLmp6YreJydJAr2cp7U0p/d1Fpwd/lhH56LLQtSm9kaSBBbmRl cnNvbiAoV29yayBLZXkpIDxqb2RpQHdhaWthdG8uYWMubno+iF4EExECAB4FAkE7 vXkCGwMGCwkIBwMCAxUCAwMWAgECHgECF4AACgkQXzBud+/fPrsh2gCg4vHHtmbV R9rO8q5c+rbkAalwFmkAoJAAApKfPVHveqHJjVxNGfMXMlCAuQENBEE7vXsQBACf gUZY022ewIUzn3Zi4tcI7H2RXBEbYArtqXtuKdsMZm4N6TygINA4R5KsXF9xe3g7 VNioVVlgbA4h7L4xgt4TOjIxeZSEFuhQKAZ/isqGV9njeCJHhsX75jT0TcacQtNJ JST5IO70Ll6f1j8ZujZlNvUMz5lUTBIKR3XZ1+XlzwADBQQAg03LfdqvmDV1I9jD w7mNJfomW2FBE6Pt0h0oCocEecl4K86fySrjxzFoZW/NEcchvkWHG4Fd/Vr4fSRe aPfABzmFnJCN0YprOvv1cJHnckkSRpvGkHNmfcOH2mC+Tf/GGyi2n6wCe6bk/030 D/qYX3zBxR3SyHJvj5kRYBSt1ayISQQYEQIACQUCQTu9ewIbDAAKCRBfMG53798+ u7AWAKDhkU/ZlKYC+XkkHpAPs7Brf5c9PACgu9GBbiQW834G0lEHzEVYib1mgIM= =tr0I -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Ok I was going to sit this one out but, this is not a Microsoft issue, its bigger than that, and you have missed the bigger issue.
Orion Edwards wrote:
Sure, but if there's an unknown potential flaw in a window of your house, which causes it to break if tapped three times or somesuch, and a thief uses this to break in and steal all your stuff.
But since only ABlast, MSBlast and the variants are being sought ... All old known issues. the argument falls down.
Its not about an unknown flaw, but a well known one. Lets reverse the argument a second. Suppose the same window is in a car, and on impact breaks the glass into pieces that cause chards to punch holes through everyone in the back seat. Should we post a reward to convict any driver who collides with that model of car, or who in any other way causes the glass to be broken. ?
Regardless of the fact that the window company may or may not be fixing the issue in future, would you make such snide comments if the police etc still hunted the thief and the window making company put up some incentive to assist this? I don't think so.
Sure Governments and the police should help, personally I would rather see the money spent helping train police in how to find such vermin, Esp here where the laws are not enforced as 1, we dont have the police numbers, 2. The police lack the skills to deal with such issues, 3. There is no longer a legal distinction between having the tools, or using them for good or bad uses. Actions such as this do not help address the real issues of damage caused by exploits, rather ... to use your issue, anyone who has the tool to tap the windows should be jailed, even if they are a builder. Look at the spam issue, 90% is spoofed, this is a crime already. Its called "using a document for pecuniary advantage" or "Fraud" But if you complain, you will be told that the issue is complex, its probably outside NZ jurisdiction, and the police do not have the resources to look into it. So nothing happens, and the spammers are reassured that they can get away with it, so they continue.
Not trying to defend MS here or anything like that, just that the whole "it's cool to bash microsoft without thinking about it, because we're linux people and therefore we're so much smarter/better than them" attitude grows tiresome at times.
I think the comment at the beginning was correct. This is a know issue, and should be fixed. If Microsoft really were serious about a fix, they could make the fix available to every PC store and ENCOURAGE them to make a cd like the DSE Open Office CD with all the fixes on it, then you get a free CD that fixes the windows. or in our illustration, educate the home owners with a voucher, that allows them to get a builder in and get the window replaced without any added cost to the homeowner.
The issue is not should you do both of course you should do both, but this is actually targeting the wrong issue. ....... Just replace the defective glass. It would be much better for the homeowner/pc user.
And if Linux or Open Office were being as stupid, I would happily slam them too. This is a headline grabber designed to shift the blame away from the window maker and blame someone else.
Quoting Gavin Denby redhat@ihug.co.nz:
Its not about an unknown flaw, but a well known one. Lets reverse the argument a second. Suppose the same window is in a car, and on impact breaks the glass into pieces that cause chards to punch holes through everyone in the back seat. Should we post a reward to convict any driver who collides with that model of car, or who in any other way causes the glass to be broken. ?
Your analogy here does not hold. In order for it to do so you'd have to rephrase it as "Should we post a reward to convict people who deploy robots at each set of traffic lights which are solely designed to break the glass in people's cars." In which case the answer is quite obviously yes.
At any rate, this isn't going anywhere, It wasn't my intention to troll and I apologise.
Cheers, Orion.
Not trying to defend MS here or anything like that, just that the whole "it's cool to bash microsoft without thinking about it, because we're linux people and therefore we're so much smarter/better than them" attitude grows tiresome at times.
Actually I've only been a linux person for around 5yrs. Prior to that most of my professional PC work has been with MS products going back to DOS 2.11 and I've been bitching about MS for not much less than that. Not just about their products either but their attitude over the years
I don't like MS, not because I'm a linux user, but because I've been a computing professional for a long time
Jodi
Actually I've only been a linux person for around 5yrs. Prior to that most of my professional PC work has been with MS products going back to DOS 2.11 and I've been bitching about MS for not much less than that. Not just about their products either but their attitude over the years
I don't like MS, not because I'm a linux user, but because I've been a computing professional for a long time
I would agree with that. I'm in the same camp. Dealt with PC's for years. Hate MS because it has some shoddy OS products (the apps aren't too bad) and nasty nasty business practices. But hey, 8 years ago I discovered a much more fun alternative.... Linux... :)
Regards
participants (5)
-
Gavin Denby -
Jodi Anderson -
Lindsay Druett -
Oliver Jones -
Orion Edwards