Edit: I now believe that Blackall.jpg doesn't exist, in which case the Blackall.htm file that my browser offers to save is really just the Grey Nomads home page.
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 08:52:11 AM
03_Troopy said
08:41 AM Feb 23, 2016
Santa wrote:
Linux is simply not a practical solution for most users.
That link is 7 years old Santa, and to be honest, most of the reasons they give simply point out that if you are a very slow at learning, then Linux probably won't suit you. They forgot to add that if you fall into this category, you'd be better off with an Apple product anyway...
Been using Linux Mint 17 for about a year now and although I do have a windows 8.1 machine, it very rarely gets switched on these days. My 9 year old laptop runs so much faster on Linux than my 12 month old windows laptop.
If you want to search, you can find many links to articles for either end of the argument.
-- Edited by 03_Troopy on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 09:01:00 AM
dorian said
09:50 AM Feb 23, 2016
I edited out the "redirect code" in the "200x100.gif" file and launched it in OffByOne (a browser that does not support Javascript). The result was the Grey Nomads home page.
I notice that the current version of the page we are looking at no longer has the hidden ad section. I wonder what the web designer had in mind.
Edit:
Here are the original images (from the WayBack Machine):
I'm now doubting that the 200x100.gif file really was the source of the AV alert. I suspect this GIF had already been deleted, in which case I would have saved the home page and submitted it to VirusTotal rather than the image file. This in turn would suggest that the home page was "infected" rather than a non-existent GIF.
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 11:22:08 AM
Webmaster said
11:22 AM Feb 23, 2016
Just to clarify that the Grey Nomads website has been thoroughly checked over by an internet security company, and will be monitored and scanned on a daily basis to check for unusual activity. In terms of the code in the header of the forum, that was old code relating to adverts that I have now taken down. There was nothing sinister in that code but I have now tidied it up. I believe the ‘re-direct’ Dorian is referring to is the code that normally takes visitors who click on the logo in the banner to our website. The banner was offline due to an unrelated issue, but is now fixed. Again, there is nothing sinister in that coding. We have taken all possible steps to ensure that you are all able to enjoy the website and forum without problems, and hope you will continue to do so.
-- Edited by Webmaster on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 11:50:37 AM
Santa said
11:57 AM Feb 23, 2016
03_Troopy wrote:
If you want to search, you can find many links to articles for either end of the argument.
-- Edited by 03_Troopy on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 09:01:00 AM
I agree, it's easy to cherry pick and come up with a counter argument.
I've been running Windows since 95, admittedly I've had the odd hiccup, however over all my experience has been good.
My feeling is the operating system debate is a little like the GM Ford thing, in the end both will get you to your destination, one may well be superior to the other but owners of either brand won't give an inch.
My wife is an Apple user, graphics are good but I find W10 more intuitive and much easier to navigate, probably because I know my way around the Windows platform and see no good reason to change.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
-- Edited by Santa on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 04:46:56 PM
Sharke said
03:57 PM Feb 23, 2016
Deleted by Sharke
-- Edited by Sharke on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 08:06:07 PM
Santa said
04:45 PM Feb 23, 2016
Sharke wrote:
Santa
The article you refer to was written in 2009. Linux has improved leaps and bounds since then. My usual response to this is show me something you use in windows and i will show you the equivelant in linux. the last count there was over 65 different versions of the linux operating system.
Cheers
Jeff
G'Day Jeff,
I understand the enthusiasm for the OS you use, quite understandable, if you read through my reply to Troopy a couple of posts back I think I have made myself pretty clear, Windows has served me well for over twenty years and continues to do so, I see no logical reason to change.
Computers are not a hobby for me, my prime use is for Technical Analysis of the stock market, I have my PC's fine tuned for this task, my charting and analytical program of choice is Metastock http://traderplus.com.au/software-review-metastock-11/ I'm sure Linux has compatible charting software however I doubt it would even come close to Metastock.
Linux is your OS of choice, Windows is mine, vive la difference.
dorian said
06:15 PM Feb 23, 2016
03_Troopy wrote:
Been using Linux Mint 17 for about a year now ...
Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint on February 20th!
We were exposed to an intrusion today. It was brief and it shouldn't impact many people, but if it impacts you, it's very important you read the information below.
What happened?
Hackers made a modified Linux Mint ISO, with a backdoor in it, and managed to hack our website to point to it.
Does this affect you?
As far as we know, the only compromised edition was Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon edition.
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 06:29:10 PM
03_Troopy said
06:27 PM Feb 23, 2016
dorian wrote:
03_Troopy wrote:
Been using Linux Mint 17 for about a year now ...
Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint on February 20th!
We were exposed to an intrusion today. It was brief and it shouldn't impact many people, but if it impacts you, it's very important you read the information below.
What happened?
Hackers made a modified Linux Mint ISO, with a backdoor in it, and managed to hack our website to point to it.
Does this affect you?
As far as we know, the only compromised edition was Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon edition.
Yeah I know Dorian, but I downloaded the original iso a year ago. Santa also posted about it Read here
But, any website can be hacked, just a little bit surprised the Linux Mint guys were a tad slack. Actually the site was also hacked on the 28 Jan 16, and a forum members details list stolen.
Desert Dweller said
06:51 PM Feb 23, 2016
If Cindy the Webmaster has posted the ALL CLEAR, that's good enough for us! Let's get back to the enjoyment rather than technical arguments of virus intrusion.
03_Troopy said
08:00 PM Feb 23, 2016
Desert Dweller wrote:
If Cindy the Webmaster has posted the ALL CLEAR, that's good enough for us! Let's get back to the enjoyment rather than technical arguments of virus intrusion.
If it's above your head, don't read it... simple eh?
Sharke said
08:04 PM Feb 23, 2016
The article you refer to is dated 2009 Linux has improved greatly since then. I have installed Linux on many friends computers and have never been unable to get them fully operational,
Cheers
Jeff
Santa said
08:31 PM Feb 23, 2016
Sharke wrote:
Deleted by Sharke
-- Edited by Sharke on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 08:06:07 PM
Interesting deletion Jeff fortunately your post survives in my reply quoting it.
For those who would like the full context here is your original with my reply.
Sharke wrote:
Santa
The article you refer to was written in 2009. Linux has improved leaps and bounds since then. My usual response to this is show me something you use in windows and i will show you the equivelant in linux. the last count there was over 65 different versions of the linux operating system.
Cheers
Jeff
G'Day Jeff,
I understand the enthusiasm for the OS you use, quite understandable, if you read through my reply to Troopy a couple of posts back I think I have made myself pretty clear, Windows has served me well for over twenty years and continues to do so, I see no logical reason to change.
Computers are not a hobby for me, my prime use is for Technical Analysis of the stock market, I have my PC's fine tuned for this task, my charting and analytical program of choice is Metastock http://traderplus.com.au/software-review-metastock-11/ I'm sure Linux has compatible charting software however I doubt it would even come close to Metastock.
Linux is your OS of choice, Windows is mine, vive la difference."
Tonca 47 said
11:13 AM Feb 24, 2016
Hi.
I run Kaspersky total security on my Macbook Pro and PC. It picked up this virus on my Mac HEUR:trojan.script.framer. It also picked up a different virus on my PC.
It would appear even the Apples aren't safe anymore.
Peter
The Phantom said
01:48 PM Feb 24, 2016
Tonca 47 wrote:
Hi. I run Kaspersky total security on my Macbook Pro and PC. It picked up this virus on my Mac HEUR:trojan.script.framer. It also picked up a different virus on my PC. It would appear even the Apples aren't safe anymore.
Peter
Apple computers have never been safe, just expensive
The Phantom
dorian said
05:09 PM Feb 24, 2016
AIUI, the "Nuclear Exploit Kit" malware alert was a false positive. The clue is in the name -- "HEUR:trojan.script.framer".
Many virus scanners use heuristic rules for detecting viruses and other forms of malware. Heuristic scanning looks for code and/or behavioral patterns indicative of a class or family of viruses, with different sets of rules for different viruses. If a file or executing process is observed to contain matching code patterns and/or to be performing that set of activities, then the scanner infers that the file is infected. The most advanced part of behavior-based heuristic scanning is that it can work against highly randomized polymorphic viruses, which simpler string scanning-only approaches cannot reliably detect. Heuristic scanning has the potential to detect many future viruses without requiring the virus to be detected somewhere, submitted to the virus scanner developer, analyzed, and a detection update for the scanner provided to the scanner's users.
ISTM that the AV software detected suspicious behaviour rather than actual malware.
In this particular case there were several red flags.
1/ A file that purports to be a GIF is served up as HTML.
2/ This HTML file contains encrypted code that redirects your browser to another site.
3/ This other site purports to be an ad server.
4/ The name of this ad server translates to "js.big_bum.info" in Slavic. Enough said ...
5/ Most serious malware is produced by organised crime syndicates in Russia and the Eastern Bloc.
I found one more image file that is really an HTML file in disguise (Blackall.jpg). It does not have any redirection code.
Visible ad URLs (genuine GIF and JPG images):
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/airhawk.jpg
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/JockyForum.jpg
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/Electbike.gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/ForumDraft1.gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/satphonesalesforum.gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/Cully.jpg
Invisible ad URLs (genuine GIF and JPG images):
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/images/indexpics/spacer.gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/ForumAdDraft.jpg
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/ForumAdPd.gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/Airhawkweb.jpg
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/ForumDraft.jpg
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/ParkForumFinal.jpg
Invisible ad URLs that are really HTML code (URLs intentionally mangled):
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/200x100 dot gif
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/Blackall dot jpg
Edit: I now believe that Blackall.jpg doesn't exist, in which case the Blackall.htm file that my browser offers to save is really just the Grey Nomads home page.
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 08:52:11 AM
That link is 7 years old Santa, and to be honest, most of the reasons they give simply point out that if you are a very slow at learning, then Linux probably won't suit you. They forgot to add that if you fall into this category, you'd be better off with an Apple product anyway...
Been using Linux Mint 17 for about a year now and although I do have a windows 8.1 machine, it very rarely gets switched on these days. My 9 year old laptop runs so much faster on Linux than my 12 month old windows laptop.
Why Linux is still better than Win 10
5 way Ubuntu is better than windows 10
If you want to search, you can find many links to articles for either end of the argument.
-- Edited by 03_Troopy on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 09:01:00 AM
I edited out the "redirect code" in the "200x100.gif" file and launched it in OffByOne (a browser that does not support Javascript). The result was the Grey Nomads home page.
I notice that the current version of the page we are looking at no longer has the hidden ad section. I wonder what the web designer had in mind.
Edit:
Here are the original images (from the WayBack Machine):
http://web.archive.org/web/20150823224403/http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/Blackall.jpg
http://web.archive.org/web/20150315163116/http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/200x100.gif
Edit #2:
If I try to access a non-existent file, the GN server does not report an error. Instead it sends me to the GN home page:
http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/blahblah.gif
I'm now doubting that the 200x100.gif file really was the source of the AV alert. I suspect this GIF had already been deleted, in which case I would have saved the home page and submitted it to VirusTotal rather than the image file. This in turn would suggest that the home page was "infected" rather than a non-existent GIF.
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 11:22:08 AM
Just to clarify that the Grey Nomads website has been thoroughly checked over by an internet security company, and will be monitored and scanned on a daily basis to check for unusual activity. In terms of the code in the header of the forum, that was old code relating to adverts that I have now taken down. There was nothing sinister in that code but I have now tidied it up. I believe the ‘re-direct’ Dorian is referring to is the code that normally takes visitors who click on the logo in the banner to our website. The banner was offline due to an unrelated issue, but is now fixed. Again, there is nothing sinister in that coding. We have taken all possible steps to ensure that you are all able to enjoy the website and forum without problems, and hope you will continue to do so.
-- Edited by Webmaster on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 11:50:37 AM
I agree, it's easy to cherry pick and come up with a counter argument.
I've been running Windows since 95, admittedly I've had the odd hiccup, however over all my experience has been good.
My feeling is the operating system debate is a little like the GM Ford thing, in the end both will get you to your destination, one may well be superior to the other but owners of either brand won't give an inch.
My wife is an Apple user, graphics are good but I find W10 more intuitive and much easier to navigate, probably because I know my way around the Windows platform and see no good reason to change.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.
-- Edited by Santa on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 04:46:56 PM
Deleted by Sharke
-- Edited by Sharke on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 08:06:07 PM
G'Day Jeff,
I understand the enthusiasm for the OS you use, quite understandable, if you read through my reply to Troopy a couple of posts back I think I have made myself pretty clear, Windows has served me well for over twenty years and continues to do so, I see no logical reason to change.
Computers are not a hobby for me, my prime use is for Technical Analysis of the stock market, I have my PC's fine tuned for this task, my charting and analytical program of choice is Metastock http://traderplus.com.au/software-review-metastock-11/ I'm sure Linux has compatible charting software however I doubt it would even come close to Metastock.
Linux is your OS of choice, Windows is mine, vive la difference.
Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint on February 20th!
http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2994
-- Edited by dorian on Tuesday 23rd of February 2016 06:29:10 PM
Yeah I know Dorian, but I downloaded the original iso a year ago. Santa also posted about it Read here
But, any website can be hacked, just a little bit surprised the Linux Mint guys were a tad slack. Actually the site was also hacked on the 28 Jan 16, and a forum members details list stolen.
If Cindy the Webmaster has posted the ALL CLEAR, that's good enough for us! Let's get back to the enjoyment rather than technical arguments of virus intrusion.
If it's above your head, don't read it... simple eh?
The article you refer to is dated 2009 Linux has improved greatly since then. I have installed Linux on many friends computers and have never been unable to get them fully operational,
Cheers
Jeff
Interesting deletion Jeff
fortunately your post survives in my reply quoting it.
For those who would like the full context here is your original with my reply.
G'Day Jeff,
I understand the enthusiasm for the OS you use, quite understandable, if you read through my reply to Troopy a couple of posts back I think I have made myself pretty clear, Windows has served me well for over twenty years and continues to do so, I see no logical reason to change.
Computers are not a hobby for me, my prime use is for Technical Analysis of the stock market, I have my PC's fine tuned for this task, my charting and analytical program of choice is Metastock http://traderplus.com.au/software-review-metastock-11/ I'm sure Linux has compatible charting software however I doubt it would even come close to Metastock.
Linux is your OS of choice, Windows is mine, vive la difference.
"
I run Kaspersky total security on my Macbook Pro and PC. It picked up this virus on my Mac HEUR:trojan.script.framer. It also picked up a different virus on my PC.
It would appear even the Apples aren't safe anymore.
Peter
Apple computers have never been safe, just expensive
The Phantom
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic_(computer_science)#Virus_scanning
ISTM that the AV software detected suspicious behaviour rather than actual malware.
In this particular case there were several red flags.
1/ A file that purports to be a GIF is served up as HTML.
2/ This HTML file contains encrypted code that redirects your browser to another site.
3/ This other site purports to be an ad server.
4/ The name of this ad server translates to "js.big_bum.info" in Slavic. Enough said ...
5/ Most serious malware is produced by organised crime syndicates in Russia and the Eastern Bloc.