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Date:      Wed, 20 May 1998 17:18:37 -0700
From:      Cy Schubert - ITSD Open Systems Group <cschuber@uumail.gov.bc.ca>
To:        Emmanuel Gravel <egravel@elr346.ateng.az.honeywell.com>
Cc:        freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Virus on FreeBSD 
Message-ID:  <199805210018.RAA04596@passer.osg.gov.bc.ca>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 20 May 1998 13:17:11 PDT." <3562D7D7.65F60C0@elr346.ateng.az.honeywell.com> 

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> Stunt Pope wrote:
> > On 20-May-98 Emmanuel Gravel wrote:
> > > I haven't heard of a virus made for a Unix-like OS before, but I'm
> > > wondering if this can be an issue with FreeBSD (or Linux for that
> > > matter).  I'm saying this since they both run on the most common
> > > platform there is today, the PC.  I know most virii were writen for
> > > DOS-like OS's, but it's my impression that the common point between
> > > both machines is the hardware.
> > >
> > > Can anyone either clear this for me, or point me in the right direction
> > > for some info?
> > >
> > 
> > Checkout the Bugtraq archives, and search on "linux virus", there was
> > one released last summer or so, mainly as an exercise IIRC. Can't
> > remember the name of it though.
> > 
> > (http://www.geek-girl.com/bugtraq/)
> > 
> > -mark
> 
> Thanks for all the info.  Now for a second question.  Since there is an
> antivirus made by McAfee for Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX (and one or two
> more Unix OS's) is there anything similar made for FreeBSD?  What can
> one download/purchase to prevent:
> 
> 1- Arrival/infection of the system from any virus that would target
>    FreeBSD?
> 2- Presence of virii for any other OS in any file on the system?
> 
> Thanks for your help!

Sorry for getting into this late... another day of meetings.

The Linux virus was not a virus in the truest sense.  What it did was 
to move the original binary to some other directory and replace it with 
itself, which in turn would do what virus-like programs like to do and 
finally exec(2) the original program.  If you want to characterize this 
in any way, it would probably be closer to a trojan horse than a virus, 
though that's more an issue of semantics.

The best way to detect such a beast on a UNIX system would probably be 
with tripwire or some other application that maintains signatures of 
various files on your system.

> 
> Emmanuel Gravel
> egravel@elr346.ateng.az.honeywell.com


Regards,                       Phone:  (250)387-8437
Cy Schubert                      Fax:  (250)387-5766
Open Systems Group          Internet:  cschuber@uumail.gov.bc.ca
ITSD                                   Cy.Schubert@gems8.gov.bc.ca
Government of BC            
                                       



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