If a client of mine has pirated software on their machine. I will not remove
the infection without replacing the software with legitimate and legal copies.
If they do not want to pay for software run ubuntu. News flash, just about
every cracked or pirated copy of software on the net comes with its own unknown
infection! Yeah go download that keygen from that trustworthy russian guy on
the web. I am sure that he distributes and releases builds of pirated software
from the kindness from his heart. From what I have seen most botnets are from
the pirated copies or cracks themselves, not from the lack of updates.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
-----Original Message-----
From: Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers <bugtraq@planetcobalt.net>
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:24:19
To:security-basics@securityfocus.com
Subject: Re: microsoft updates
On 2008-01-02 Worrell, Brian wrote:
On Monday, December 31, 2007 4:14 PM Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers wrote:
On 2007-12-31 Dave Koontz wrote:
Umm... check out Windows Genuine Advantage. Pirated copies will
fail updates (as they should).
No, they shouldn't. Not being able to update won't magically make
people buy Windows instead of running pirated copies. They'll just
cease updating, so we'll continue to have a healthy bot population.
Thank you, Microsoft.
Many Pirated copies of XP I have seen where infected with Trojans or
had files missing in the first place.
But that aside, if M$ let people update pirated copies, would that not
let more people think they can pirate it, rather than buy it? Which
would make a larger bot network by your theory?
I don't think that prohibiting updates (or making updating an annoyance)
for users of pirated copies will have much influence on the sold to
pirated copies ratio. Like I said before it's much more likely that
people will continue to run pirated copies and simply stop updating.
So, without WGA you have a significant number of pirated copies with a
nonzero chance that they will be patched up. With WGA you'll have
roughly the same number of pirated copies, only now most of them won't
be patched.
I'd say it's rather clear which scenario makes the larger bot net.
cu
59cobalt
--
"All vulnerabilities deserve a public fear period prior to patches
becoming available."
--Jason Coombs on Bugtraq
