Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer

"Manuel Marino" <manuelmarino RemoveThis @marinosounds.com> wrote in message
news:s1alj3tin920o1agkc9929gs29pvlo56ie@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
> <diy-er RemoveThis @privacy.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>>
>>As first reported by El Reg in September a pre-installed Trojan
>>named AutoRun-AH was discovered by Kaspersky Labs on Maxtor
>>3200 external hard drives sold in the Netherlands. Maxtor is owned
>>Seagate. Initially, Seagate expressed skepticism about the reports.
>>
>
> Well, this means that Kaspersky is really the best antivirus available
> for Windows...
>
>
> --
> Music, Arts, People, Ideas - Shopping articles and stories
> http://manuelmarino.com - http://newonlineshopping.net
>
>
>
The best anti virus program out there is Linux.
,,!,, Microsoft
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:49:29 +0100 'Manuel Marino'
wrote this on alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:

>On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
><diy-er.TakeThisOut@privacy.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>>
>>As first reported by El Reg in September a pre-installed Trojan
>>named AutoRun-AH was discovered by Kaspersky Labs on Maxtor
>>3200 external hard drives sold in the Netherlands. Maxtor is owned
>>Seagate. Initially, Seagate expressed skepticism about the reports.
>>
>
>Well, this means that Kaspersky is really the best antivirus available
>for Windows...

Kaspersky also found the Trojan.system.poser recently when I
uploaded it to jotti. Several other online checkers did too.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

Manuel Marino wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
> <diy-er.TakeThisOut@privacy.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>>
>> As first reported by El Reg in September a pre-installed Trojan
>> named AutoRun-AH was discovered by Kaspersky Labs on Maxtor
>> 3200 external hard drives sold in the Netherlands. Maxtor is owned
>> Seagate. Initially, Seagate expressed skepticism about the reports.
>>
>
> Well, this means that Kaspersky is really the best antivirus available
> for Windows...

How does it mean that? Perhaps Kaspersky just got hold of it first.

SteveH
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

SteveH wrote:
> Manuel Marino wrote:
>> On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
>> <diy-er.DeleteThis@privacy.invalid.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>>>
>>> As first reported by El Reg in September a pre-installed Trojan
>>> named AutoRun-AH was discovered by Kaspersky Labs on Maxtor
>>> 3200 external hard drives sold in the Netherlands. Maxtor is owned
>>> Seagate. Initially, Seagate expressed skepticism about the reports.
>>>
>>
>> Well, this means that Kaspersky is really the best antivirus
>> available for Windows...
>
> How does it mean that? Perhaps Kaspersky just got hold of it first.
>
> SteveH

Or got the name mixed up with a Virus of same or simler name

--
Trev
You can always tell a Yorkshire man,
But you can't tell him much.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

RIAA wrote:

X-Newsreader=Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3138

> The best anti virus program out there is Linux.
> ,,!,, Microsoft
>
>

Hmmm... Statements like that are only valid if the poster is actually
using Linux at the moment of posting.

Microsoft Outlook Express IS a virus, it infects Usenet. Get that
replaced / seen to as soon as possible

--
Adrian C
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On 2007-11-14, RIAA <poken.RemoveThis@uranus.org> wrote:
>
> The best anti virus program out there is Linux.

Far be from me to knock a Unix OS but it simply isn't true. It
isn't an AV product and Linux machines are actually very good at
spreading virii around. A substantial proportion of macro viruses
will pass through a Linux mail server before reaching their
destination.

It's true that the Unix architecture is fundamentally more secure
than that of Windows, and also that the smaller user base itself
gives protection. An example of the latter is OS/2 which has many
vulnerabilities similar to those on Windows, but you don't see many
OS/2 viruses.

Linux is not the gold standard for security in any case: there are
better alternatives. OpenBSD has pushed its security virtues since
it was launched. VMS has been around for years for situations
where security is a prime consideration. Blindly touting Linux
where people don't want it and it isn't particularly suitable
damages rather than boosts Linux's standing in the eyes of many.

--
Andrew Smallshaw
andrews.RemoveThis@sdf.lonestar.org
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:11:11 -0500, "RIAA" <poken RemoveThis @uranus.org> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>The best anti virus program out there is Linux.

Actually the Windows platform appears to have a lot less
vulnerabilites than Linux/Unix.

Cyber Security Bulletin 2005 Summary
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB2005.html

"This bulletin provides a year-end summary of software vulnerabilities
that were identified between January 2005 and December 2005. ... There
were 5198 reported vulnerabilities: 812 Windows operating system
vulnerabilities; 2328 Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities; and 2058
Multiple operating system vulnerabilities."

List of vulnerability summaries:
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/index.html

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On 2007-11-14, Franc Zabkar <fzabkar RemoveThis @iinternode.on.net> wrote:
>
> Actually the Windows platform appears to have a lot less
> vulnerabilites than Linux/Unix.
>
> Cyber Security Bulletin 2005 Summary
> http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB2005.html
>
> "This bulletin provides a year-end summary of software vulnerabilities
> that were identified between January 2005 and December 2005. ... There
> were 5198 reported vulnerabilities: 812 Windows operating system
> vulnerabilities; 2328 Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities; and 2058
> Multiple operating system vulnerabilities."

Those raw figures are a little misleading. Take a look at the
lists. Most of the Windows vulnerabilities are unique issues. A
good proportion of the Unix vulnerabilities are merely updates to
vulnerabilities that have already been reported. Added to that
Linux != Unix - there are reports there covering various Linux
distributions, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Unixware, Openserver,
OS X, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX... basically every distinct Unix system
there is out there.

--
Andrew Smallshaw
andrews RemoveThis @sdf.lonestar.org
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

Franc Zabkar wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:11:11 -0500, "RIAA" <poken DeleteThis @uranus.org> put
> finger to keyboard and composed:
>
>> The best anti virus program out there is Linux.
>
> Actually the Windows platform appears to have a lot less
> vulnerabilites than Linux/Unix.

That is pure FUD.

> Cyber Security Bulletin 2005 Summary
> http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB2005.html
>
> "This bulletin provides a year-end summary of software vulnerabilities
> that were identified between January 2005 and December 2005. ... There
> were 5198 reported vulnerabilities: 812 Windows operating system
> vulnerabilities; 2328 Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities; and 2058
> Multiple operating system vulnerabilities."
>
> List of vulnerability summaries:
> http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/index.html

Look more closely at the stats and count up the number for each specific
OS listed. Don't just group them all together!

Linux != Unix != OS X != FreeBSD != HP UX != HP Tru64 != IBM AIX !=
NetBSD != OpenBSD != Solaris

I see at least 10 different OS's there with substantially different
source code that have all been grouped under the one "Unix/linux" heading.

Then remove all the multiple updates for each vulnerability and the
number becomes very much smaller. The reason for the multiple updates
is because the linux developers release patches usually within hours of
the vulnerability being discovered and don't always get the fix right
the first time. Sometimes it takes multiple iterations of a patch to
close the vulnerability entirely, though it is usually patched within a
day or two. OTOH, M$ can takes weeks or months to patch a vulnerability
and during that time the vulnerability is available to be exploited.
More secure? Don't make me laugh!
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:24:06 +1100, Franc Zabkar
<fzabkar RemoveThis @iinternode.on.net> wrote:

>On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:11:11 -0500, "RIAA" <poken RemoveThis @uranus.org> put
>finger to keyboard and composed:
>
>>The best anti virus program out there is Linux.
>
>Actually the Windows platform appears to have a lot less
>vulnerabilites than Linux/Unix.
>
>Cyber Security Bulletin 2005 Summary
>http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB2005.html
>
>"This bulletin provides a year-end summary of software vulnerabilities
>that were identified between January 2005 and December 2005. ... There
>were 5198 reported vulnerabilities: 812 Windows operating system
>vulnerabilities; 2328 Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities; and 2058
>Multiple operating system vulnerabilities."
>
>List of vulnerability summaries:
>http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/index.html
>
>- Franc Zabkar

Two unlocked cars in my driveway are safer than one
down-town.

It's not the # of vulnerabilities that matters, it's whether
they're targeted as frequently.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
<diy-er.TakeThisOut@privacy.invalid.com> wrote:

>
>http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>
>"Confirmation that a Maxtor hard disk drive was infected with a
>Trojan by a manufacturing sub-contractor in China is spooking
>Taiwanese authorities, one of the countries where examples of
>the infected kit have begun to appear.

What real risk is this anyway?

M
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:32:11 +0000 'Mark'
wrote this on alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt:

>On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:17:03 +0000, diy-er
><diy-er RemoveThis @privacy.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/12/maxtor_infected_hdd_updated/
>>
>>"Confirmation that a Maxtor hard disk drive was infected with a
>>Trojan by a manufacturing sub-contractor in China is spooking
>>Taiwanese authorities, one of the countries where examples of
>>the infected kit have begun to appear.
>
>What real risk is this anyway?

The article which I quoted a link to explains what this and a
previous trojan attempt to do. My hunch is that it probably only
comes into play when you install one of the infected HDDs as an
additional drive, not as a Windows system drive but I could be
wrong.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer 

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:33:25 -0500, kony <spam.RemoveThis@spam.com>
wrote:


>I'd imagine quite a few people here would install a new
>drive then boot up windows without first checking what might
>be on the drive. If the drive is not booted itself and
>Autorun feature is disabled, this should be safe providing
>the user or some app doesn't try to launch anything on the
>drive, i mean a pre-existing app.

Plus, being that it's an external drive it becomes easier or
more compatible to deal with it in windows, just plug it
into the system then Explorer would find and autorun it if
autorun feature isn't disabled.
 >> Stay informed about: Maxtor HDD infected with trojan by manufacturer