Step by step guide: How to write a Linux virus
Here’s something to think about. Geekzone has published a step by step guide on how to create a virus under Linux. I’ve always had the idea that viruses and malware is possible even in Linux and the only thing it’s not talked a lot about is because:
- Makers of such things would rather concentrate on Windows which has a big user base
- It’s harder to create such things on Linux
What do you think?
Gerry Ilagan
Gerry Ilagan is into mobile apps and WordPress development at @speeqs. He loves to write about electronics, the Internet of Things, mobile phones, and #crazyideas.
Comments
BAD! KIHBORD BAD!
WINDOWS DOES NOT HAVE A LARGER USER BASE THAN LINUX.
Please stop spreading this myth!
Linux runs on 50-70% of the World’s servers. If someone wrote a virus for those servers, it would affect much more serious services than someone’s PC. TSX, NYSE, NASA, Chrysler, the Word Bank; they all use Linux.
Google, Facebook, Wikipedia… they all use Linux. Think about how useless a company (or the Internet) would be if any of those services were down.
Much farther reaching effects.
@danny: lol
@michael: hmmm, interesting point of view. I guess the everyone is a Linux user. Maybe that’s why Microsoft is worried. hehehe.
[…] Linux Virus Writing Course. Over on the ubuntuweblogs, Gerry Ilagan pointed the readership to this excellent article by Foobar on how to write a Linux virus. I will show how […]
michael fails to consider that the original article is talking about infecting desktop clients, where ultimately the virus is spread through user stupidity. linux, mac, windows, doesn’t matter what you use. if the mainstream public are using it, it’s insecure.
while windows was (and maybe still is) insecure at the OS level, all OS’s are insecure at the user level, because users are morons.
Writing malware for Linux is not hard. Getting it on the users machine is the answer. Social engineering is the easy way to get malware on any machine, but social engineering does not represent a flaw in the OS. Getting malware on an OSX or Linux OS would be a wakeup call for all of us, but so far I’ve never heard of such a thing happening on a fully patched machine.
This is highly irresponsible of you. Why don’t you publish articles with topics like – How to make a bomb? Or how to destroy your community? Or how to damage the ecosystem? If I knew how to create a virus, I wouldn’t go around shouting about it. Of course, there’s the knowledge factor, now people can plan around it, but why do such a nasty thing? Who benefits?
Those who wants to make one will almost always find a way. So it’s better to get everyone informed of the situation so that others will be aware and make necessary steps to work around it.
Well to Michael, and some other people who think Linux is somehow dominating the world population, it’s not. Overall Windows is generally a better OS, not only my opinion, but a fact. Whose ever preference is Linux thats fine, nothing wrong with that. But Windows is used more often. When people generally buy a laptop it has the newest version of Windows installed, as of now, Windows 7. To uninstall an OS for an open source OS is not a smart way to go. As I said earlier, Windows is more widely supported. You go and download programs, there are a lot more being supported by Microsoft and Windows. Linux however as an unstable OS. If it were me I would choose Windows. I do use Ubuntu, but Windows is a lot better.