Graham Cluley - wondered who would be tempted to use it !!

[G. Morgan]

Well Graham, I was one of the 26,000 and I downloaded it to see for
myself what it is. Its a very fast and functional distro. Please do
let us know if you find any viruses in it, just don't wait three
months like you did with the Cnet wrapper fiasco.

*Anonymous operating system prompts security warnings*
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17381214


More than 26,000 people have downloaded an operating system which
members of the Anonymous hacker group claim to have created.

The software is based on a version of the open-source operating
system Linux and comes outfitted with lots of website sniffing and
security tools.

The "official" Anonymous group has distanced itself from the
software.

In a widely circulated tweet, AnonOps claimed the operating system
was riddled with viruses.
Tool box

The operating system is available via the Source Forge website - a
well-known repository for many custom code projects.

The 1.5GB download is based on Ubuntu - one of the most popular
versions of the Linux operating system. The software's creators say
they put it together for "education purposes to checking the
security of web pages (sic)".

It asked people not to use it to destroy webpages.

Soon after the operating system became available, the AnonOps
account on Twitter posted a message saying it was fake and "wrapped
in trojans".

The creators of the OS denied it was infected with viruses adding
that, in the world of open-source software, "there were no viruses".
Code check

After downloading and running the software, Rik Ferguson, director
of Trend Micro's European security research efforts, said it was "a
functional OS with a bunch of pre-installed tools that can be used
for things like looking for [database] vulnerabilities or password
cracking".

It also included tools such as Tor that can mask a person's online
activities. In many ways, he said, it was a pale imitation of a
version of Linux known as Back Track that also comes with many
security tools already installed.

Mr Ferguson said he was starting work to find out if there were any
viruses or booby-traps buried in the code.

Graham Cluley, senior researcher at hi-tech security firm Sophos,
wondered who would be tempted to use it.

"Who would want to put their trust in a piece of unknown software
written by unknown people on a webpage that they don't know is safe
or not?" he asked.

He warned people to be very wary, adding that some hacktivists keen
to support the work of Anonymous had been tricked earlier in the
year into installing a booby-trapped attack tool.

"Folks would be wise to be very cautious," he said.
--
I recently took up ice sculpting. Last night I made an ice cube.
This morning I made 12, I was prolific. -Mitch Hedberg

[Bullwinkle]

Anonymous-OS is Fake, Packed with Trojans, Says AnonOps
Hands up who is surprised?

Turns out the Linux-based operating system that claimed to be the work of
Anonymous could have nothing to do with the well-known hacktivist group.
Word about the Anonymous OS started doing the rounds earlier this week with
reports pointing to a Tumblr account for the operating system. The page had
Anonymous literally written all over it and the 'about' page on the blog
said the OS was created for educational purposes to check the security of
web pages. It also warned users not to use it to attack any website and
signed off with Anonymous' traditional "We are Anonymous, we are legion..."
signature.

However, it seems Anonymous has apparently distanced itself from the
operating system. One of the Twitter accounts supposedly linked to Anonymous
has declared the OS a fake. Not only that, but @anonops says that the 1.4 GB
download is 'wrapped in trojans.' Responding to the Tweet, the folks behind
Anonymous OS updated their Tumblr blog.

"The #anonops on their twitter account say, 'That Anonymous-OS is wrapped in
trojans.' Please people. in our world, in Linux and open source world, there
is not virus," they said. "If any user believe that Anonymous-OS 'is wrapped
in trojans' or 'backdoored OS by any Law enforcement Company or Hacker'
please don't download it! But don't mislead the world that Linux is
dangerous and has trojans!"

According to BGR, the Anonymous OS has already been download 25,000 times. I
guess we'll find out if it's packed with malware soon enough...

"G. Morgan" <sealteam6@osama-is-dead.net> wrote in message
news:t6f6m7l4u4q9qtu7p7152aasbekufcuu45@Osama-is-dead.net...
Well Graham, I was one of the 26,000 and I downloaded it to see for
myself what it is. Its a very fast and functional distro. Please do
let us know if you find any viruses in it, just don't wait three
months like you did with the Cnet wrapper fiasco.

*Anonymous operating system prompts security warnings*
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17381214


More than 26,000 people have downloaded an operating system which
members of the Anonymous hacker group claim to have created.

The software is based on a version of the open-source operating
system Linux and comes outfitted with lots of website sniffing and
security tools.

The "official" Anonymous group has distanced itself from the
software.

In a widely circulated tweet, AnonOps claimed the operating system
was riddled with viruses.
Tool box

The operating system is available via the Source Forge website - a
well-known repository for many custom code projects.

The 1.5GB download is based on Ubuntu - one of the most popular
versions of the Linux operating system. The software's creators say
they put it together for "education purposes to checking the
security of web pages (sic)".

It asked people not to use it to destroy webpages.

Soon after the operating system became available, the AnonOps
account on Twitter posted a message saying it was fake and "wrapped
in trojans".

The creators of the OS denied it was infected with viruses adding
that, in the world of open-source software, "there were no viruses".
Code check

After downloading and running the software, Rik Ferguson, director
of Trend Micro's European security research efforts, said it was "a
functional OS with a bunch of pre-installed tools that can be used
for things like looking for [database] vulnerabilities or password
cracking".

It also included tools such as Tor that can mask a person's online
activities. In many ways, he said, it was a pale imitation of a
version of Linux known as Back Track that also comes with many
security tools already installed.

Mr Ferguson said he was starting work to find out if there were any
viruses or booby-traps buried in the code.

Graham Cluley, senior researcher at hi-tech security firm Sophos,
wondered who would be tempted to use it.

"Who would want to put their trust in a piece of unknown software
written by unknown people on a webpage that they don't know is safe
or not?" he asked.

He warned people to be very wary, adding that some hacktivists keen
to support the work of Anonymous had been tricked earlier in the
year into installing a booby-trapped attack tool.

"Folks would be wise to be very cautious," he said.
--
I recently took up ice sculpting. Last night I made an ice cube.
This morning I made 12, I was prolific. -Mitch Hedberg