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Thread: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity

  1. #31
    Raffi Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity


    William wrote:
    > On 12/26/2006 10:21 PM, something possessed Raffi to write:
    > > David H. Lipman wrote:
    > >> From: "Raffi" <thegrizzzly@yahoo.com>
    > >>
    > >>
    > >>
    > >> | I had some time to do packet analysis using Etherial and most of the
    > >> | conenctions were DNS queries and SMTP connections.
    > >>
    > >> | I went ahead and blocked all traffic from the PC to the ISP DNS servers
    > >> | in my firewall (Comodo). The DNS server for my PC is statically defined
    > >> | as the gateway router. Since the ISP DNS was no longer accessible it
    > >> | rerouted the DNS queries (and/or query responses) to the gateway
    > >> | router. These were a bunch of MX queries for mostly .ru domains.
    > >>
    > >> | Next I blocked all inbound and outbound UDP connections for svchost.exe
    > >> | and services.exe. This stopped most of the traffic. After a while I
    > >> | started seeing traffic to a couple of specific ip addresses
    > >> | (208.66.195.78 and 62.189.194.215) which don't resolve to anything with
    > >> | nslookup. I blocked these IP addresses in the firewall as well. Next
    > >> | the PC started sending out a bunch of broadcasts (.255). So I blocked
    > >> | outbound broadcast connections.
    > >>
    > >> | Next it started sending broadcast to 0.255 using the ZIP (Zone
    > >> | Information Protocol) protocol. I don't think I've seen this one
    > >> | before. I haven't been able to block these yet.
    > >>
    > >> | My guess is the PC is somehow being used as a DNS/SMTP relay. Another
    > >> | guess is my svchost.exe and/or services.exe have been compromized.
    > >>
    > >> | As usual, any help in getting to the bottom of this would be welcome.
    > >>
    > >> | Raffi
    > >>
    > >> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois....whois.arin.net
    > >>
    > >> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois....4.215&email=on
    > >>
    > >>
    > >> This is suspicious.
    > >>
    > >> You may have to backup the PC, wipe it and then reinstall the OS from scratch if all the
    > >> csnas have come up negative.
    > >>
    > >> The only other option is to use anti RootKit software such as Gmer and BlackLight to find
    > >> the malware. Otherwise, wipe the system.
    > >>
    > >> --
    > >> Dave
    > >> http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
    > >> http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm

    > >
    > > Update - I had tried a couple of rootkit detection software without
    > > success and had given up. But gmer finally found it. Turns out it is a
    > > rootkit. It's called Backdoor.Rustock.B. It uses the following hidden
    > > data stream c:\windows\system32:lzx32.sys (c:\windows\system32:18467).
    > > This Symantec website has more information:
    > > http://www.symantec.com/security_res...305-99&tabid=3
    > >
    > > The syptoms for the rootkit are similar to what I'm experiencing. From
    > > what I've read so far it might be tricky to get rid of. It seems to be
    > > active in safe mode as well. I'll be searching for a way to get rid of
    > > it. If there are any ideas out there, please let me know.
    > >
    > > Thanks for all the help.
    > > Raffi
    > >

    > First, stay of the network with your infected PC. Secondly, Get
    > PEBuilder and create a BartPE LiveCD. Use this to edit your
    > registry.hiv file in order to remove the rootkit (I haven't done the
    > research because my blood sugar is getting low, so you'll need to do the
    > research to figure out what registry keys in registry.hiv should be
    > deleted (or maybe someone else here will be nice enough to post those
    > for you). Good luck.
    >
    > Cheers,
    >
    > Will


    Will,

    Thanks for the suggestions. I did manage to clean my system using a
    tool called "rustbfix.exe". My guess is this tool disables the root kit
    in the registry but doesn't actually delete the stream
    (c:\windows\system32:lzx32.sys). After running the tool, I ran gmer.exe
    again and had to manually delete the stream. The stream was
    inaccessible before but after running the cleaning tool, I was able to
    delete it.

    Anyway, this little adventure took up alot of my time and hopefully
    this message thread will help others get to a fix much quicker/easier.

    Thanks for everyone for the help and suggestions.

    Raffi


  2. #32
    David H. Lipman Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity

    From: "Raffi" <thegrizzzly@yahoo.com>

    | Will,

    | Thanks for the suggestions. I did manage to clean my system using a
    | tool called "rustbfix.exe". My guess is this tool disables the root kit
    | in the registry but doesn't actually delete the stream
    | (c:\windows\system32:lzx32.sys). After running the tool, I ran gmer.exe
    | again and had to manually delete the stream. The stream was
    | inaccessible before but after running the cleaning tool, I was able to
    | delete it.

    | Anyway, this little adventure took up alot of my time and hopefully
    | this message thread will help others get to a fix much quicker/easier.

    | Thanks for everyone for the help and suggestions.

    | Raffi

    That would be the following Rustock RootKit removal toool...
    http://www.uploads.ejvindh.net/rustbfix.exe


    --
    Dave
    http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
    http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm



  3. #33
    William Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity

    "Raffi" <thegrizzzly@yahoo.com> wrote in
    news:1167356727.668651.286010@48g2000cwx.googlegro ups.com:

    >
    > William wrote:
    >> On 12/26/2006 10:21 PM, something possessed Raffi to write:
    >> > David H. Lipman wrote:
    >> >> From: "Raffi" <thegrizzzly@yahoo.com>
    >> >>
    >> >>
    >> >>
    >> >> | I had some time to do packet analysis using Etherial and most of
    >> >> | the conenctions were DNS queries and SMTP connections.
    >> >>
    >> >> | I went ahead and blocked all traffic from the PC to the ISP DNS
    >> >> | servers in my firewall (Comodo). The DNS server for my PC is
    >> >> | statically defined as the gateway router. Since the ISP DNS was
    >> >> | no longer accessible it rerouted the DNS queries (and/or query
    >> >> | responses) to the gateway router. These were a bunch of MX
    >> >> | queries for mostly .ru domains.
    >> >>
    >> >> | Next I blocked all inbound and outbound UDP connections for
    >> >> | svchost.exe and services.exe. This stopped most of the traffic.
    >> >> | After a while I started seeing traffic to a couple of specific
    >> >> | ip addresses (208.66.195.78 and 62.189.194.215) which don't
    >> >> | resolve to anything with nslookup. I blocked these IP addresses
    >> >> | in the firewall as well. Next the PC started sending out a bunch
    >> >> | of broadcasts (.255). So I blocked outbound broadcast
    >> >> | connections.
    >> >>
    >> >> | Next it started sending broadcast to 0.255 using the ZIP (Zone
    >> >> | Information Protocol) protocol. I don't think I've seen this one
    >> >> | before. I haven't been able to block these yet.
    >> >>
    >> >> | My guess is the PC is somehow being used as a DNS/SMTP relay.
    >> >> | Another guess is my svchost.exe and/or services.exe have been
    >> >> | compromized.
    >> >>
    >> >> | As usual, any help in getting to the bottom of this would be
    >> >> | welcome.
    >> >>
    >> >> | Raffi
    >> >>
    >> >> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois....08-66-195-64-1

    &serv
    >> >> er=whois.arin.net
    >> >>
    >> >> http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois....4.215&email=on
    >> >>
    >> >>
    >> >> This is suspicious.
    >> >>
    >> >> You may have to backup the PC, wipe it and then reinstall the OS
    >> >> from scratch if all the csnas have come up negative.
    >> >>
    >> >> The only other option is to use anti RootKit software such as Gmer
    >> >> and BlackLight to find the malware. Otherwise, wipe the system.
    >> >>
    >> >> --
    >> >> Dave
    >> >> http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
    >> >> http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm
    >> >
    >> > Update - I had tried a couple of rootkit detection software without
    >> > success and had given up. But gmer finally found it. Turns out it
    >> > is a rootkit. It's called Backdoor.Rustock.B. It uses the following
    >> > hidden data stream c:\windows\system32:lzx32.sys
    >> > (c:\windows\system32:18467). This Symantec website has more
    >> > information:
    >> > http://www.symantec.com/security_res...sp?docid=2006-

    070
    >> > 513-1305-99&tabid=3
    >> >
    >> > The syptoms for the rootkit are similar to what I'm experiencing.
    >> > From what I've read so far it might be tricky to get rid of. It
    >> > seems to be active in safe mode as well. I'll be searching for a
    >> > way to get rid of it. If there are any ideas out there, please let
    >> > me know.
    >> >
    >> > Thanks for all the help.
    >> > Raffi
    >> >

    >> First, stay of the network with your infected PC. Secondly, Get
    >> PEBuilder and create a BartPE LiveCD. Use this to edit your
    >> registry.hiv file in order to remove the rootkit (I haven't done the
    >> research because my blood sugar is getting low, so you'll need to do
    >> the research to figure out what registry keys in registry.hiv should
    >> be deleted (or maybe someone else here will be nice enough to post
    >> those for you). Good luck.
    >>
    >> Cheers,
    >>
    >> Will

    >
    > Will,
    >
    > Thanks for the suggestions. I did manage to clean my system using a
    > tool called "rustbfix.exe". My guess is this tool disables the root
    > kit in the registry but doesn't actually delete the stream
    > (c:\windows\system32:lzx32.sys). After running the tool, I ran
    > gmer.exe again and had to manually delete the stream. The stream was
    > inaccessible before but after running the cleaning tool, I was able to
    > delete it.
    >
    > Anyway, this little adventure took up alot of my time and hopefully
    > this message thread will help others get to a fix much quicker/easier.
    >
    > Thanks for everyone for the help and suggestions.
    >
    > Raffi
    >


    OK. Surf safely, now, and seriously, be careful with the P2P.

  4. #34
    Raffi Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity


    Alun Jones wrote:
    > "William" <starrwarz@g_~-clothes-~_m~more_clothes~ail.com> wrote in message
    > news:70Vkh.40916$wc5.11798@newssvr25.news.prodigy. net...
    > > On 12/28/2006 10:10 AM, something possessed Alun Jones to write:
    > >> "William" <starrwarz@g_~-clothes-~_m~more_clothes~ail.com> wrote in
    > >> message news:5Qnkh.7472$yC5.5798@newssvr27.news.prodigy.ne t...
    > >>> Not necessarily. If you're just using it to illegally download music
    > >>> and videos (not program executables), and you're careful about how you
    > >>> play these (I wouldn't rely on Windows to launch them, for example, but
    > >>> load them in Winamp, and don't let Winamp connect to Internet), than
    > >>> you're more or less safe.
    > >>
    > >> Right, because Winamp has never had any vulnerabilities that can be
    > >> exploited by badly formatted data.

    > >
    > > I didn't recommend Winamp because it was invulnerable, but simply because
    > > its not Integrated into the OS, so that if it goes bad, the whole OS
    > > doesn't suffer.

    >
    > It does if you're running as an administrator account.
    >
    > Windows (as with all computer systems I'm aware of) cannot distinguish
    > between the user, and programs run on that user's behalf. If you, the user,
    > run Winamp, and it loads a data file that causes execution through
    > exploiting a buffer overflow, the malware inside of that data file can do
    > absolutely anything to the system that you can do, with the exception of
    > anything that requires your actual physical presence.
    >
    > So, if you're running as an administrator, it doesn't matter if you're
    > loading exploits into a program that's labeled "part of the OS", or one
    > that's labeled "third party shovelware", the exploit can do what it chooses.
    >
    > The answer, then, is to run as a restricted user account. I do it all the
    > time - and when I do, my Internet Explorer runs as a restricted user account
    > too. Exploits in the apps I use can still do anything I can do, but the
    > damage is limited to my personal data, not the entire OS.
    >
    > You can even run as an administrator while forcing IE to run as a restricted
    > user! [Search for "SAFER" and "SRP" and "Internet Explorer" for some
    > articles, or see
    > http://blogs.msdn.com/michael_howard...1/363985.aspx]
    >
    > Note, though, that once you've downloaded and run a piece of malware,
    > whether it's an EXE or a buffer-overflowing MP3, that malware can do
    > everything you can do as a user.
    >
    > > Additionally, while exploits may exist in Winamp when accessing
    > > questionable media locally stored, In order for any real damage to be done
    > > (i.e. a trojan downloader), Winamp would need to access the Internet (or
    > > maybe that reched program Internet Explorer).

    >
    > Uh... no. Remember, Winamp - and any exploit it loads, as far as the
    > operating system is concerned, _is_ you.
    >
    > It can start another program, it can inject itself into another program
    > you're already running, or it can combine the two.
    >
    > > A good Firewall (like Kerio) should be able to prevent this from
    > > happening.

    >
    > No, no it won't. Again, if you've told Kerio, or whatever, to allow _any_
    > program to access the outside world, that program can be compromised by code
    > you've run under any other program. So, your Winamp exploit can infect your
    > Internet Explorer in memory (not on disk, unless you have rights to that),
    > and pretend to be Internet Explorer in order to download its exploit - or,
    > quite honestly, it can simply start up IE to fetch the rest of its code.
    >
    > But why would it need to do even that?
    >
    > How big are the media files you're "sharing"? Way bigger than most damaging
    > code I could imagine. If you're downloading a video, or anything more than a
    > few seconds of sound, you won't notice the increase in size that you get by
    > adding some kind of malware.
    >
    > >>
    > >> Oh. No, wait, actually it has. Several times.
    > >>
    > >> This is why the trend lately is to attack applications, rather than
    > >> operating systems - the operating system vendors are getting much better
    > >> at tracking and fixing problems, but many application vendors still have
    > >> their heads in the sand - and so do many users

    > > [snip]
    > > I understand your sentiment. Clearly, you support Microsoft, and that's
    > > fine. I don't agree with that sentiment, but everyone is entitled to
    > > their own opinion.

    >
    > A => Z. Welcome to today's edition of "Jumping to Conclusions".
    >
    > >> In the abstract sense, there is no dividing line between code and data -
    > >> data tells code where to go, and so acts as pseudo-code, in many cases.

    > > Again, requires Internet access to download the trojan. Media itself
    > > cannot contain the final executable code that infests a system with
    > > malware, all it can do is exploit vulnerabilities that allow the said
    > > malware to be installed.

    >
    > If you believe that, you've got a long way to go. There really is no other
    > way to say it, but to note that you are completely wrong in that assertion.
    > Media itself can quite comfortably contain the exploit and whatever code is
    > going to execute after the exploit has taken over control of your system.
    >
    > >>> Also, more than likely, the P2P proggie you used had its own malware
    > >>> (like Navaccel or something like that).
    > >>
    > >> Don't make the mistake of assuming that I'm talking about my own
    > >> experiences with P2P - I've simply seen too many machines infected where
    > >> the source of infection is traced to an overactive P2P exchanger.

    > > Which is why if someone is going to use P2P, they should be advised (as
    > > I'm trying to do) on how to use it safely. I'm not condoning such action,
    > > but its kind of analogous to making sure your teenager has protection, you
    > > don't want them to have to use it until they've matured, but they do, than
    > > it'll be there for them.

    >
    > Best protection against catching malware from P2P is a membership at
    > Blockbuster, or a Netflix subscription.
    >
    > Get your movies, and your tunes, from reputable sources who have a little
    > skin in the game should you get infected through them.
    >
    > >>> Finally, some P2P proggies (such as Bittorrent) can be used safely (like
    > >>> for downloading Linux distros), since even though you're downloading
    > >>> from other computers, the tracker is administered by the Linux
    > >>> Distribution and, to my knowledge, it's not possible yet to alter a file
    > >>> or set of files once the tracker has already been posted without posting
    > >>> a new torrent tracker.
    > >>
    > >> I'm glad you put me at ease there - after all, the main Linux distros
    > >> have never been altered maliciously by hackers.
    > >>
    > >> Oh, wait, they have, haven't they.
    > >> http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/32240.html

    > >
    > > What's this got to do with altering a bittorrent stream. The results
    > > would have been the same rather bittorrent was used to download the distro
    > > or if it was downloaded from the server. In fact, in this case, the
    > > bittorrent tracker probably would have been the safer bet, since it was
    > > the server (and not the torrent) that was hacked.

    >
    > The point is that you can only trust checksummed streams as much as you can
    > trust the person who created the file and the checksum in the first place.
    > Since most "sharing" of illegally copied material is done by people who
    > would like to remain anonymous, you're relying on trusting someone whom you
    > can't identify, and whose reputation (and reason for maintaining that
    > reputation) is unverifiable.
    >
    > >> Cleaning a virus or trojan infection is only going to be effective if you
    > >> can plug whatever hole they got in through - whether it's a hole in your
    > >> behaviour, or in your apps, or in your OS. Even flattening and restoring
    > >> just means that the attacker gets another chance to try the same thing at
    > >> you, but this time on a system that's less cluttered with the debris of
    > >> other previous attacks.

    > >
    > > Agrees with you here. So, with that, I hope that if the OP ultimately
    > > decides to continue P2P, that he/she does so safely.

    >
    > That requires only loading files with hashes generated by trusted
    > authorities. ("Authority" here means anyone with the right to say what is,
    > or isn't, a valid copy of a file.)
    >
    > Downloading stolen movies and songs is not going to be safe. Not ever.
    >
    > Alun.
    > ~~~~


    Let's not assume the malware came through P2P. This stuff is all over
    the Internet.

    Raffi


  5. #35
    William Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity

    on 29 Dec 2006, something possessed Raffi to write:

    >
    > Alun Jones wrote:
    >> "William" <starrwarz@g_~-clothes-~_m~more_clothes~ail.com> wrote in
    >> message news:70Vkh.40916$wc5.11798@newssvr25.news.prodigy. net...
    >> > On 12/28/2006 10:10 AM, something possessed Alun Jones to write:
    >> >> "William" <starrwarz@g_~-clothes-~_m~more_clothes~ail.com> wrote
    >> >> in message news:5Qnkh.7472$yC5.5798@newssvr27.news.prodigy.ne t...
    >> >>> Not necessarily. If you're just using it to illegally download
    >> >>> music and videos (not program executables), and you're careful
    >> >>> about how you play these (I wouldn't rely on Windows to launch
    >> >>> them, for example, but load them in Winamp, and don't let Winamp
    >> >>> connect to Internet), than you're more or less safe.
    >> >>
    >> >> Right, because Winamp has never had any vulnerabilities that can
    >> >> be exploited by badly formatted data.
    >> >
    >> > I didn't recommend Winamp because it was invulnerable, but simply
    >> > because its not Integrated into the OS, so that if it goes bad, the
    >> > whole OS doesn't suffer.

    >>
    >> It does if you're running as an administrator account.
    >>
    >> Windows (as with all computer systems I'm aware of) cannot
    >> distinguish between the user, and programs run on that user's behalf.
    >> If you, the user, run Winamp, and it loads a data file that causes
    >> execution through exploiting a buffer overflow, the malware inside of
    >> that data file can do absolutely anything to the system that you can
    >> do, with the exception of anything that requires your actual physical
    >> presence.
    >>
    >> So, if you're running as an administrator, it doesn't matter if
    >> you're loading exploits into a program that's labeled "part of the
    >> OS", or one that's labeled "third party shovelware", the exploit can
    >> do what it chooses.
    >>
    >> The answer, then, is to run as a restricted user account. I do it
    >> all the time - and when I do, my Internet Explorer runs as a
    >> restricted user account too. Exploits in the apps I use can still do
    >> anything I can do, but the damage is limited to my personal data, not
    >> the entire OS.
    >>
    >> You can even run as an administrator while forcing IE to run as a
    >> restricted user! [Search for "SAFER" and "SRP" and "Internet
    >> Explorer" for some articles, or see
    >> http://blogs.msdn.com/michael_howard...1/363985.aspx]
    >>
    >> Note, though, that once you've downloaded and run a piece of malware,
    >> whether it's an EXE or a buffer-overflowing MP3, that malware can do
    >> everything you can do as a user.
    >>
    >> > Additionally, while exploits may exist in Winamp when accessing
    >> > questionable media locally stored, In order for any real damage to
    >> > be done (i.e. a trojan downloader), Winamp would need to access the
    >> > Internet (or maybe that reched program Internet Explorer).

    >>
    >> Uh... no. Remember, Winamp - and any exploit it loads, as far as the
    >> operating system is concerned, _is_ you.
    >>
    >> It can start another program, it can inject itself into another
    >> program you're already running, or it can combine the two.
    >>
    >> > A good Firewall (like Kerio) should be able to prevent this from
    >> > happening.

    >>
    >> No, no it won't. Again, if you've told Kerio, or whatever, to allow
    >> _any_ program to access the outside world, that program can be
    >> compromised by code you've run under any other program. So, your
    >> Winamp exploit can infect your Internet Explorer in memory (not on
    >> disk, unless you have rights to that), and pretend to be Internet
    >> Explorer in order to download its exploit - or, quite honestly, it
    >> can simply start up IE to fetch the rest of its code.
    >>
    >> But why would it need to do even that?
    >>
    >> How big are the media files you're "sharing"? Way bigger than most
    >> damaging code I could imagine. If you're downloading a video, or
    >> anything more than a few seconds of sound, you won't notice the
    >> increase in size that you get by adding some kind of malware.
    >>
    >> >>
    >> >> Oh. No, wait, actually it has. Several times.
    >> >>
    >> >> This is why the trend lately is to attack applications, rather
    >> >> than operating systems - the operating system vendors are getting
    >> >> much better at tracking and fixing problems, but many application
    >> >> vendors still have their heads in the sand - and so do many users
    >> > [snip]
    >> > I understand your sentiment. Clearly, you support Microsoft, and
    >> > that's fine. I don't agree with that sentiment, but everyone is
    >> > entitled to their own opinion.

    >>
    >> A => Z. Welcome to today's edition of "Jumping to Conclusions".
    >>
    >> >> In the abstract sense, there is no dividing line between code and
    >> >> data - data tells code where to go, and so acts as pseudo-code, in
    >> >> many cases.
    >> > Again, requires Internet access to download the trojan. Media
    >> > itself cannot contain the final executable code that infests a
    >> > system with malware, all it can do is exploit vulnerabilities that
    >> > allow the said malware to be installed.

    >>
    >> If you believe that, you've got a long way to go. There really is no
    >> other way to say it, but to note that you are completely wrong in
    >> that assertion. Media itself can quite comfortably contain the
    >> exploit and whatever code is going to execute after the exploit has
    >> taken over control of your system.
    >>
    >> >>> Also, more than likely, the P2P proggie you used had its own
    >> >>> malware (like Navaccel or something like that).
    >> >>
    >> >> Don't make the mistake of assuming that I'm talking about my own
    >> >> experiences with P2P - I've simply seen too many machines infected
    >> >> where the source of infection is traced to an overactive P2P
    >> >> exchanger.
    >> > Which is why if someone is going to use P2P, they should be advised
    >> > (as I'm trying to do) on how to use it safely. I'm not condoning
    >> > such action, but its kind of analogous to making sure your teenager
    >> > has protection, you don't want them to have to use it until they've
    >> > matured, but they do, than it'll be there for them.

    >>
    >> Best protection against catching malware from P2P is a membership at
    >> Blockbuster, or a Netflix subscription.
    >>
    >> Get your movies, and your tunes, from reputable sources who have a
    >> little skin in the game should you get infected through them.
    >>
    >> >>> Finally, some P2P proggies (such as Bittorrent) can be used
    >> >>> safely (like for downloading Linux distros), since even though
    >> >>> you're downloading from other computers, the tracker is
    >> >>> administered by the Linux Distribution and, to my knowledge, it's
    >> >>> not possible yet to alter a file or set of files once the tracker
    >> >>> has already been posted without posting a new torrent tracker.
    >> >>
    >> >> I'm glad you put me at ease there - after all, the main Linux
    >> >> distros have never been altered maliciously by hackers.
    >> >>
    >> >> Oh, wait, they have, haven't they.
    >> >> http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/32240.html
    >> >
    >> > What's this got to do with altering a bittorrent stream. The
    >> > results would have been the same rather bittorrent was used to
    >> > download the distro or if it was downloaded from the server. In
    >> > fact, in this case, the bittorrent tracker probably would have been
    >> > the safer bet, since it was the server (and not the torrent) that
    >> > was hacked.

    >>
    >> The point is that you can only trust checksummed streams as much as
    >> you can trust the person who created the file and the checksum in the
    >> first place. Since most "sharing" of illegally copied material is
    >> done by people who would like to remain anonymous, you're relying on
    >> trusting someone whom you can't identify, and whose reputation (and
    >> reason for maintaining that reputation) is unverifiable.
    >>
    >> >> Cleaning a virus or trojan infection is only going to be effective
    >> >> if you can plug whatever hole they got in through - whether it's a
    >> >> hole in your behaviour, or in your apps, or in your OS. Even
    >> >> flattening and restoring just means that the attacker gets another
    >> >> chance to try the same thing at you, but this time on a system
    >> >> that's less cluttered with the debris of other previous attacks.
    >> >
    >> > Agrees with you here. So, with that, I hope that if the OP
    >> > ultimately decides to continue P2P, that he/she does so safely.

    >>
    >> That requires only loading files with hashes generated by trusted
    >> authorities. ("Authority" here means anyone with the right to say
    >> what is, or isn't, a valid copy of a file.)
    >>
    >> Downloading stolen movies and songs is not going to be safe. Not
    >> ever.
    >>
    >> Alun.
    >> ~~~~

    >
    > Let's not assume the malware came through P2P. This stuff is all over
    > the Internet.


    Yup. Like, for example, it could have happenned from surfing the
    Internet using Internet Exploiter ;-D.

    Cheers,

    William

  6. #36
    Alun Jones Guest

    Re: Unknown svchost.exe DNS port 53 network activity

    "Raffi" <thegrizzzly@yahoo.com> wrote in message
    news:1167380259.259548.76080@a3g2000cwd.googlegrou ps.com...
    > Let's not assume the malware came through P2P. This stuff is all over
    > the Internet.


    I don't think I ever did assume that - however, it's a behaviour one should
    strongly avoid if one wants to prevent malware infections. It's like surfing
    to random locations on the web and running whatever ActiveX controls you
    find.

    Alun.
    ~~~~



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