Yes, Microsoft Windows, by default has zero write access to anything but
NTFS and FAT. So what? Also, by default, Microsoft Windows has zero
viruses.
On the other hand, Windows by default does have access to other
partitions and it's not hard to find windows code that is capable of
writing to ext3 format file systems. I'm sure a smart virus writer
would be able to incorporate that code into his virus and make the leap
across partitions and operating systems if he wanted to. If it has not
been done that's because there's not much bang for the buck from the
virus writer's point of view.
Allen said "Then whenever you boot Wubi you get the infection." This
tells me that the scenario that Allen imagined involved using wubi to
install ubuntu, then picking up a virus while running windows which then
somehow corrupts the boot file installed by wubi.exe in such a way that
it in turn infects your ubuntu system. Not impossible but I still think
it would be easier to directly write to the ext3 filesystem from
windows. The point of my original post was to make a COMPARISON between
the two risks. I still think that the direct danger to a linux system
from a infected windows windows system makes any additional risk due to
having installed via wubi INSIGNIFICANT.
Maybe Allen had something else in mind . Several other possibilities
occurred to me but in each case I could come up with a similar line of
reasoning.
If my reasoning is wrong please let me know but, in fact, I didn't
COMPLETELY miss anything.
- Dave
p.s. Maybe in the future we can skip the excessive caps.
Mr O wrote:
Except you COMPLETELY missed the fact that Microsoft Windows, by default, has ZERO write access to anything but NTFS and FAT.
Now, infected Wubi.EXE, that's different. Many viruses target EXE files but a
seperate partition is a no-go.
--- On Tue, 2/24/09, Dave Compton <to.dav...@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Dave Compton <to.dav...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Eug-lug] Re: Linux Ubuntu Install Tutorial
To: "Eugene Unix and Gnu/Linux User Group" <euglug@euglug.org>
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 8:37 PM
I think the greater danger is from dual booting windows
& linux (with or without wubi). An infected windows
machine could write malware directly to the unbooted linux
partition. This would be both an easier way of spreading an
infection and more effective since *any* windows/linux
system would be vulnerable to it - not just those that were
installed via wubi.
In fact, even the generic dual boot vulnerability seems
like a pretty convoluted way to spread malware. Once you
have control of a windows machine, the thing to do would be
to *use* that windows machine to carry out your evil plot -
not try to infect an unused linux partition in the hope that
it might someday be booted. The windows -> wubi ->
linux risk seems even lower.
Once the wubi install process is complete you *do* end up
with a linux system that, at a low level, piggybacks off of
the windows boot system to work. It bothers me too but just
as a matter of principle - not for security reasons.
- Dave
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