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Bharatkmistry
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virus

Post by Bharatkmistry »

reactos can have virus???
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gonzoMD
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Re: virus

Post by gonzoMD »

Every OS can.
PurpleGurl
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Re: virus

Post by PurpleGurl »

My guess is that we would be vulnerable to the same ones as Windows of a similar version once we become compatible enough. However, if the viruses rely on specific memory locations or undocumented features we don't have, they won't work.

At this point, rootkit viruses will not work. We don't have NTFS support yet, and thus no "streams" support, so that is currently not an issue. However, it can be once we provide that.

Something we apparently don't have at this point is buffer overrun protection. XP has that, and relies on PAE mode to provide the necessary CPU instructions. I hope we add hardware buffer overrun protection on compatible CPUs.
DOSGuy
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Re: virus

Post by DOSGuy »

Hopefully someday. For ROS to be fully compatible with Windows software, it should be able to do anything that a virus would try to do. Viruses typically try to do low level stuff that normal programs don't want or need to do, so being able to run Windows viruses would be a very great accomplishment indeed. We would want ROS to be able to do those things so that we can also run non-malware system utilities for power users.

ReactOS is probably already compatible with some malware, and will be susceptible to nastier malware as the OS matures and adds new features (such as NTFS support, as PurpleGurl pointed out). As with every operating system, you should use an antivirus program.
Today entirely the maniac there is no excuse with the article. Get free BeOS, DOS, OS/2, and Windows games at RGB Classic Games.
PurpleGurl
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Re: virus

Post by PurpleGurl »

But just because a virus *can* do certain things, it doesn't mean we have to let them. There are ways to try to limit the features that allow viruses to work to just users and legitimate processes, though nothing can be 100% foolproof.

Newer versions of Windows take the buffer overrun thing further. They require hardware buffer overrun protection and won't run on CPUs without it, and Windows 8 mainly does this by requiring 64-bit, since all 64-bit CPUs have the no-execute instructions. But it seems malware has found ways around buffer overrun protection. So one of the newer ways Windows handles this is by .DLL and driver shuffling. That operates on the premise that a moving target is harder to hit. Of course, that might also mean that not all drivers will run properly, since some don't like moving around. So that might require adding exceptions to this behavior.
DownWithRedmond
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Re: virus

Post by DownWithRedmond »

Every existing OS on the planet, including Mac OS X and the large Gnu/Linux family of systems, can get malware on it of some sort. It just depends on how safe of a user you are and how well your system is designed to handle such attacks. Personally, I wouldn't worry about viruses on ReactOS for now. Even if there were any, ClamAV is a great, and is a F/OSS virus scanner that I've used on Mac, Windows, and even on a Gnu/Linux box for cleaning files just in case, in consideration of friends that insist on running a certain monopolistic OS... :D

What I'd think would be a future issue to worry about would be higher-level threats, like rootkits or worms. Luckily, I don't think that's a problem right now, but if it eventually gets to where XP is... I don't know. I'm just *really* grateful ReactOS is open source and can be re-installed freely in the event of a crash.
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EmuandCo
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Re: virus

Post by EmuandCo »

Most malware is not dangerous because of any security flaws, but because of the user's foolishness... Many of these scarewares were installed by the user and many do even run on wine because in theory they behave like any good app on the PC
Error in OSI Layer 8, PEBKAC and all others are true to an extend ^^
ReactOS is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is recommended only for evaluation and testing purposes.

If my post/reply offends or insults you, be sure that you know what sarcasm is...
DownWithRedmond
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Re: virus

Post by DownWithRedmond »

This is perhaps the best point in computer security (that is, that the user is the #1 threat to their OS security), but the user can also end up running into that malware by mistake. And without a built-in warning system, I'd be worried about rootkits taking over. At least *nix-like systems have rkhunter and chkrootkit for this purpose.
PurpleGurl
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Re: virus

Post by PurpleGurl »

I tend to think viruses get installed due to a variety of factors. I believe buffer overrun protection is important. A late friend used Windows XP on a Pentium 4 machine (a Celeron machine I upgraded), while I used an Athlon 64. She had much more trouble with nasties than me. The only other difference was our habits. She did more file sharing than me and went to porn sites, so she certainly had more vectors for exposure to viruses than me.

I think it is good that major companies are now doing their role to help stop epidemics. Yahoo! scans all attachments before letting you download them. Microsoft has their Malicious File Removal Tool. While it is not comprehensive, it is better than nothing for the most common stuff.

Yet still, EmuandCo is right. I consider myself a rather seasoned power user, yet I made a few mistakes in recent years. I remember once seeing an unfamiliar icon on my desktop, and I clicked it. If I had that to do over, I'd have went to its properties and found its location, and then manually deleted it from there (and then checked the registry for orphan entries). I doubt it had an uninstall entry, so surgical extraction would have been the best; anything but running it. Another time, I was sick of the IE popup warnings and went in and overridden everything. Then it got infected. So the recommended security settings are the way they are for a reason, and I never relaxed everything like that again.

Concerning rootkits, those viruses sometimes cannot be removed safely. You may try to remove them and trash the filesystem. So you may have to reinstall.
DOSGuy
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Re: virus

Post by DOSGuy »

To summarize, you dramatically reduce your odds of getting a virus by having good habits and exercising appropriate caution, but even the most careful user can still pick up a virus. A careful user will probably have less issues, spend less timing removing malware and reinstalling software, and lose less data over their lifetime, but no one is immune. It's like regular viruses. If you exercise appropriate caution and wash your hands, you'll get sick less often, but sooner or later you'll get sick anyway.
Today entirely the maniac there is no excuse with the article. Get free BeOS, DOS, OS/2, and Windows games at RGB Classic Games.
DownWithRedmond
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Re: virus

Post by DownWithRedmond »

Or, as BSD and Gnu/Linux people mention all the time to Windows users, "you can switch to a better operating system". :D
fred02
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Re: virus

Post by fred02 »

Sure, but they newer tell which one they are talking about. :mrgreen:
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