full-disclosure - AV "feature" does more DDoS than Sobig

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From: 3APA3A at SECURITY.NNOV.RU (3APA3A)
Subject: AV "feature" does more DDoS than Sobig

Dear Fabio Gomes de Souza,

Few  Russian  security  and  Internet professionals who's mailboxes were
flooded  by  AV  reports  signed an open letter to antiviral developers,
administrators and users called "AntiViruses to ruin Internet?". It ends
up  with  words  "If  we  want  to  live  here we must shut up all these
robots".

http://www.bugtraq.ru/library/security/antiantivirus.html  (sorry,  it's
in Russian).

It  was  published  on  few  well-known  sites.  At  least few huge mail
services now do not generate AV reports to sender. May be it's a time to
make same PR action worldwide.

--Thursday, August 28, 2003, 5:05:20 PM, you wrote to bugtraq@...urityfocus.com:

FGdS> Hello,

FGdS> Anti-virus products are causing more harm than the Sobig Worm.

FGdS> Some of my customers are having the following problem:

FGdS> B = Customer of my customer (infected)
FGdS> C,D,E = Some random company (victims of Sobig)
FGdS> A = My customer (victim of AV marketing)

FGdS> The Sobig worm infected B.

FGdS> In its propagation loop, the worm composes a message, chooses two random 
FGdS> items in the Address Book, and puts the first in the "From:" and the 
FGdS> second in the "To:" header. Then all virus messages are spoofed.

FGdS> The problem is that many e-mail virus scanners send a "You are infected" 
FGdS> reply to the address contained in the "From" header. Since the messages 
FGdS> are spoofed, the inoccent, uninfected user "A" is flooded by automatic 
FGdS> complaints from "C","D","E" regarding the virus that "B" sends.

FGdS> Anti-virus companies seem to spend more money on marketing/visibility 
FGdS> than on actually protecting their customers. This marketing stupidity is 
FGdS> done by adding USELESS features, which spreads false information and 
FGdS> delivers false sense of security:

FGdS>         - "You're infected" reply (false positive)
FGdS>         - "This message is 100% virus-free certified" signature line (false 
FGdS> sense of security)
FGdS>         - Anti-virus buttons on Internet Explorer toolbar (just to launch the AV)
FGdS>         - Splash screens every time you:
FGdS>                 - boot your computer
FGdS>                 - send e-mail
FGdS>                 - check pop3 e-mail
FGdS>                 - turn your computer off
FGdS>         - System tray useless icons (in some AVs, the system tray icon does 
FGdS> nothing except for launching the AV program)
FGdS>         - Redundant shortcut icons in Desktop, Start Menu root, Quick Launch 
FGdS> and Start Menu program folder

FGdS> This kind of stupidity from AV companies makes me hate them more every day.

-- 
~/ZARAZA
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