full-disclosure - RE: Origin of the term "driveby download"

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Message-ID: <004701c2c945$be1aa9a0$550ffea9@rms2>
From: rms at computerbytesman.com (Richard M. Smith)
Subject: RE: Origin of the term "driveby download"

A few quick points:

  1.  I got hit by a Gator driveby download at a programmer's
      Web site in a banner ad.  My daughter got hit at a
      Web site with biographies.  Mistyped domain names
      are another source of the problem.  We both know to 
      say "no" however.  Other people apparently don't know
      any better.  Kids are a great example.  I suspect
      many parents don't understand the issues other.

  2.  The the Melissa, ILOVEYOU, and countless other email
      worms have proven that security dialogs aren't an
      infective mechanism to prevent people running malicious
      software.

Richard

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian McWilliams [mailto:brian@...radio.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 10:24 AM
To: Richard M. Smith; full-disclosure@...ts.netsys.com
Subject: Re: Origin of the term "driveby download"

At 07:49 AM 1/31/2003, you wrote:
>Yes, there is ActiveX warning message for a driveby download, but I
>think it is classic "blaming the victim" to call users who click the
yes
>button as "stupid".  Most computer users today just see a computer as a
>tool and they are not programmers.  Vendors like Xupiter and Gator are
>working the percentages by relying on users to not read the warning
>boxes carefully enough and hope they hit "Yes" button to make the boxes
>go away as quick as possible.

I have a hard time feeling real outraged on behalf of the kind of users
you 
are describing. Anyone who 1) visits the sort of sites where Xupiter is 
offered, and 2) has their IE security settings low, and 3) is in the
habit 
of impatiently clicking "yes" to any prompt that comes their way ...
well, 
that's like driving drunk while talking on a cell phone.

To protect these folks against this kind of scumware, perhaps we need
the 
digital equivalent of air bags. When are antivirus products going to add

detection for Xupiter et al?

Brian