Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks
by Scott J. Shapiro · 523pp · 154,042 words
systems, such as file searching and copying. In 1995, Sarah Gordon was the first to report on a new class of malware, which she called macro viruses. These viruses were snippets of self-reproducing code written in macro languages (such as Word Basic) embedded in Microsoft documents. Though the virus she analyzed
…
to Word’s File Save As function. Anytime the user saved a file, Word would inject Winword.Concept into the document it was saving. The macro virus also contained a payload, but the payload was harmless. It simply contained a remark saying “That’s enough to prove my point”—the point being
…
an indicator, we can expect to see more of this type of virus.” She was right. The next few years would see an epidemic of macro viruses. And ones that followed Winword.Concept not only had malicious payloads, but also harnessed the internet to spread viruses in a way previously unimaginable. For
…
would find its way to the internet, and hence to other Windows applications, because Microsoft attached all their applications to the internet. The advent of macro viruses led to a deluge of malware, as virus writers sought to insert malicious macros into every Office product (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). The flood of malware
…
conducted rigorously, in controlled settings and with peer review. Experimenting with viruses is not the same as conducting experiments on viruses. And releasing a “harmless” macro virus such as Winword.Concept is irresponsible. Gordon faulted universities for their lack of leadership. She especially disapproved of programming classes using virus code in homework
…
and what is not. By our actions, or lack thereof, today, we ourselves are creating the virus writers of tomorrow.” Melissa, ILOVEYOU The first major macro virus to exploit Microsoft Word’s internet capabilities was Melissa, named after a Miami stripper whom David Lee Smith, a thirty-year-old virus author from
…
sneakernet, Windows enabled automatic transmission via the internet. Antivirus protection, on the other hand, remained manual. The only assistance Microsoft provided—which was misleadingly called “macro virus protection” in the application menu and could be easily disabled— was a notification that a document contained a macro. Since the vast majority of macros
…
“attack surface” by turning these features off by default. (Recall that the Morris Worm exploited SENDMAIL because the debug option was left on and that macro viruses spread so quickly because Word enabled macros by default.) Developers were taught to avoid instructions that, like the insecure version of Finger exploited by the
…
very useful: As Vesselin Bontchev argued, users don’t run one another’s macros, so it made little sense to let users run untrusted macros. Macro viruses declined rapidly when Microsoft switched the default to executing only digitally signed macros: Vesselin Bontchev, “The Real Reason for the Decline of the
…
Macro Virus,” Virus Bulletin, January 1, 2006, https://www.virusbulletin.com/virusbulletin/2006/01/real-reason-decline-macro-virus/. repeatedly executed the virus: Nick FitzGerald, “Throwback Thursday: When Love Came to Town,” Virus Bulletin, ed. Martijn
…
also Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Lehel, Marcel Lazăr Linux Lohan, Lindsay Loss Aversion Heuristics Lukashenko, Alexander Lukashev, Aleksey Lusthaus, Jonathan macro viruses MafiaBoy malware; Beast; classification and types; coining of term; coordination of computers with; cross-platform; evolution of; Gordon reporting on; hyperspecialization of; Microsoft Word; as
The Art of UNIX Programming
by Eric S. Raymond · 22 Sep 2003 · 612pp · 187,431 words
running program. Have weak or nonexistent privilege groups, so users can readily alter each others' files and the system's critical data (e.g., a macro virus, having seized control of your word processor, can format your hard drive). And trust large volumes of code, like the entire shell and GUI, so
…
capability (multiple privilege groups) — because without that, any network transaction that can trick a user into running malicious code will subvert the entire system (Windows macro viruses are only the tip of this iceberg). Without strong multitasking, the ability of an operating system to handle network traffic and run user programs at
…
that it would be used for pop-up advertisements so obnoxious as to create a demand for browser features that suppress JavaScript interpretation. Microsoft Word macro viruses show how this sort of thing can become actively dangerous, a security hole that costs billions of dollars in downtime and lost productivity annually. It
…
note that despite the existence of at least twenty million Unix users worldwide[95] there has never been any Unix equivalent of Windows's frequent macro-virus outbreaks. There are a number of reasons for this, including the fundamentally better security design of Unix; but at least one is the fact that
Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 QuickSteps
by Malestrom
to be spread. Outlook’s macro security simply disables macros that are not from secure or trusted sources, thus reducing the likelihood of getting a macro virus. By default, Outlook disables macros that are unsigned and warns you about signed 6 macros. You can change those settings if you wish. 1. Click
…
QuickSteps Getting to QuickSteps Know Your PCManaging Files and Folders 1 2 CAUTION Keep in mind that Outlook only helps reduce the likelihood of a macro virus; it is not a full antivirus 3 program. You should install and use antivirus software on your computer. Visit www.mcafee.com or www.symantec
Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
by Bruce Schneier · 1 Jan 2000 · 470pp · 144,455 words
seen viruses specifically designed for Windows 95, although none have become widespread since no one boots from a floppy anymore. The final virus category is macro viruses. These are written in scripting languages and infect data files rather than programs. Many word processors, spreadsheets, and database programs have scripting languages. These scripts
…
called macros, are used to automate tasks and are stored with the data. People have written viruses using these scripting languages. The first Microsoft Word macro virus, “Concept,” was first observed in the wild in 1995; they existed in the Emacs text editor as early as 1992. These viruses can spread much
…
file transfer software become easier to use, they will spread even faster. Macro viruses can also exist cross- platform: Some Microsoft Office macro viruses can infect both Windows and Macintosh machines. Macro viruses are the future. All the fast-spreading Internet viruses are macro viruses. The good ones even have a social-engineering component; they try to trick
…
updates itself once a month. Until 1999, that was good enough. E-mail propagation changed everything. The year 1999 gave us the Melissa Microsoft Word macro virus and the Worm.ExploreZip worm, and 2000 gave us the ILOVEYOU worm and its dozens of variants, but there are many others. This type of
…
that filename, then restore the old file afterward. Word’s macro language can do this, so it could easily be a payload for a Word macro virus. And that’s just one example. The Trojan horse could sign both documents and transmit the embarrassing signature at some opportune time. Or it could
…
as everything becomes Internet-aware. For years we knew that Internet applications like sendmail and rlogin had to be secure, but the recent epidemic of macro viruses shows that Microsoft Word and Excel need to be secure. Java applets not only need to be secure for the uses they are intended for
Digital Accounting: The Effects of the Internet and Erp on Accounting
by Ashutosh Deshmukh · 13 Dec 2005
and exist in most operating system environments, such as Windows, DOS, OS/2 and UNIX. These computer viruses can be broadly classified into four categories: ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ Macro viruses: Macros automate functions such as keystrokes or commands and are written in special-purpose command language in a particular application. Since
…
macro viruses are written in macro language, they are platform independent and can spread to any machine that runs that particular application. For example, if the virus
…
Linux 27 local area networks (LANs) 1, 19 logic bombs 327 logical security 323 logistics 233 Lord Corporation 17 M Macola 30 macro language 268 macro viruses 327 mainframe 15 maintenance, repairs and operating (MRO) purchases 193 malicious code 326 management cockpits 313 management dashboard 272 markup languages 44 markups 45 material
Protocol: how control exists after decentralization
by Alexander R. Galloway · 1 Apr 2004 · 287pp · 86,919 words
, in 1999, after what was characterized as the largest Internet manhunt ever, a New Jersey resident named David Smith was prosecuted for creating Melissa, a macro virus that spreads using the Microsoft Outlook and Word programs. It reportedly infected over 100,000 computers worldwide and caused $80 million in damage (as assessed
Cancel Cable: How Internet Pirates Get Free Stuff
by Chris Fehily · 1 Feb 2011 · 106pp · 22,332 words
malicious code. PDF and CHM files can also be infected with malicious code (but usually aren’t). The default security settings for Microsoft Office stop macro viruses embedded in Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), and PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) documents. Applications, games, screen savers, scripts, key generators, cracks, disk images, and other
Atrocity Archives
by Stross, Charles · 13 Jan 2004 · 404pp · 113,514 words
. Listen, we're running those old junkers because they're so old and rubbish that they can't catch half the proxy Internet worms and macro viruses that are doing the rounds these days. BSA will insist we replace them with stonking new workstations running Windows XP and Office XP and dialing