[fleamailman]

Myself, I imagine this to be a silly question because we are winning until they bring out some new stuff; however, where on this cycle of malware/cureware do you think we stand at the moment. Anyway, hope this gives everyone a chance to express themselves, don't be shy then.

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Honestly, I dont see how this question can be answered.

We have helped thousands of people clean their computers of malware. When they leave they have some knowledge on how to better protect themselves. Thats all we can do. This is not a war that we can win or lose, we can just keep doing our best to make a difference.

Personally, I am happy with every small victory. Every thanks from a victim cleaned makes the fight worth fighting.

Where are we, there is no way to tell how far down an endless pit you are, so thats not a really valid question.

ScHwErV

[ScHwErV]

Honestly, I dont see how this question can be answered.

We have helped thousands of people clean their computers of malware. When they leave they have some knowledge on how to better protect themselves. Thats all we can do. This is not a war that we can win or lose, we can just keep doing our best to make a difference.

Personally, I am happy with every small victory. Every thanks from a victim cleaned makes the fight worth fighting.

Where are we, there is no way to tell how far down an endless pit you are, so thats not a really valid question.

ScHwErV

[fleamailman]

Do you feel then that there has come out recently malware that is really testing your ability and tools, or do you feel that you are comfortable with them for the moments?

Edited by fleamailman, 04 August 2005 - 12:02 PM.

[ukbiker]

Depends on what you mean by "Win the war". I f you mean that all the scummers see the error of their ways and reform, then the answer has to be No. All we can do is fight and win the battle on individual computers, and in the process help to educate users about the issues. Eventually, public pressure will drive legislators to provide the tools needed to stop malware. It is only through action at executive level that the big war will be fought and won, in the meantime we will keep on doing what we do while we wait for the tide of public outrage to grow and become unstoppable.

UKBiker

[fleamailman]

Thanks for your above valuble answers which gives me the feeling that in this war on malware it is a period of neither-nor, something in paralel with a hospital where the doctors, while not fretted by the advent of any new epidemic, are at the same time not too happy about all the people still falling ill.

May I reword my question for better clarity then: seeing the type of malware that has come out to date, in terms of the steps needed to extract them from the system do people here feel that the hassle has increased (in both time consumption and complexity) to a point where malware prevention seems an uphill struggle, or does one feel that certain recent reliable cures and preventions have made your work easier?

Do the threads on the HJT forums reflect things in general are getting easier, worse or just same as ever?

In fact, perhaps I shouldn't be asking this question at all here because no doubt the malware makers monitor these type of sites to learn how bothersom their malware is at removal, I mean if it is going to take 40 posts in a thread to remove a certain malware the makers are going to be alot happier than when it takes just one simple reply.

So honestly how do you feel we stand at this point, sorry I couldn't get the question right before and perhaps I still haven't asked the right question so if you feel I am missing the point please let me know what that point is.

PS. I throw this question open to anyone wishing to add their comment too.

[The_KiD]

The war on malware will never be won until things change in a big way, firstly we need laws and legislation that enables law enforcement type to prosecute the malware distributors, creators and the advertisers that use it.

Once that is done all efforts should be concentrated on exposing who these people are and where they live.

Once a few start getting hefty fines and/or jail terms, then we should see slow down in the number of malware's we have to deal with every day.

As for the number of malware cases, it is hard to say if it is getting worse, simply because the number of HJT logs increase could mean that more people are getting wise to malware and where to go to get rid.

It seems to come in peaks and troughs, when there is a new variant out then the number of HJT logs increase too, but then there can be quiet periods (at least on my site) where nothing is posted for a while, then a sudden influx of logs again.

Malware is deffinitely getting trickier to remove, with some types placing hundreds and hundreds of different variants on your system, also have noticed some virii placing itself into your safe mode files too, so even when you start in safe mode it fires up and is causing you problems.

Basically while the anti-spyware folk like ourselves are creating procedures and programs to remove spyware, we will always be one step behind, we can only react to what is out there currently. Until this is changed and we start going for source of the problem, then this is just the way it will remain .

[admin]

Malware is getting ever difficult to detect and remove. It also evolves so fast that it can be a challenge to keep up.

Why? The root of all evil... $$$ While in the past someone may have wanted to prove their l33t coding skills by crafting a virus or exposing a new vulnerability, now they can use those same skills for profit. It's a multi-billion dollar business.