Sample virus targets Windows and Linux
Guess this goes to prove than in reality, no OS is safe forever. Having said this, it is safe to say that we will not see a flood of new Linux viruses anytime soon. Call it a hunch…
Virus writers have crafted another example of malicious software that can infect computers running Windows or Linux.
The proof-of-concept was submitted to Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab, which calls it Bi.a. The virus was written in low-level computer code called “assembler” and is limited, as it only infects files in the current directory, Kaspersky said Friday on its Web site. However, it can infect files in the different formats used by Linux and Windows–ELF and PE, respectively, Kaspersky said.
The virus is a classic proof-of-concept, written to show that it’s possible to create a cross-platform virus, Kaspersky said. “However, our experience shows that once proof-of-concept code is released, virus writers are usually quick to take the code and adapt it for their own use,” Kaspersky said. Source: CNET
Tags: windows, linux, cross-platform, virus, proof-of-concept
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