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Thread: Users find 100% guaranteed fix for infected systems

  1. #1
    Member ams2d's Avatar
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    Users find 100% guaranteed fix for infected systems

    http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/12154785.htm

    Tucker, an Internet industry executive with a doctorate in computer science, decided that rather than take the time to remove the offending software, he would spend $400 on a new machine.
    The number of viruses has more than doubled in just the last six months, while the number of adware and spyware programs has approximately quadrupled during the same period, said Vincent Weafer, a senior director at Symantec, which makes the Norton computer security programs.
    Of course this does not prevent them from getting their new machines infected.

    Seems like there may be an interesting business opportunity to take these infected PC's off their hands, fix them and donate them or even resell them.
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  2. #2
    Leftie Linux Lover the_JinX's Avatar
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    LMFAO..
    But he is right.. Depending on salary, it might be more efficient to just buy a new computer.. But make that a MacMini

    MS and lower TCO my ASS !!

    And for people that dislike loging in for star-telegram (or something) here's a better link http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=24690
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    Senior Member DakX's Avatar
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    Re: Users find 100% guaranteed fix for infected systems

    Originally posted here by ams2d

    Seems like there may be an interesting business opportunity to take these infected PC's off their hands, fix them and donate them or even resell them.
    I agree, if you got thigns going good you could make a lot of money. Or donate some to a foundation or a school
    [T]he future is now.

  4. #4
    AO übergeek phishphreek's Avatar
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    I didn't RTFA... but.

    Um... call me stupid... but even if you get a new machine.. you still have to configure it and install/uninstall software for your environment. That takes time. Time costs $$. So, add that to the cost of the new computer.

    Now... some sort of imaging solution for this would work well (ghost, etc.). Why not just have good images and just reimage the box when/if they become infected?

    I think prevention would be a better solution to spend $ on?

    If a worm gets loose on his network then he is going to replace ALL computers that are affected by said worm? A case of DNS poisioning and unpatched browsers can infect all his machines with spwyare... (that try to visit a common site(s) ) again... replace ALL workstations?

    Its been months since I've had to remove any spyware on boxes... thanks to group policy, blackhole dns, web filtering proxy and windows update services and up2date antivirus.

    Replacing the whole computer because it gets infected is the most retarded thing I think I've heard... But then again... I don't have my PhD. They don't pay me that much to start with... so it doesn't cost much to remove.
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  5. #5
    0_o Mastermind keezel's Avatar
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    I think it's just a parody

  6. #6
    Member ams2d's Avatar
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    Parody?

    You could be right, it has been picked up by several media outlets. But reading the apparent source article from the NY Times (sorry another subscribing link) gives several more examples of individuals and I tend to believe it is legit.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/te...u23l8AulTaIvtg

    I agree the time and effort to fix it yourself (or better yet take steps before hand to make sure you don't need to waste your time) is in most cases far cheaper. The NY Times article did mentioned someone that did do something along those lines.

    Buying a new computer is not always an antidote. Bora Ozturk, 33, who manages bank branches in San Francisco, bought a $900 Hewlett-Packard computer last year only to have it nearly paralyzed three months ago with infections that he believes he got from visiting Turkish news sites.

    He debated throwing the PC out, but it had pictures of his newborn son and all of his music files. He decided to fix it himself, spending 15 hours learning what to do, then saving all his pictures and music to a disk and then wiping the hard drive clean - the equivalent of starting over.
    The prices of PC have gotten in a sense like VCRs ... it's cheaper to buy a new (and probably improved) model than fix the current "older" one.

    Actual Quote:
    Microsoft executives say they decided to enter the anti-spyware business earlier this year after realizing the extent of the problem.
    My version:
    Microsoft executives say they decided to enter the anti-spyware business earlier this year after realizing the majority of the problems were linked to Microsoft Windows.
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  7. #7
    Regal Making Handler
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    sorry another subscribing link
    http://bugmenot.com/
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  8. #8
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Now... some sort of imaging solution for this would work well (ghost, etc.). Why not just have good images and just reimage the box when/if they become infected?
    Excellent suggestion!

    I still don't see how getting a new PC gets you round the problem of transferring all your data and applications?

    And if you don't have anything worthwhile that you haven't ghosted/saved why not just reformat & reinstall.................it would be a lot quicker than getting out the automobile and going down to the store to buy a new one.

    In a commercial environment your important stuff should be stored on a server NOT locally and there should be "reference" or "standard" builds that you just mirror onto the affected machine.

    And this guy is an IT executive with a PhD in IT?......................he must have found it in a box of cornflakes

  9. #9
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    NYTimes user/pwd

    Originally posted here by jinxy
    http://bugmenot.com/
    You can also access the NYTimes with cypherpunk/cypherpunk

    Thank you, Slashdot community.
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  10. #10
    http://bugmenot.com/view.php?url=htt...barclays.co.uk hahahaha thought i would give it a try to see what it would say, no malicious intent though, just curiosity (killed the cat)
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