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R-2.7.2 infected?

11 messages · Peter Dalgaard, ajay ohri, Rory.WINSTON at rbs.com +2 more

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Dave DeBarr wrote:
You're the first to report it, and 2.7.2 has been out for almost a 
month, so I think it's likely that the CRAN copy is uninfected.  Did you 
check the md5 checksum on it?  It matches on the original, so if it 
doesn't match at your end, you've got a bad download.

If it matches and you still get the virus checker reporting, please let 
me know the details about that infection, and I'll try to do a manual 
inspection for it.

Duncan Murdoch
#
could this be an intentional attack to compromise a very popular
download, and infect thousands of people.....what could be the
motivations...i hope its not some corporate thug here

What exactly does the Win32/Adclicker.JO trojan do ???

Ajay
www.decisionstats.com
www.iwannacrib.com
On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 9:11 AM, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch at stats.uwo.ca> wrote:

  
    
#
Yes; it matched: 540090dd892657804d1099c54d6f770d
Sounds promising.  Perhaps it's a false positive from eTrust.
eTrust still reports the signature match for Win32/Adclicker.JO; but I don't know anything about Win32/Adclicker.JO.  Unfortunately, eTrust doesn't provide a link to a description of Win32/Adclicker.JO.

For what it's worth, I'm using version 7.1.710 of Computer Associates eTrust Antivirus (with version 31.6.6099 of its signature file).

I'll try to find out more.

Thanks,
Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan Murdoch [mailto:murdoch at stats.uwo.ca]
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 8:41 PM
To: Dave DeBarr
Cc: r-help at r-project.org
Subject: Re: [R] R-2.7.2 infected?
Dave DeBarr wrote:
You're the first to report it, and 2.7.2 has been out for almost a
month, so I think it's likely that the CRAN copy is uninfected.  Did you
check the md5 checksum on it?  It matches on the original, so if it
doesn't match at your end, you've got a bad download.

If it matches and you still get the virus checker reporting, please let
me know the details about that infection, and I'll try to do a manual
inspection for it.

Duncan Murdoch
#
Dave DeBarr wrote:
And it is binary identical to the Austria CRAN one.
Likely. A quick Googling indicates that other programs have been 
"caught" too.
This link is illuminative: 
http://www.cccp-project.net/forums/index.php?topic=2897.0

  
    
#
Peter Dalgaard wrote:
(I wanted to do the same thing with R, but http://www.virustotal.com has
a 20M cap on the file size.)
#
This is what it does. It seems like a false alarm because in case of
actual infection it seems
quite conspicious

Ajay

www.decisionstats.com



http://www.spywareguide.com/product_show.php?id=2569


Full Name:
Win32.AdClicker Websearch   Read More
Type:Trojan
SG Index: 5 [Explain]
Removal tools:List of products that detect/remove/protect against
Win32.AdClicker:
Desktop Anti-malware: Pro User: X-Cleaner
Control IM and P2P use, block spyware and other malware: RTGuardian
Endpoint Spyware Remediation: Greynet Enterprise Manager
IM, P2P control, malware prevention and web filtering in single
appliance: Unified Security Gateway
Category Description:A Trojan is a program that enables an attacker to
get nearly complete control over an infected PC. Frequently used tool
by malicious hackers. When this program executes, the program performs
a specific set of actions. This usually works toward the goal of
allowing the trojan to survive on a system and open up a backdoor

.
Comment:This Trojan downloads many executable.It changes the
autostarter randomly. It also hijacks the desktop and puts a wall
paper saying that the system is affected and advertises a sites
?smart-security.info?.It duplicates each and every file which the user
creates with the same name and in the same Directory.


Properties:
 Adds other software
 Autostarts/Stays Resident
 Installs Through Exploit
 Opens ports
On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 1:29 PM, Peter Dalgaard
<P.Dalgaard at biostat.ku.dk> wrote:
--
Regards,

Ajay Ohri
http://tinyurl.com/liajayohri
#
No. False positives are relatively common.


What exactly does the Win32/Adclicker.JO trojan do ???

Ajay
www.decisionstats.com
www.iwannacrib.com
On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 9:11 AM, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch at stats.uwo.ca> wrote:
--
Regards,

Ajay Ohri
http://tinyurl.com/liajayohri

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#
On 22/09/2008 8:38 PM, Dave DeBarr wrote:
It's not R, it's CA:  see the message below.  Is there any way for you 
to post the false positive to their tech support?

Duncan Murdoch
6 days later
#
For what it's worth, Computer Associates updated their signatures; and eTrust no longer reports the installation program for the Windows version of R-2.7.2 as infected.

I found it surprisingly difficult to learn about how the Win32/Adclicker.JO virus operates, and how eTrust detects it.  I couldn't even get anyone to admit it was a false positive (though it seems clear now).

Regards,
Dave
#
Dave DeBarr wrote:
Thanks for following up on this. 

Duncan Murdoch