will virus infect other machines in the same wireless network?

[Ken]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well? Or if one machine
is hacked, will the others be infected too?

please advise. thanks!!

 

[Giles Coochey]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well? Or if one machine
is hacked, will the others be infected too?

please advise. thanks!!

If your machines trust each other and one is infected, and the virus has
a infection vector across one of the trusts, then yes, your other
machines are likely to be infected.

It would depend on the hacker, virus, worm, and without further
information we couldn't go into specifics.

 

[Giovanni]

If your machines trust each other and one is infected, and the virus has
a infection vector across one of the trusts, then yes, your other
machines are likely to be infected.

It would depend on the hacker, virus, worm, and without further
information we couldn't go into specifics.

It would depend on which OS the other machines are running? If the
answer is Windows I would say YES.

 

[Unruh]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well? Or if one machine
is hacked, will the others be infected too?

Maybe. You have three separate computers. They may well all get infected by
the same outside source, they may infect each other, or they may get
missed.

Viruses are not some mysterious thing in the air, even if you use wireless.
They are specific pieces of data and programs that must be transfered and
run.

 

[Joe Pfeiffer]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well? Or if one machine
is hacked, will the others be infected too?

please advise. thanks!!

If their security isn't any better than that of the infected or hacked
machine, almost certainly.

 

[Guest]

If you have the SP2 firewall enabled, AND you aren't doing file or printer
sharing (which opens some of the the most vulnerable ports) then the risks
are small.

If any of the computers are sharing files or printers across the network
then you need to be more careful about your security settings, and having the
relevant security-patches applied for the known exploits which relate to
this.

With wireless it's important to use one kind of encryption or the other to
stop outside access. WPA is generally thought to be the better.

 

[John Thompson]

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.networking.]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well?

Not if you're using linux. There are no self-propogating linux viruses in
the wild.

Or if one machine is hacked, will the others be infected too?

If you're using NIS to authenticate users, a password compromise on one
machine will compromise all the others using NIS as well. Use strong
passwords, and change them regularly to reduce the likelihood of this
happening.

 

[James Knott]

When I setup wireless network at home, if one machine is infected with
virus, will the other machines be infected as well? Or if one machine
is hacked, will the others be infected too?

Well, if you're running Linux, viruses are not an issue. With Windows, they
can spread just as well as on a wired network i.e. virtually guaranteed to
spread.

 

[Bert Hyman]

In James Knott

Well, if you're running Linux, viruses are not an issue.

If that attitude becomes widespread as more and more non-technical folks
start using Linux, you can be sure Linux will become a target.

Remember, the first reported Internet worm selectively infected Vaxen and
Sun boxes running Berkeley BSD UNIX.

 

[Duane Arnold]

In James Knott


If that attitude becomes widespread as more and more non-technical folks
start using Linux, you can be sure Linux will become a target.

Amen you hit the head on the nail. When the clueless reach Linux, the sharks
will follow. I use Linux too and I have seen some of the attack reports on
that O/S and heaven help Linux. Anything written by fallible Human Beings is
not infallible and if one thinks it is one is kidding one's self.



Duane

 

[James Knott]

If that attitude becomes widespread as more and more non-technical folks
start using Linux, you can be sure Linux will become a target.

Remember, the first reported Internet worm selectively infected Vaxen and
Sun boxes running Berkeley BSD UNIX.

I've never claimed that Linux/Unix viruses are impossible. However, the
basic design philosophy of Unix & Linux makes it extremely difficult for
one to propigate. For example, IE is tightly coupled to the Windows
kernel, which means that if it gets compromised, the whole system is. Then
there's ActiveX, which relies on trusting the source for security, or the
old default behavior of Outlook to automatically run executable
attachments, limitations that encourage users to run as admin, etc. On the
other hand, Linux & Unix are designed in a modular fashion, which limits
the ability of a malware to do damage, a user has to a) detach an
executable b) make it executable and c) run it. Even then it can only
affect his own files and not the whole system. Also, users are discouraged
from running as root, except as necessary. Security in Linux & Unix was
built in from the start, as they were intended to be multiuser. Windows
however, was originally designed as a single user, non networked system,
with security controls tacked on later. You might also take note of the
fact that about 70 - 75% of all web sites are running Unix or Linux, yet
have the fewest successful attacks. Incidentally, many of those commercial
firewall/router boxes run Linux or Unix.

 

[James Knott]

Amen you hit the head on the nail. When the clueless reach Linux, the
sharks
will follow. I use Linux too and I have seen some of the attack reports
on that O/S and heaven help Linux. Anything written by fallible Human
Beings is not infallible and if one thinks it is one is kidding one's
self.

Some Linux distros make it difficult for a user to run as root. On the
other hand, most Windows boxes, in non corporate use, there is only the one
user who doesn't know enough to not use admin rights. There are also many
severe technical flaws in Windows, that make it easy for malware. Unix &
Linux were built with security in mind. Windows was not.

 

[Duane Arnold]

Some Linux distros make it difficult for a user to run as root. On
the other hand, most Windows boxes, in non corporate use, there is
only the one user who doesn't know enough to not use admin rights.
There are also many severe technical flaws in Windows, that make it
easy for malware. Unix & Linux were built with security in mind.
Windows was not.

You can song and dance someone else about this. I got Linux on my
network. I know the attack profile is less than on the Windows platform
and the more technically minded use Linux as opposed to MS. Let the
clueless start using Linux like they use MS and will see what happens.
There are also severe technical flaws in Linux, Mac 10 O/S and all the
rest as Human Beings are flawed. They have not been exposed as the masses
are not using those O/S like they are using MS and the sharks are not
coming after those O/S(s) like they are coming after MS and the clueless
user.

Duane

 

[James Knott]

You can song and dance someone else about this. I got Linux on my
network. I know the attack profile is less than on the Windows platform
and the more technically minded use Linux as opposed to MS. Let the
clueless start using Linux like they use MS and will see what happens.
There are also severe technical flaws in Linux, Mac 10 O/S and all the
rest as Human Beings are flawed. They have not been exposed as the masses
are not using those O/S like they are using MS and the sharks are not
coming after those O/S(s) like they are coming after MS and the clueless
user.

Clueless users or not, it's still much harder for malware to propgate on
Linux than Windows.

 

[Duane Arnold]

Clueless users or not, it's still much harder for malware to propgate
on Linux than Windows.

No one said it wasn't and Linux is not the bed of roses you make it out to
be and I know better. There are AV(s) for Linux too BTW I don't remember
some of the names that were posted to me but you can use Google.

Duane

 

[Paul Black]

Clueless users or not, it's still much harder for malware to propgate on
Linux than Windows.

A virus doesn't have to be root to propagate (e.g. email viruses), it
only has to be root to destroy a system. Of course, that won't protect
an individual user's files.

Paul

 

[frankdowling1]

Are one kind of virus or worm worse at spreading than others.
How would the virus spread if no data is directly spread between the
various computers on the network ?
If viruses spread so easy on a network would viruses spread in this
manner on a broadband cable network ?

 

[Duane Arnold]

Are one kind of virus or worm worse at spreading than others.
How would the virus spread if no data is directly spread between the
various computers on the network ?
If viruses spread so easy on a network would viruses spread in this
manner on a broadband cable network ?

Yes they will spread on a LAN where the machines are sharing resouces
once the malware has reached a machine and is executed.

There are self populating worms that will seek out and infect other
machines that it finds unprotected and drop its payload once it is
executed. That's the vast majority of unsolicited inbound traffic that
will hit a firewall and is blocked are other machines that have self
populating malware seeking other machines on the Internet that are not
protected and infect them.

It doesn't matter if the machine is on a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide
Area Network (WAN/Internet) as they are both networks and if the machine
is open to malware attacks, it doesn't matter if it's a dial-up, ADSL,
Broad Band cable or whatever.

Usually, malware attacks the machine because the user has contributed to
it in someway with the happy fingers that click on unknown links, go to
dubious WEB sites or click on and open unknown email attachments. Once,
malware has reached the machine and is executed, it's over.

Duane

 

[James Knott]

No one said it wasn't and Linux is not the bed of roses you make it out to
be and I know better. There are AV(s) for Linux too BTW I don't remember
some of the names that were posted to me but you can use Google.

I think you'll find the main use for Linux AV, is on servers connected to
Windows networks.

 

[James Knott]

Are one kind of virus or worm worse at spreading than others.
How would the virus spread if no data is directly spread between the
various computers on the network ?
If viruses spread so easy on a network would viruses spread in this
manner on a broadband cable network ?

There are different methods for a virus to spread. At one time, the most
common way was booting from infected floppies. Nowadays, it might be via
e-mail or directly over a network.