The Dark Visitor

Wishing all of you a happy and safe Halloween.

You know why I have to wish you a safe Halloween?  Mom and dad.  It wasn’t the ghosts and goblins that made me hide under the bed…no, it was the candy. What? That’s right, the candy.

When I was a kid, you had to pour out all of the candy on a blanket and put on the bomb disposal outfit.  Candy apple from Mrs. Grady (75-years-old), filled with razors and needles.  Caramel covered popcorn in a plastic bag…poison!

In that same spirit, watch your e-mails on every holiday…thermonuclear devices attached!

Totally stealing this post from China Digital Times. They find some of the best stuff, so it is really difficult not to put your hand in the cookie jar once in awhile.

“China Channel Firefox Add-on
Experience the censored Chinese internet at home!

The Firefox add-on China Channel offers internet user outside China to surf the web as if they were in China. Take an unforgetable virtual trip to China and experience the technical expertise of the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (supported by western companies). It’s open source, free and easy.”

I’ll be going to internet prison for this one but what choice did I have? This is cool!  I would post the download site for the add-on but would feel a bit better if you guys went through the China Digital Times link.  Time off for good behavior and all that.

An brief article from silicon.com discusses a warning given to UK critical businesses by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.  From the article:

Internet warfare expert Ira Winkler, president of the Internet Security Advisory Group, said Chinese hackers were “vacuuming up the internet for security and economic secrets” 

 

Sorry, missed this when it first came out on 25 September 08. IntelFusion posts an article concerning pre-emptive Chinese DDOS attacks on websites that support the monks of the Saffron Uprising.  Also planned counter attacks:

In anticipation of the first anniversay of the Saffron Uprising, the government has launched DDOS attacks against three Web sites that support the monks: The Irrawaddy, the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma and the New Era in Bangkok.

The concerted attacks — which appear to originate in China, Russia and Europe as well as Burma…

The xKungfoo computer security conference will take place from 20-21 November 2008, at the C-Kong Hotel in Beijing.  XKungfoo is being sponsored by Xfocus and HYXA (Beijing) Science Technology Co.

Contact e-mail address for registration is: xkungfoo@xkungfoo.org.  It is 500 yuan prior to Nov 1st, 600 yuan before the Nov 15th and 800 yuan if you pay on the 20th.

Don’t know anything about the conference but I can get you the schedule and speakers’ info if needed.  Once again, if you attend, we would like to hear about it!!!

Hat-tip: Cherry (thanks)

New reader Cherry points out that not everyone in China is raging over the infamous “black screen.”  Some Chinese users are showing a sense of humor about the whole situation by creating desktop spoofs.

The official Microsoft black screen comes with the tag-line, “You are possibly the the vicitim of pirated software.”

The spoof reads, “I am possibly the beneficiary of pirated software.”

Below,”Black Screened?”

The program seen above is a patch for the Microsoft “black screen of death” and was written by a female Chinese hacker group at the Guangdong Foreign Language, Foreign Trade University (Guangdong Foreign Studies University).

The patch keeps Chinese users, who are running pirated copies of Microsoft Windows, from having to refresh their computer screens every hour when the black screen pops up.

The Chinese hacker program was released on 15 October, five days before Microsoft’s pre-announced plan went into effect (Jumper, is this possible?).  The black screen seems to have been a mere annoyance, designed by Microsoft to encourage people to purchase legal copies of Windows.  It does not effect the computer’s ability to function.

From the comments I have read on a few boards, this does not seem to be one of the programs written to spread malware.

The website for the group that released the patch is here.  The message attached to the download reads as follows:

“Excuse me Bill Gates, this time, I must once again oppose all of you [Microsoft]. I can’t let you introduce chaos into the Chinese system again for no good reason! For many years now, people have stolen Windows and just this year you decide do something about it? That is stupid!!

We are not the military but we have the same mission, to protect the sovereignty of the Chinese network.”

A few interesting comments on the boards you might like to read.  Don’t have the time to translate, so I give you the Google xlations.  No, they aren’t 100% accurate but they will give you the feel of the conversation.

Something to take note of, not all of the Chinese users are onboard with the “hate Microsoft theme.” There are a number of dissenting voices, saying that stealing intellectual property is wrong.  Good for them!

Update (jumper 1543GMT OCT 26):  The site hosting the anti-anti-piracy patch is overloaded:

Cnet News reports on North Korea restricting the use of cell phones in order to keep news of developing food crisis from getting outside the country:

Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN investigator from Thailand, claims the clampdown on cell phone and long-distance telephone calls was to prevent people from reporting on food shortages, the Web site reported.

The site also said that recent visitors to the country have reported that the North Korean government has been confiscating cell phones.

The cartoon above, from china.com.cn, shows a big hand in the sky with the Microsoft Windows logo holding a sword reading, “Attacking pirated software.” The thief running away at the bottom reads, “Sellers of pirated software.” Of course the guy in the chair is the “innocent” user.  Right.

The article that accompanies the cartoon, suggests that Chinese users might be just as much a victim of software pirates as Microsoft.  Cough.  Since Microsoft is using patch updates to cause the “black screen of death,” it might be better to visit third party sites for patches.  However, warning, hackers are using these types of sites to pass along malware.

No one has asked my opinion on this subject but I’m going to share it with you anyway.  Why? Because I’m in a really bad mood, it’s 4:20 am and I want to vent:

A guy comes to sell you a stolen lawn mower that you know belongs to your neighbor.

How do you know it belongs to your neighbor? It has his name etched right into the damn thing.

How do you know it was stolen? Because you were looking to buy a stolen lawn mower; you weren’t willing to pay full price.

Problem, this is a special lawn mower and will only run properly with fuel from your neighbor (Microsoft updates).   So, when needed, you decide to steal the fuel yourself.

Your neighbor discovers that you are using his stolen lawn mower and have the unmitigated gall to also steal his fuel.  He starts leaving out tainted fuel for you to steal but this screws up “your” lawn mower.  Boy are you pissed.

Yes, it is a horrible analogy.  It’s early…very early.

UPDATE: At least one Chinese user agrees with me, sort of.  His only concession however is to stop stealing the fuel.

Question: How long will it take for Chinese hackers, in a fit of moral outrage, to attack every website associated with Microsoft? 5…4…3…2…

By now most of you have heard of Microsoft’s attempt to rid itself of pirated copies of Windows in China.  This has caused a wave of fear in the average Chinese user, thinking their computers are about to be turned into one big paperweight.

The Micropoint Anti-Virus Company has posted a warning stating that hackers have wasted no time in taking advantage of this fear.  While users are furiously searching the internet for a solution to this problem, the hackers are busy posting links to downloads that promise a solution.  The only problem is that these are fake solutions and they come bundled with malware such as the Gray Pigeon trojan designed to allow remote control of the computer.

Welcome to Chinese hacker social engineering 101.  Or, we could try and force the dialectic of thesis, antithesis, synthesis: anti-piracy program, anti-anti-piracy program, hacking.  In the Chinese hacker community, the conflict between thesis and antithesis is always resolved with more hacking.