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Please do not take down the Sality botnet

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Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not "due to" racism, it is racism. Prejudice based on ethnicity or nation of origin is racism.

No. "Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination". If it's based on the current social or economical situation of Russia, it's prejudice, but not racism. Remember that Russians are "citizens of Russia", not a particular ethnic group.

(Repeated from my reply to something else)

The UN's definition of racial descrimination:

"the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life."

I don't know what the US legal definition is (though I'm guessing it's the similar) but in the UK discrimination based on country of origin would count as racism.

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#142
post #44

Reading README in the linked zip file, inside is, first, an executable which is a QBFC ( http://www.abyssmedia.com/quickbfc ) packaged and slightly modified version of AVG's Sality Removal Tool ( http://free.avg.com/us-en/remove-sality ) to automate the removal of the Sality virus. Then, there is the encrypted version of the same executable, so it will run properly when downloaded by the Sality virus. And finally, th…

[deleted]

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#143
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that he didn't post this and then immediately do it himself? It's called plausible deniability.

this actually will make it harder for him, as he just defined motive and means to the prosecution

Only if the act itself were traceable to him. If he's the only one who knows how to do it, and it happens, then "of course" he did it. If everyone knows how to do it, who knows who might have been responsible?

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're playing the race card and ignoring the facts. Which is pretty lame. As a brit, I fully appreciate and understand why some people in the world hate all britons. We've done some bad things as a nation in recent years and people have a right to tar us all with the same brush. I understand why it would be unsafe for me to walk the streets of Kabul or Baghdad. If any brit has a problem with the way other pe…

What exactly is lame? Pointing to possible misuse of race/nationality angle? I do not think so. Re > it's their job as a citizen in a democracy to affect the change they want to see in people's attitude towards this country and it's people. I believe that my job is to take care of my family and myself, because noone else, and no any government, will do this.

That's the difference between being a participatory citizen and an inhabitant.

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't help but think that must have tasted terrible!

It probably does. In Quebec, wine can only be imported and sold in state-controlled liquor stores. As a loophole, dehydrated wine is imported, rehydrated, bottled, and sold in corner stores ("depanneurs"). It tastes rank.

Would you be able to provide a reference for this? As a Quebecer, this is of interest to me.

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#146
post #102

I am reminded of the "wine blocks" sold (legally!) during the prohibition, which came with the following warning: After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_State...

Not unheard of at all. In dry countries today you'll find all the ingredients in one spot of the grocery store to brew your own beer/liquor/wine, but nobody really says it's for brewing they're just conveniently put together

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I apologize in advance for the tone, but as a Russian I have a question - are you racist? Since Sergey Brin and Mila Yovovich are "russians", do you imply that Google and Hollywood are part of this botnet? The most famous hacker is Kevin Mitnick [american] and most recent hackers charged/arrested by FBI are also american citizens. Why don't you change "russians" to "americans"? Or may be "new_zealanders" [Kim dot com…

I think you're playing the race card and ignoring the facts. Which is pretty lame. As a brit, I fully appreciate and understand why some people in the world hate all britons. We've done some bad things as a nation in recent years and people have a right to tar us all with the same brush. I understand why it would be unsafe for me to walk the streets of Kabul or Baghdad. If any brit has a problem with the way other pe…

> As a brit, I fully appreciate and understand why some people in the world hate all britons. We've done some bad things as a nation in recent years and people have a right to tar us all with the same brush.

Well that's cute, but I disagree. I'm Dutch, we've done some rather bad things in our colonial times, yet it is not okay for Indonesians or South Africans to hate all Dutch. Similarly it is NOT okay for Dutch people to hate all Germans just because they invaded us in 40-45 (WW2), because they took our bikes or because they tend to defeat us in international soccer games.

> If any brit has a problem with the way other people look at them, it's their job as a citizen in a democracy to affect the change they want to see in people's attitude towards this country and it's people.

I'd agree with you on that point if only you weren't highly overestimating the level of influence "any Brit" has on these matters, compared to how much "some Brits" have.

Same for any democracy. Even those mythical ones that work. I'm responsible for my own actions, not for those of some bigshot that claims to represent "me" (one individual in a group of several million of that claim).

If you feel that's not right or self-centred and I should do better, I'll try to take responsibility for my own actions extra hard, but I refuse to take on those of some idiot I hardly have any control over. Best I can do with my little vote is to not vote for Geert Wilders--but as you may or may not have noticed, it didn't help much. So am I to feel responsible for that turdmongler? Fuck no! Yet will I discreetly defecate in the kitchen or bathroom sink of anyone I encounter that appears to subscribe to Wilders' moronic ideas? You can count on it, and that's all the responsibility I will take.

> Except when it's the French. There's no pleasing those cheese eating surrender monkeys.

hur hur hur :-/

I'm all for a bit more humorous light-hearted poking on HN, but I'd rather do without crap like this. Made it real hard to read The Black Swan when Taleb continuously did the same, too.

Re: Please do not take down the Sality botnet

#148
post #78

Is it just me or did the OP just blow a rare opportunity to be a hero? The power of a zero-day exploit is that you don't announce it and give the target a chance to make a patch.

So he should've contacted the botnet owner and tell him to patch sites he use for controlling the botnet?

That's exactly what he did by announcing this publicly instead of just going to a public wifi and quietly taking down the botnet.
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