Comments on: Fake Firefox Update is a Social Engineering Triple Fail

By: 10 Threats from 2010 We’d Prefer Remain History « Webroot Threat Blog

10 Threats from 2010 We’d Prefer Remain History « Webroot Threat Blog — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:57:51 +0000

[...] seen several large infection campaigns waged, using programs pretending to be Windows Update, Firefox update, Adobe updater, Flash updates, or some other legitimate auto-update app. When all other social [...]

By: Andrew Brandt

Andrew Brandt — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:46:11 +0000

I would like nothing more than to never have to deal with malware again. If all malware disappeared tomorrow, I would be thrilled. I certainly don't need or want the kind of job security you're describing. Are you implying we only detect the poorly-written stuff? That's hardly the case. AV-Test says we do much better than the rest of the industry at removing active infections. The poorly written stuff is merely comedy gold. Then again, I also disagree with your metaphor. Instead of "poking the bear" a better description of what I do is "deliberately step in a pile, then scrape the dog doo off the sole of my shoe."

By: Don

Don — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 02:42:24 +0000

Also got to think of it this way: If the idiots keep writting bad malware that doesn’t work, Webroot might go out of business.
By taunting them, Mr. Brandt is only practicing “job security”.
In this economy, I really can’t blame him for poking the bear.

By: Andrew Brandt

Andrew Brandt — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:21:53 +0000

Agreed. I don’t think anyone (except, perhaps, the criminals themselves) would argue that their failure is anything other than a good thing. However, I don’t see why I shouldn’t mock their incompetence. After all, aren’t these people alleged to be those big, bad cybercriminals we’re all supposed to be afraid of? They’re more like bank robbers who leave behind a wallet containing ID.

By: Shane C

Shane C — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:41:01 +0000

Um – berating the bad guys for writing sloppy pages seems to be the wrong thing. “Hey guys – this all you got? My 6-year old can write better stuff than this! C’mon, you can do better!”

Remember, it’s a *good* thing when the bad guys get sloppy!