Absolute Stupidity or April's Fools Day: A $25,000 Prize For The First 'In The Wild'

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
http://www.dvforge.com/virus.shtml

Quote:

Contest goal: To lay to rest, once and for all, the myths surrounding the lack of spreading computer virii on the Macintosh OS X operating system.



Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    I have mixed feelings about this



    One part of me love it. Now finally we can seet if our platform of choice is as safe as many think. Imagine the boost X will gain if no one is able to break into the computers set up with nothing other than the standard figuration. On our network here we have huge problems with infected machines and me and a couple of others always poke fun of the rest, demanding our own virtual network for mac-only. And they always use the "security through obscurity" argument. Perhaps we can prove a point or two with this...



    On the other hand because of mans imagination I don´t believe any system is 100% fool proof. And this could lead to more interests to the platform from virus composers.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    I have V_E_R_Y mixed feelings about this.

    Writing and spreading (put "in the wild") a virus is criminal behaviour. Paying someone to be a criminal is a crime under almost any jurisdiction in the world. Therefore I guess the people from DVForge are either really f*ing stupid or simple criminals:

    Quote:

    All you have to do is put a virus into circulation that makes its way onto two totally unprotected Mac OS X computers we have running in Hendersonville, Tennessee. No trick, no hidden barriers... just two open internet connections to two non-firewalled, unmodified, bone-stock OS X 10.3 Panther systems, each tied directly to the 'net by a T-1 line.



    They as for putting a virus into circulation and they'll pay for it.

    Will they pay for cleaning/restoring all other computers that may be infested by this test virus?
  • Reply 3 of 12
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    the goal of the contest is to infect UNPROTECTED computers that they have designated. nobody is gonna write a virus if they dont have to get around any firewalls.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ipodandimac

    the goal of the contest is to infect UNPROTECTED computers that they have designated. nobody is gonna write a virus if they dont have to get around any firewalls.



    Can you elaborate the connection between firewalls and virii? And while you are at it: there are millions of unprotected computers out there, how will the virus find the right computers to infect?
  • Reply 5 of 12
    gustavgustav Posts: 827member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BNOYHTUAWB

    I have V_E_R_Y mixed feelings about this.

    Writing and spreading (put "in the wild") a virus is criminal behaviour. Paying someone to be a criminal is a crime under almost any jurisdiction in the world. Therefore I guess the people from DVForge are either really f*ing stupid or simple criminals:




    DVForge is run by Jack Campbell. He has a history of criminal behaviour. While he has attempted to put his criminal past behind him, his business (DVForge and MacMice) consists of mostly finding cheap OEM accessories, advertising them as "designed for the Mac market" and marking them up by typically more than 200%.
  • Reply 6 of 12
  • Reply 7 of 12
    Quote:

    DVForge Virus Prize 2005



    The Contest That, Sadly, WIll Never Be



    Contest goal: To lay to rest, once and for all, the myths surrounding the lack of spreading computer virii on the Macintosh OS X operating system, by sponsoring a contest that challenges virus writers to actually prove that they can introduce a harmless virus into two modern OS X Macs.



    That was the goal of a contest announced recently by DVForge, but, due to a variety of influencing factors was cancelled shortly after having been announced.



    A Statement About The Contest Cancellation



    "In response to the statements put forth this past week by Symantec Corporation suggesting that Mac users are at substantial risk to infections from viruses, our company crafted and announced a contest that would have paid a $25,000 prize for the successful creation of such a virus," said Jack Campbell, DVForge, Inc. CEO, "During the first several hours after making the public announcement, I was contacted by a large number of Mac users, and Mac software professionals who shared their thinking with me about the contest. A few of these people are extremely well-regarded experts in the field of Mac OS X security. So, I have taken their advice very seriously, and have made the difficult decision to cancel our contest. I have been convinced that the risk of a virus on the OS X platform is not zero, although it is remarkably close to zero. More importantly, I have been convinced that there may be legality issues stemming from such a contest, beyond those terminated by our own legal counsel, prior to announcing the contest. So, despite my personal distaste for what some companies have done to take advantage of virus fears among the Mac community, and my own inclination to make a bold statement in response to those fears, I have responsible choice but to retract the contest, effective immediately."



    DVForge, Inc. supports honesty and integrity by manufacturers in all public communication. And, we strongly discourage the use of exaggeration, innuendo, or loosely stated claims in an effort to increase sales of a company's products. We believe in accurate, fair marketing statements, and in allowing an accurately informed public to then make its own decisions about purchasing, or not purchasing, a company's products or services. We implore all Mac industry businesses to support these same values.



  • Reply 8 of 12
    Especially the last paragraph about honesty etc. is outrageous ...
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Can you believe this? It's on the same page that did announce the virus challenge!
    Quote:

    Liability Statement



    We do not endorse the creation or distribution of computer viruses. U.S. and international law, as well as simple good judgment forbid the transmission of computer viruses.




  • Reply 10 of 12
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    well, it was cancelled. damn, that would have been exciting, too.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    DV Forge dudes/dudettes were just rightly pissed off by the Symantec claims. Read the article on macobserver.com and check out the original Symantec press release. Pure rubbish by Symantec, no figures, no facts, just pure speculation.



    DV Forge had it's passion in the right place, but was wise to 'cool off' and cancel the contest.



    I'm all for the publicity that has been generated, that has made people aware of the f8cking bullsh1te Symantec has pulled. They have a major challenge already going up against MicroSucks in the security area, and they have merged with Veritas. So they've got a pretty strong offering if Symantec-Veritas pulls it off, and a good chance to take on MicroSucks.



    I've no idea why Symantec engaged in this Mac-baiting though, given the Macs market share, an extra 3% in revenues (assuming it captures all of the Mac security software sales -- again, not a huge market compared to virus and spyware-infested Windoze stuff) ... seemed like a pointless move.



    Maybe they think the Mac market share is going to be huge and are trying to get in for the ground level, but unless iPods start getting infected with viruses, spyware or malware, not sure what the f8ck Symantec was thinking.



    And I've always liked Symantec over McAffee and TrendMicro (big in Asia)



    Virex 7.51 free with .Mac account works fine for me right now

    And spyware? Hmm Macs don't have spyware really..!! yay!!
  • Reply 12 of 12
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gustav

    DVForge is run by Jack Campbell. He has a history of criminal behaviour. While he has attempted to put his criminal past behind him, his business (DVForge and MacMice) consists of mostly finding cheap OEM accessories, advertising them as "designed for the Mac market" and marking them up by typically more than 200%.



    I'll tell YOU what's criminal, I'm outside the US, and DVForge sells the iBreeze for about $20+ US dollars, my local Apple reseller is trying to sell the iBreeze for the equivalent of $50 US dollars... my local Apple reseller is the real criminal in my mind
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