Testing confirms Samsung keylogger rumour just a false alarm
Antivirus testers have backed up Samsung's protestations that the detection of keylogging software on brand-new Samsung laptops was just a false alarm. Mohamed Hassan, founder of security consultancy NetSec, raised the alarm after a scan revealed that two newly purchased Samsung laptops were infected with StarLogger, a …
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Call Centre Staff in Lack of In-Depth Knowledge Shocker!
In other news:
Antivirus software that nobody has heard of isn't very good.
Water is wet.
Sky is up.
etc.
a couple of secondary questions?
How about why a so called security expert started spreading stories without doing any real investigation. Hmm.
A few more questions
- why does everybody take for granted that the Samsung supervisor did really tell him tthey had done this on purpose to monitor use of their computers... it's that guy who says it, and his credibility isn't exactly at the top at the moment.
- what's the use of those certifications the guy has (MSIA, CISA, CISSP) - do they teach you that "The findings are false-positive proof since I have used the tool that discovered it for six years now and I am yet to see it misidentify an item throughout the years" (quote from his article @ http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sec/2011/032811sec2.html). Should I add "The fact that on both models the same files were found in the same location supported the suspicion that the hardware manufacturer, Samsung, must know about this software on its brand-new laptops." which indicates that the guy, apart from beeing a^H_THE_ security guru, is also incdredibly tech-savvy. Now I realize, compared to this obvious genius, how I am only a dwarf.
I know its just pure rant but this non-story is a big fail in the whole security information industry.
He may not be a dickhead, but you can still see the amputation scar on his forehead!
@olivier:
"The findings are false-positive proof since I have used the tool that discovered it for six years now and I am yet to see it misidentify an item throughout the years" is 110% bullshit.
GFI should ask Mr. Alphabet Soup Hassan to give their shill money back.
Samsung tech support
Having had the misfortune to contact Samsung support, it's no surprise they gave out misleading/useless information, it seems they are experts at that particular discipline.
As for detecting malware just because of a folder name, words fail me...
Samsung?
It's not Samsung that is sendign out misleading information. It's NetSec, whoever the hell they are.
Well...
Samsung allegedly gave misleading information to NetSec's founder.
(Still...)
Credible?
Given the demonstrable utter incompetence shown by "NetSec's founder", I'm not massively inclined to believe his interpretation of statements given by some consumer support line.
(Fail is for him, not you, btw.)
Lol
"Mohamed Hassan, founder of security consultancy NetSec".
I can see people lining up to use his services. I wonder how much NetSec charge for reverse engineering a malicious empty folder.
Go NetSec
Way to confirm your security expertise.
I mean a directory called SL? It must be malware.
Mohamed Hassan
Just another media whore security consultant salivating for their 5mins. I bet he thought this find would get his security company some good exposure. Well you got your exposure alright
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mohamed-hassan/7/950/77
I wish LinkedIn had a Weaknesses subsection, so that you could add 'Malware Analysis' to it after this incident, Mr.Security Professional.
NetSec = NutSac
lame 'expert' obviously trying to get his name in the news to sell his tat
hmmm
So that's why VIPRE is the fastest on the market. LOL
I hope Samsung sue him for defemation.
Not because I care about Samsung or their bottom line but because "experts" like this deserve it.
Reckless
Those who are ill-informed will now want to boycott Samsung's products based solely on something they didn't do. Well there's a lesson to be learned as always. I think the moral to this story is never trust a CISSP to do malware analysis. I kid, I kid.
and 3rdly...
The moronic media that still like to fuel the fire by calling it "Sony BMG rootkit fiasco"...
Sony BMG didn't create it, they licenced it from First4Internet...
Still why ruin a great Internet Myth....
Pillock
Does the original alert satisfy the legal definition of libel, ie does Samsung have grounds for legal action?
Bill Gates, because he knows some lawyers.
We've learned a few things here...
VIPRE is a hopelessly useless product.
NetSec is run by an idiot who blindly trusts useless products.
Samsung can't even convincingly deflect a claim that was wrong to start with.
FAIL simply doesn't cover this.
Heh
Where's the guy who claimed Apple made this story up to discredit Samsung?
Tip for malware authors
To be safe from VIPRE and the like, hide your product in the root directory. No more betrayal by folder name!
Samsung actually ADMITTED it though, so
maybe there IS a fiendishly well hidden keylogger on all their new machines ?
Maybe just a new call centre guy......
Or maybe an under trained call centre analyst wanted to get rid of a PITA customer!
vipre was developed by Sunbelt
before Sunbelt was bought by GFI. I never did understand what, exactly, GFI thought the value of Sunbelt was.
During the brief period when I trialed their antispam/antivirus box, I learned that they were using another outfit's good and very expensive definitions on it - and to cut costs, didn't actually license it properly but paid per update. This meant that it wasn't auto-updating but only updating when something really nasty was on the loose.
after their staff pulled the truth like taffy on a mailing list discussing the issue, I sent it back.
And I will never again do business with a company in Florida. Seriously. I've had nothing but bad experiences with folks who decide to run businesses from there.
Hall of Shame
How the hell can the conclusion be "[...] Firstly, why VIPRE Antivirus, from GFI Software, detects malware in empty folders simply because of their name, and secondly about the quality of information provided by Samsung's tech support staff."
Where's the "thirdly, how can a founder of a security consultancy blindly trust his AV (and why does he use a AV?)"
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