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back to article WhatsApp chaps rapped for crap app group chat zap: Infosec bods find a way to nuke messages, fix issued

Security investigators say they have uncovered a vulnerability in WhatsApp that will gladden the heart of anyone who's ever wondered how to permanently wipe that incriminating group chat. Researchers from infosec biz Check Point say they have found a flaw that lets a helpful malicious so-and-so "deliver a destructive group …

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  1. sbt
    Coat

    How very dare you?!

    The man is a was in National Treasure!

    Another day, another injection flaw. It's almost as if people haven't worked out input sanitisation yet. It's only been 20 years or so since the first exploit.

    You can't rely on anything submitted by the client to your Web server as somehow safe because it's assumed to have been generated/checked on the client by your code.

    Mine's the one with the treasure map and '); delete from table articles where content like %ragging on hollywood's greatest actor%; --)

    14 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How very dare you?!

      If you write programs in shit languages, you get this kind of crap for free.

      5 2 Reply
      1. Dan 55 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: How very dare you?!

        How are you comparing "this kind of crap" to "for free"? (Answer: with JavaScript, probably wrongly, maybe.)

        1 1 Reply
    2. iron Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: How very dare you?!

      20 years since what first exploit? That was 1999... malware has been with us since the 80s, websites since the early 90s and bugs have been with us since Grace Hopper found one in a relay.

      9 3 Reply
      1. sbt
        Reply Icon
        Coat

        It was 20 years ago today*, when Sgt. Hacker taught the world to play...

        with code injection exploits on the Web. That's what I was referring to.

        Mine's the one with the epaulettes. -->

        *Time specified is not precise, claims may not be true, do not rely on forum posts for accurate historical information. Readers should make their own enquiries, etc., etc.

        7 0 Reply
  2. RGE_Master

    Why?

    El Reg, why are you bashing Nick Cage? His films are easy to watch and I find your attack on someone who is just trying to entertain us quite sad and unpalatable. Not including the fact he's unlikely to see this (why would he, he's an actor, not an IT professional) and thereby, defend himself against your unjustified words.

    3 8 Reply
    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Why?

      I've yet to see a film with Nicholas Cage where I found his acting good. But the same could be said for a lot of actors who've still managed to make a decent living. As you said, he's unlikely to read this article, and even if he did, why would he care?

      6 2 Reply
      1. RGE_Master
        Reply Icon

        Re: Why?

        I get your point, but regardless his films are entertaining, Gone in 60 seconds, nice cards, pretty women, bad acting. The one where he is a wizard, the sorcerers apprentice, terrible acting but easy to watch.

        2 4 Reply
        1. ArrZarr Silver badge
          Reply Icon
          Mushroom

          Re: Why?

          Let's take Face-Off.

          Scenery-chewing actor Nick Cage pretends to be Scenery-chewing actor John Travolta. Meanwhile, Scenery-chewing actor John Travolta pretends to be Scenery-chewing actor Nick Cage.

          Directed by John Woo.

          It's by no means a good film, but the scenery ends up looking like it's been attacked by a whole pack of wolves after their last meal was spiked with copious amounts of capsaicin and caffeine and it's so far from boring that it becomes enjoyable.

          8 0 Reply
      2. Halfmad
        Reply Icon

        Re: Why?

        Raising Arizona

        Genuinely thought he was very good in that.

        4 0 Reply
      3. bobdylan123
        Reply Icon

        Re: Why?

        Leaving Las Vegas

        I thought he played the role well in Snake Eyes, 8mm, con air etc. too. Yes some of these were over-the-top / dramatic etc. but I think that's how they were written so therefore he did the job well.

        I think you're judging his acting ability against the quality of the films, which is unfair - to an extent.

        5 0 Reply
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why?

      I find your attack on someone who is just trying to entertain us quite sad and unpalatable.

      Ah, professional virtue signaling here.

      It's a fucking joke, you moron.

      El Reg could have equally used Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, or a host of other names.

      9 6 Reply
      1. Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Why?

        Schwarzenegger <- he's a big man

        Steven Seagal <- but he's out of shape

        Michael Caine <- with him it's a full-time job

        8 0 Reply
        1. PerlyKing
          Reply Icon
          Coffee/keyboard

          Re: Why?

          +1 for "Get Carter" references! :-D

          4 0 Reply
      2. phuzz Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Facepalm

        Re: Why?

        "It's a fucking joke, you moron."

        And yet you missed that the OP was also taking the fucking piss.

        3 3 Reply
    3. iron Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Down

      Re: Why?

      Just trying to entertain us... the net worth of $150 million is just a happy accident.

      3 0 Reply
      1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Why?

        Also, being related to someone famous helps – isn't he Scorses nephew? – but good luck to him for whatever reason. Just as long as no one expects me to watch his films.

        1 0 Reply
        1. FrogsAndChips Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Why?

          It's spelt Scorsese, and it's actually Coppola.

          0 0 Reply
  3. KittenHuffer Silver badge

    Why do they always do it?

    Why must they always remove the best functionality from these apps?

    I can virtually guarantee that I'll have a friend or relative asking me how to do exactly this to a group chat within the next year or so. And now they gone and removed this most useful feature!

    No joke icon ..... cos I'm deadly serious!

    5 0 Reply
  4. DMSlicer

    Dammit El Reg.

    You owe me a new Keyboard.

    (And Nick Cage owes me several (dozen) hours of my life back...)

    5 1 Reply
  5. Alistair
    Windows

    Its almost christmas and I'm in that mood.

    I'll leave this here:

    UP=Nick Cage <> DOWN=Bill Shatner

    Go!

    1 0 Reply
    1. stiine Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      I'm not sure which button to press

      Is UP the 'Shatner comma' style of delivery?

      1 0 Reply
    2. WolfFan Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      [cough] if you’re talking about Bill Shatner, that really should be “it’s almost Hanukkah”. And Nick Cage is a very good actor for someone with a broomstick stuck up his ass.

      0 0 Reply
  6. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    Groups

    FWIW managing group chat securely is a hard™ problem. Signal has just released an <a href="https://signal.org/blog/signal-private-group-system/>interesting paper</a> on how they're looking to do this in the future.

    0 0 Reply

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