Tech – Page 85 – Scriptingthewhy.com

Bombing with Midget Logic

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First day on the job. I think it’s time I read the latest script. What could go wrong?
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It’s your first day on the job as the new System Admin and you can’t wait to take on the day. Congratulations. After meeting with a few of your co-workers and the other people you are going to be helping throughout the building, you grab a cup of that fresh poisonous morning brew and head back to your office.

Quick rant, I swear toilet manufacturers and coffee companies have a secret contract together because there is no logical reason why you should down a cup and have to rush to the bathroom to exercise your sphincter moments later. They are in cahoots, and you can’t tell me otherwise.

Back on track, you’re back at your office sitting at your computer clearing out emails, and responding to tickets, and you notice a file named “Click here, there’s nothing to worry about.” You pause and think, “Maybe there is something to worry about”, you look back only for it to then say “No, really, there’s nothing to worry about. Promise.”

You wrestle with the thought and after a short time of debating you figure just checking the file out couldn’t be any harm, surely nothing could go wrong, you then receive an alert for a countdown. Let me script for you how things are about to blow up.

This is not good, Z-Daddy is ain’t good at all mate. One file is about to have me lose me job, fam.
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First Day Ticking

There’s a countdown, meaning you’re on a time clock and it’s a race to solve this problem. Relax, this is no cause for panic, you’re just having some first-day bad luck. The event you just triggered with your curiosity is called a “Logic bomb”.

Logic bombs go by other names such as “Slag code” or “Slug code” but the result is still the same. A flavor of bad things happens at the end of the countdown which leads to the involuntary clapping of your cheeks via boss or client.

Logic bombs are malicious code inserted into an application and are designed to go off when the right event has taken place. This isn’t to be confused with “time bombs” as time bombs are a subset of logic bombs.

Time bombs are coded to go off at a specific time. This is like how a typical bomb operates but the only upside is you get to keep all your limbs instead of being either wheelchair or casket bound for the rest of your existence.

Puppy, you stay as cute as you are and I’ll be your John Wick. I have the strange feeling I should looking out for something…oh well, I’ll just read another script.
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Coded Bombs Outsourced

What kind of person would leave you with such a treat for your first day on the job? Well, if you could recall how your now boss felt about the previous Sys Admin, you might have thought that it could’ve been him. But before any confirmation of them being the culprit here’s a brief history on logic bombs.

The history of Logic Bombs dates to the Cold War, you know, that good ole USA vs USSR. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) had launched a trojan horse- that was in code, they didn’t actually launch a trojan horse, on the Soviet Union back in 1982. This was widely considered to be the original use of the logic bomb.

In the event of a logic Bomb being launched, a trucking company had some dealings with a software contractor, leading to a disagreement. Following that disagreement was the threat of using a logic bomb unless the client paid the invoices.

This had gone to court and the client won. Finally, this great-at-outsourcing country, the USA was on the receiving end of a logic bomb. Our army found that significant amounts of data were deleted which led to reservists being delayed for deployment and in payment. The Army was able to restore the data after coughing up $2.5 million for an investigation and repairing systems.

How does any of this relate to your situation? Well, the previous Sys Admin might have been unhappy, and this is the kill from beyond the grave. You just happened to be the tool to set things in motion. Also, the individual that launched the logic bomb received jail time and had to pay $1.5 million in restitution. United States of America baby, we love our bills.

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Don’t worry kid, logic bombs aren’t the only thing we sell here. How about you turn around? You could get a trick and a treat.
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High Level and Too Close

How could the previous Sys Admin be the culprit you might be wondering. The design of a logic bomb depends on the one creating it and what their goals are. They’re usually created by someone with high-level access, granting them the ability to have many options as to where the bomb or bombs could be placed.

Being able to dress them as viruses, malware, or worms furthers an already growing attack vector list and can make it even harder to trace the origin. As mentioned before, a few conditions could be required for detonation, one being something simple like opening a file. The other could be natural as the payload goes off when a time criterion is met.

The developers’ goals could range from releasing a worm to infect the network, releasing ransomware to extort money from the company, or deletion of files and worse the hard drive. And once the dust settles, the culprit, if clever, is long gone as this could have been left months or even a year behind.

Pay my employees? How? My company makes money hand over fit.
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Build-A-Bomb Prevention Plan

At this junction, you’re probably wondering how you would be able to catch something like this from going off in your company or simply just avoiding this whole event together. One way to prevent this and I know the majority of companies are going to say, “THAT’S AN OUTRAGE!” Ensuring that the people who are closest to sensitive items and information are paid could help and seeing them paid well could be a huge benefit.

Money doesn’t solve everything but being able to pay your bills on time does help. Other forms of prevention are used up to date antivirus software as the logic bomb might have been injected into a virus or malware, scanning all files from time to time – this includes all compressed files, avoiding clicking on suspicious email attachments like “Nude Cowgirl Midgets” from known and unknown sources, keeping your OS (Operating System) up to date, and training staff not to click on anything promising them a good time. Logic bombs are tricky by design but with a watchful eye, you might be able to spot one in time and stop yourself from…well, exploding.

Like, share, and subscribe…in Scriptingthewhy we trust. America baby!
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Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Have your company or someone you know experienced a logic bomb event? Feel like there’s something I may have missed? Script a comment below.

Security, Tech

Read Before Deleting, Here’s Why…

It’s a new browser I’m trying out. I think it’s Jangoram or something like that.
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Would You Look at That?

You know since the internet has been around, the threats we come across or face daily are unreal. We run the risk of catching all types of viruses, worms, malware, feelings…. well, not that last one. Feelings are dependent on what site you frequently visit, and if you pay attention to your downloads. If you don’t, you might not be alone tonight.

Now, while we are knowledgeable about some of the risks on the internet, there comes a time when we have to say “Uh, I don’t know. I’ve never seen that before, but we’ll look into it.” This is followed by someone being an adult and saying, “That’s what she said.” Real mature Eric, grow up—the joyful world of having coworkers.

However, back to the point, recently someone reached out to us to help get their computer back to normal. When they showed what was on their computer we said “Uh…holy smokes Batman, we don’t know that malware, to the Bat cave.” So, today we’re going look at what this malware is, what some of its functionalities are, and how you can remove it off your system should you be so unlucky to cross it.

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We’ve never seen this before. What would Batman and Robin do?
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In today’s script, look no further than the malware called “Jangoram.” Jangoram is a browser-based malware that hijacks the current browser and replaces it with what seems to be a search engine. This malware does not come alone, once it’s downloaded, it then brings onboard other free software from the internet.

If your browser looks like this, don’t use it.
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Hijacking browsers, how are they a problem? Well, that’s a good question reader, glad you asked. They’re a problem because while you’re using them instead of your actual browser, you run the risk of having what are called “Pups” installed onto your machine. No, you’re not installing puppies, PUPs are “Possibly Unwanted Programs”. If you look at your list of applications and see one you’re not familiar with, then you may have a PUP.

How do you get them removed you ask? Simple, by moving them to the trash and deleting them forever. If it’s on Windows, then you may have to uninstall them. Other issues that could arise are but are not limited to; adware, drive-by downloads, and in some cases being redirected to other sites.

A good way to picture this headache, try walking to your kitchen for a sandwich only to find yourself in a hedge maze with salesmen.

Don’t panic, there’s a fix to this kid.
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You have this on your computer, and you’re panicked, what should you do? Well, calm down, we have good news. Now, while this is malware, and has been known to be tough to remove sometimes. This would not be one of them.

A simple way, and the one with less amount of steps, is to have updated anti-virus software in place to perform scanning and removal. Since other methods can be lengthy and involve you diving into files and applications, we’re going to leave a link, click here.

Another bit of good news is this malware threat level isn’t high and someone less tech-savvy can resolve this issue. So, if you think of it, it’s so easy a caveman could do it.

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Cloud Talk, Tech

Lifes Direction?

We have cellphones and you still brought a map.
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A Simple Director

Ever so often, we’re asked a question that really makes us stop and think, “Hmm, you know, we’ve never thought of that before, We’ve always been on the go.” Now, that we have paused to stop smelling the digital poo and smell some actual roses, we began to wonder.

What gives us direction in life? An interesting question that goes right up there with “What’s the meaning of life?” Oh, you don’t know the answer? The meaning is simple, you are to live and learn. We found that learning gives us direction.

How much snow can you fit into a ball? Man, that’s heavy.
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Who wants to learn? Learning is boring and for the most part, tough. Learning has a whole process behind it. It can be tedious, overbearing at times, and difficult at times. But what’s that old saying “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” Everyone wants to be known for something, but most don’t want to put in the work.

A great benefit to learning is it sets off a chain reaction. Going from one subject to the next sends the learner on a journey, where at moments, there are times of feeling lost, confused, and hopeless. Only to realize what they’ve learned has built their character, shaped their ideas, and raised them to new levels they could never have imagined.

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This is the equation to create a flux capacitor, I don’t know why no one believes me.
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Now, while we’ve made learning sound magical, and sometimes it is, there is a lot of work that goes into getting that magical “high”. A key to acquiring the “learner mindset” is discipline. It’s difficult to get anywhere without discipline.

This doesn’t mean forcing yourself to read 20 books in one day or take a series of classes. You could do that but the chances of getting overwhelmed and quitting are higher at that point. Setting the goal to learn a little of something each day, and building on that is a great start. You might be the next Albert Einstein, but you’ll know more than you did yesterday and the years to come.