[meteorite-list] eBay's Spyware and Cookies

[Chris Peterson]

Serious security holes are increasingly rare, and increasingly being fixed 
before exploits appear. They don't represent a very big threat for people 
who keep their systems up-to-date and exercise a bit of common sense. In the 
context of this discussion, I am doubtful in the extreme that eBay is 
exploiting an unknown security hole to download software to their users' 
computers.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Darren Garrison" <cynapse at charter.net>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] eBay's Spyware and Cookies


> On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 13:50:00 -0700, you wrote:
>
>>There is no mechanism on a properly configured browser for a website to
>>download software to your computer without your active consent.
>
> There is not an OS or browser avaiable that does not have security holes. 
> Not
> only that, but there are multiple other applications that can be used to 
> infect
> your system.  Some known, but the ones you have to worry about are the 
> ones that
> aren't known yet.  You have a false sense of security.
>
> News from today:
>
> http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/240255/apple-recommends-security-software-for-mac-owners.html
>
> from a week back:
>
> http://goodgearguide.com.au/article/268492
>
> from a month back:
>
> http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=6715
>
> others:
>
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1733
>
> Jpegs?  Not always safe.
>
> http://www.secureworks.com/research/threats/jpegvirus/
>
> Video?  Not always safe.
>
> http://ask-leo.com/can_i_get_a_virus_or_spyware_from_a_free_video_download.html
>
> Just because YOU can't imagine a way to get a virus/trojan/spyware into 
> your
> computer doesn't mean that someone else can't imagine a way to get a
> virus/trojan/spyware into your computer.