funsec mailing list archives
Not Again: Friendly 'Worms' Could Spread Software Fixes
From: "Paul Ferguson" <fergdawg () netzero net>
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:42:20 GMT
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Via NewScientistTech.com. [snip] Microsoft researchers are hoping to use "information epidemics" to distribute software patches more efficiently. Milan Vojnović and colleagues from Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, want to make useful pieces of information such as software updates behave more like computer worms: spreading between computers instead of being downloaded from central servers. The research may also help defend against malicious types of worm, the researchers say. Software worms spread by self-replicating. After infecting one computer they probe others to find new hosts. Most existing worms randomly probe computers when looking for new hosts to infect, but that is inefficient, says Vojnović, because they waste time exploring groups or "subnets" of computers that contain few uninfected hosts. [snip] More: http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13318-friendly-worms-could-spr ead-software-fixes.html It would appear that bad ideas have a tendency to be recirculated every few years... :-) - - ferg -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Desktop 9.6.3 (Build 3017) wj8DBQFHtiNYq1pz9mNUZTMRAuY3AJ4zFz8d2BVv2GFqWBozXxLg8dFubgCdFiPO QkOogcOGgEn2MEfopyth9Mo= =eTdj -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg(at)netzero.net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/ _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
Current thread:
- Not Again: Friendly 'Worms' Could Spread Software Fixes Paul Ferguson (Feb 15)
- Re: Not Again: Friendly 'Worms' Could Spread Software Fixes Valdis . Kletnieks (Feb 15)
- Re: Not Again: Friendly 'Worms' Could Spread Software Fixes Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah (Feb 16)
- Re: Not Again: Friendly 'Worms' Could Spread Software Fixes David Harley (Feb 17)