Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: How to....
From: "Smith, Jeff" <Jeff.Smith () hollycorp com>
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:14:25 -0500
You gotta love Windows... I don't see this as a real problem. The reason being if some one can do what you describe they have already compromised the machine. It would the equivalent of locking your fridge so a burglar can't have a refreshing beverage while robbing you. Along this same vein, a trojan could change the icon of any shortcut to point to any exe or dll with resources. -----Original Message----- From: Greg [mailto:security-basics () pchandyman com au] Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 7:32 PM To: security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: How to.... ....really shoot your XP machine in the foot, so to speak. Pick any program shortcut that is pinned to your start menu. If you don't have any, find any old program shortcut (or make one) then pin it to your start menu. Now go find some other shortcut to a completely different program and open it's properties. Copy the full path info from that one and past it into the path info in the properties for that other shortcut that is pinned to the start menu and click OK to make it stick. Now carefully look at that icon. It hasn't changed. Now click on it. The icon now starts that other program instead of the one it looks like it is SUPPOSED to start. Now while all that is simple "so what?" to most of you, think of this - I deal in a lot of low level security stuff that is below the radar of a lot of you but if an icon that is frequently used in the list of commonly used programs or those pinned to the start menu can be so easily changed to start some other program yet not look like it was tampered with at all, why couldn't the next Trojan include code to do this? Eg, place a Trojan on the C drive, copy the full path info into the "Windows Update" icon on your start menu (for example) where it runs that Trojan instead. That Trojan may do what it is designed to do and also do the actual starting of Windows Update after that. What stops a local user or a Trojan doing this in a normal XP installation that hasn't been changed and all runs at admin levels as so many businesses do? Greg.
Current thread:
- How to.... Greg (Sep 27)
- Re: How to.... Micheal Espinola Jr (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Larry Offley (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Jacob Bresciani (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Greg (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Barrie Dempster (Sep 28)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- RE: How to.... Clarkson, Dustin (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Greg (Sep 28)
- Re: How to.... Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers (Sep 30)
- Re: How to.... Greg (Sep 28)
- RE: How to.... Smith, Jeff (Sep 28)
- RE: How to.... Craig Wright (Sep 28)