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back to article OmniRAT malware scurrying into Android, PC, Mac, Linux systems

As police across Europe crack down on the use of the DroidJack malware, a similar software nasty has emerged that can control not just Android, but also Windows, Mac, and Linux systems and is being sold openly at a fraction of the cost. The remote-control tool, detected by security firm Avast, is called OmniRAT and appears to …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Qute rat, I want one :)

    Used to have a big white rat as a pet many years ago. Makes lovely pets!

    3 1 Reply
    1. Crisp
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      I've got four of them.

      They are adorable little creatures.

      Although training them is a lot harder than programming a computer.

      0 0 Reply
    2. bibs
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      Only someone who's never had a problem with rodent vermin would want to own one as a pet...

      1 2 Reply
      1. User McUser
        Reply Icon
        Paris Hilton

        In my youth, my brother and I had a pair of mice as pets, Luke and Marmalade. One morning we found that Luke had been (mostly) eaten by Marmalade. We re-christened the survivor "Marama-luke" and got on with it. Taught me a lot about life.

        There's nothing objectively wrong with rodents as pets. Weeds are just plants growing where you don't want them and vermin/pests are just animals in a place where you don't want them. (Eye of the beholder, to each his own, if you could see her through my eyes, etc.)

        1 0 Reply
      2. Steven Roper
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        "Only someone who's never had a problem with rodent vermin would want to own one as a pet..."

        Damn straight. I have two cats for precisely that reason!

        0 1 Reply
        1. Steven Roper
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          May I suggest to the person who disagrees with me, that you should pay a visit to Australia sometime, and spend a week or two around the farms during grain harvest. I think the experience would make you rather less defensive of our little rodent friends!

          Want to see an example if you have a strong stomach?

          0 0 Reply
        2. Anonymous Coward
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          Anonymous Coward

          Did you start off with just a fly?

          0 0 Reply
    3. Dagg Silver badge
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      I have two very cuddly rats, the advantage of having rats is it keeps the mice away. Before we had the rats we had mouse problems, now no mice. Must be some sort of scent thing.

      0 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Where's the Linux angle ?

    I'm much more interested in finding out about the infection mechanism on Linux and MacOS X.

    8 1 Reply
    1. Paul Crawford Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Where's the Linux angle ?

      Exactly, not even the ubiquitous Windows angle either. From the description in the article its a Trojan that needs a dumb-ish user to install it and then they are p0wnd, not exactly a high bar for malware?

      8 1 Reply
      1. Message From A Self-Destructing Turnip
        Reply Icon

        Re: Where's the Linux angle ?

        Sources elsewhere suggest its written in Java so in theory can be run on any OS, but with less functionality than when used on Android. Smells of marketing hype on the part of the Blackhat, and a quick Google search suggests its working rather well.

        2 0 Reply

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    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Richard Jones 1
    WTF?

    The Zero Day Error Is The User

    If the (L)user is daft enough to bend over and say "do me", it will take a very hardened OS to completely stop the action. This is especially so if the (L)user keeps jumping through hoops to allow the crap to install.

    Is it time that users were licensed, in some cases they should have a licence to even draw breath.

    4 4 Reply
    1. PassiveSmoking
      Reply Icon

      Re: The Zero Day Error Is The User

      Apple recently introduced rootless mode, which means there are some things even the root user can't do by default. Whether this would be enough to stop attacks that depend on a clueless user remains to be seen, and I don't know if anyone else has a similar system implemented in their operating system.

      0 1 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmm, a cross platform program that requires concious user installation.

    Knock, knock

    Who's there ?

    Mr Violent House Robber

    Ok, come in but you'll have to wait a few minutes while I remove the 23 locks on this 4 inch thick steel door.

    10 1 Reply
    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
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      Doesn't have to be violent, can be done quite nicely.

      0 0 Reply
  6. Frumious Bandersnatch

    "presumably only until the police move in"

    As I've read elsewhere, there's nothing illegal about remote access tools in most places. I think it needs to be pointed out that the version of the software being sold is distinct from the viral form, which uses the toolkit.

    It's trivial to find the site selling "omnirat" and browsing the site (with lynx/w3m/in a VM) lists the features as basically only providing a remote administration tool. No mention of exploits or nefarious installation routes. For comparison, I can still download back orifice from sourceforge (for free).

    Implying that the plods should/will take down the vendor's site just demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the above, IMO.

    4 0 Reply

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