Classic Shell hackers: We infected FossHub so ransomware couldn't (and yeah, also for fun)

Master Boot Record (MBR) nuking malware

"FossHub .. used to spread a few hundred copies of a new piece of Master Boot Record (MBR) nuking malware" ..

Wouldn't it be a good idea to lock down the MBR with a hardware lock?

I hope they enjoy the Iron Bar Hotel

I hope they'll enjoy the Iron Bar Hotel, because the *kinds* of miscreants that do these things 'for fun' end up there, eventually. Usually it's after they've done something really stupid, maybe even a few years ago (such as using the same identifier as an old gamer ID or on a public forum), and the law enforcement investigations finally catch up (they don't give up, like a tortoise constantly trying to escape his enclosure) and suddenly, you're arrested, need an expensive attorney, and are facing 15-30 in a supermax due to your apparent danger to society... and are forced into a guilty plea in a plea bargain to avoid serious time (maybe get 1 or 2 years in a min security or something).

And last I heard, the Iron Bar Hotel has no proper intarweb or cell phone services.

[I see no favors being done, here]

I guess I'm getting old..

It seems like fun. And I like the 'choose your own adventure' or Infocom-era inspired message. For most readers of this site, fixing a corrupted MBR would involve scrambling through their desk for a bootable flash drive (while cursing and muttering oaths) or downloading a utility from somewhere on another machine.

But there's a lot of people that would have a lot more taken from them by this than 20 minutes of aggravation. Your mom. Some poor bastard down to his or her last few dollars or pounds trying to respond to a potential employer. Someone who just discovered the cool things you can do with a computer (Windows notwithstanding) only to have a little of that sparkle taken away from them by hitting this speed bump full on, and instead of feeling clever, now feeling like a loser. Some poor depressed sod ready to turn a gun on themselves or others if one more straw lands on that fabled camel's back.

A pop-up or some silly porn would have been enough of a statement. Or perhaps people downloading Audacity could have been treated to a Rick Astley song regardless of what they tried to open. The ultimate Rickrolling. I've never much cared for mean practical jokes though anyway, or anything that makes an already sucky world a little worse. I appreciate the spirit in which it was done, but... <sigh> Guess I'll go back to eating my gruel in my lightless room now..