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Photochaining


renzotobias

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I can see the future found it logs of this project.

 

I found the (insert memory card name here) memory card in a geocache and fried my PC into a smouldering mess. My address book of former friends and colleagues were not impressed with the virus as it converted their funtioning PC's into inexpensive art forms.

 

I wouldn't plug it in.

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I can see the future found it logs of this project.

 

I found the (insert memory card name here) memory card in a geocache and fried my PC into a smouldering mess. My address book of former friends and colleagues were not impressed with the virus as it converted their funtioning PC's into inexpensive art forms.

 

I wouldn't plug it in.

 

I see this similar response to USB dongle travel bugs all the time. Folks, if you're PC isn't protected against something that you could get from your thumb drive then you aren't protected against a whole herd of threats that you could be exposed to on the internet(s).

 

To date I have found 1 USB drive TB and enjoyed the pictures from Europe that I found on it and I've picked up another USB drive left as swag that I now use to move files around at home.

 

But feel free to don your tinfoil hats and avoid any future USB/Flash media travel bugs.

Edited by Castle Mischief
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The public's "perception" of risks vs. the reality are what the issue is here. If the public thinks they are at more risk by plugging in a thumbdrive into their PC they are not as likely to do so.

 

The first step in anything like this being successful would be to somehow change the public's perception.

 

Here is a question that might be asked:

 

I have internet protection, a firewall and virus protection in my emails and do scans of my hard drive on a regular basis. Am I just asking for trouble by plugging in a thumbdrive into my USP port to see what's on it? Are "risks" more easily able to infiltrate with this type of direct contact than with a firewall and email protection?

Edited by BBI Dragon
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The public's "perception" of risks vs. the reality are what the issue is here. If the public thinks they are at more risk by plugging in a thumbdrive into their PC they are not as likely to do so.

 

The first step in anything like this being successful would be to somehow change the public's perception.

 

Here is a question that might be asked:

 

I have internet protection, a firewall and virus protection in my emails and do scans of my hard drive on a regular basis. Am I just asking for trouble by plugging in a thumbdrive into my USP port to see what's on it? Are "risks" more easily able to infiltrate with this type of direct contact than with a firewall and email protection?

 

I have found and moved more than a dozen USB drive TBs.

 

I never got a virus. I use AVG to scan first and then I cram the drive full with pictures from my Nude Cacher Locationless Terracache and from Nudecacher's profile gallery. :D:D:)

 

Howz that for picturechaining??? :D:D

Edited by Snoogans
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The public's "perception" of risks vs. the reality are what the issue is here. If the public thinks they are at more risk by plugging in a thumbdrive into their PC they are not as likely to do so.

 

The first step in anything like this being successful would be to somehow change the public's perception.

 

Here is a question that might be asked:

 

I have internet protection, a firewall and virus protection in my emails and do scans of my hard drive on a regular basis. Am I just asking for trouble by plugging in a thumbdrive into my USP port to see what's on it? Are "risks" more easily able to infiltrate with this type of direct contact than with a firewall and email protection?

 

Here is a quantitative answer.

 

A couple of months ago there was a trojan horse being disseminated by usb drives that hit the campus where I work hard. Over 1000 computers were infected with the virus, transmitted via USB drives over course of a week. In the library in which I work, as well as several other locations around the campus scanning stations (basically running a version of Linux with an application which mounted and ran virus detection on the drive) were set up for students to have their thumbdrives checked. I don't know the figures for other scanning station but nearly 20% of the drives tested contained the virus.

 

There was also at least one person that had the virus on the memory card in their digital camera.

 

Essentially any digital media which can contain an "autorun" file on it, *and* if the PC in which the media is connected is set up to execute the autorun file, there is a potential for propogating a virus. This could include USB drives, smart phones, digital cameras, CDs or DVDs, and even digital picture frames.

 

I heard a story awhile about about a digital picture frame what was found to have a trojan horse which would upload to the computer when the frame was connected via a USB port. The trojan horse searched the computer for credit card number, ss numbers, etc. and mailed them to some address in China. The digital frames were brand new, out of the box, from a well known big box electronics store.

 

Paranoid yet?

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This seems more related to Travel Bugs than to Geocaches, so I'm moving the thread to that forum.

We have released a TB Photo Bug in January and we have had some very positive feedback on it. It is still in the UK but we would like for it to travel the world. With regards to importing a virus etc, you need to virus check it before you open it. Our TB is called Mustards Travel Bug.

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I have internet protection, a firewall and virus protection in my emails and do scans of my hard drive on a regular basis. Am I just asking for trouble by plugging in a thumbdrive into my USP port to see what's on it? Are "risks" more easily able to infiltrate with this type of direct contact than with a firewall and email protection?

Yes, threats are more easily able to infiltrate this way - especially keyloggers.

 

I would prefer to not introduce additional risk by inserting an unknown device into my computer. No anti-virus package is 100% effective. I hope you don't actually believe that the "protection" layers you have render you entirely immune to risk - those who do tend to be more at risk than those who cast a suspicious eye on their own activities.

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Paranoid yet?

 

Nope. Frankly I'm more worried about handing my debit card to the waiter at a restaurant (because this has happened to me but I resolved it with my bank) or that all my private data will be on some unsecured laptop of banking/insurance/government agency cubicle drone that gets stolen.

 

And for everybody that worries about USB/flash drives and autorun, I give you this article:

 

How To Disable Autorun

Edited by Castle Mischief
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Here is a quantitative answer. (snip)

 

Essentially any digital media which can contain an "autorun" file on it, *and* if the PC in which the media is connected is set up to execute the autorun file, there is a potential for propogating a virus. This could include USB drives, smart phones, digital cameras, CDs or DVDs, and even digital picture frames.

 

Paranoid yet?

 

I spoke to a former IT guy I know. He told me the same thing. All someone has to do is include a line of code to activate the moment the USB drive is connected (and gets power from your PC) and it can autorun/download a virus BEFORE you are able to scan it for such.

 

It's not being paranoid, it's being smart.

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There is a virus already out there floating on usb drives. Here's a little snippet from a site: "One of the ways by which a virus can infect your PC is through USB/Pen drives. Common viruses such as ’Ravmon’ , ‘New Folder.exe’, ‘Orkut is banned’ etc are spreading through USB drives. Most anti virus programs are unable to detect them and even if they do, in most cases they are unable to delete the file, only quarantine it. "

 

It actually can infect any portable drive easily. Ones you insert an infected drive the autorun pops onto the host computer and implants itself and scans for more portable drives. Once you plug another one in it hops to that and just keeps going and going. While I haven't heard of it causing any problems to a computer yet but I'm sure it could lead to something.

 

A few months back I read somewhere about this running pretty bad throughout a college campus and I cant remember which one it was but it was one of the big ones!

 

I also work as an IT tech along with my geocaching business but have yet to run into this virus anywhere but it is out there.

 

I do love this idea and i even thought about sending one out myself. I have a thumb drive that is a mini delorme pn-40 but i dont think i could part with it! :)

 

 

Here is a quantitative answer. (snip)

 

Essentially any digital media which can contain an "autorun" file on it, *and* if the PC in which the media is connected is set up to execute the autorun file, there is a potential for propogating a virus. This could include USB drives, smart phones, digital cameras, CDs or DVDs, and even digital picture frames.

 

Paranoid yet?

 

I spoke to a former IT guy I know. He told me the same thing. All someone has to do is include a line of code to activate the moment the USB drive is connected (and gets power from your PC) and it can autorun/download a virus BEFORE you are able to scan it for such.

 

It's not being paranoid, it's being smart.

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A couple of months ago there was a trojan horse being disseminated by usb drives that hit the campus where I work hard. Over 1000 computers were infected with the virus, transmitted via USB drives over course of a week.

 

DOD is still not allow any flash media be used in their computers.

That policy is at least as much to keep things from getting out as it is preventing things from getting in.

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Perhaps we should all just come to the agreement that this idea is not acceptable to so many people that it is not be a feasible idea for a TB?

Too many people are wary, too many people don't want the worry, and a very, very few will actually put the USB into their computers. Most threads on the subject have resulted in a "no, thank you" by the majority of posters.

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