[LeisureProgrammer]

I am a web dev. noob, and I just want to know if this is possible or not - for my security

Is there any method - any method at all, to get a user to navigate to a webpage, and then, without the user's cooperation - the webpage downloads an exe to the user's computer, and runs it? Or for the webpage to somehow know the environment variable for the user's startup folder, and download the exe to there? Again, I don't want to know how - I just want to know if it's possible.
One more time:

• User goes to webpage
  
• Webpage downloads *.exe to user's comp (without user doing anything)
  
• The *.exe runs somehow (without user doing anything)
  
• Possible?

I was just philosophizing if it was possible for me to get really creepy/dangerous malware (the kind that takes pictures of you LOL) just by navigating to a webpage.

This post has been edited by LeisureProgrammer: 25 January 2010 - 03:17 PM

[girasquid]

It's not supposed to be possible, no. I'm not going to say it isn't possible, because some intrepid cracker out there will prove me wrong - but for the layman, it isn't possible.

[KYA]

Directly? Unlikely.

A Trojan that could allow such behavior? Possibly.

[baavgai]

ActiveX.

The original ActiveX controls didn't run in a sandbox. You were essentially running a compiled executable from a web page directly on you computer. If you can find someone running an unpatched copy of IE5 on Windows 98, you might get this to work.

IE can still run scripts unsafely, but it will ask you a several times before it executes such things and even then might not.

Today, no one knowingly runs unknown code. However, there are some quirky hacks that can sneak stuff on; all the malware gets there somehow.

[Lemur]

Well considering the probably malicious intent and also granted that I know full well how to pull something like this off I'd like to say one thing and make it abundantly clear.

Asking how to "protect" yourself from a hack by learning how it's done is as bad as flat asking how to do it yourself.

It is possible, very very much so. I have no intentions of detailing how because such a tactic could easily be used to do lord knows what and even as a hacker I have enough pride and sense to know when some things are best left unsaid, ESPECIALLY publicly like this where some "Skript Kiddie" could plug and play...

Prevention? That's another matter entirely. Download and install the firefox plugins noscript and adblock plus and a vast majority of problems will be gone, but be full aware that a good firewall/antivirus can stop remote execution before it happens by prompting you or auto deleting.

If you want to know how it's something that would take years worth of skills to pull off effectively, and by the time you spend 5-6 years the answers to most any of these questions become clear.

Oh, and a helpful tip to anyone trying to avoid viruses while being cheap... No porn, torrents, limewire, p2p, or anything else of such nature. Problem solved.

The ultimate fix-all? Take a pair of scissors to your ethernet chord or coax to your modem and rip out the wireless card.

[Bort]

Lemur, on 25 Jan, 2010 - 08:30 PM, said:

Well considering the probably malicious intent and also granted that I know full well how to pull something like this off I'd like to say one thing and make it abundantly clear.

Asking how to "protect" yourself from a hack by learning how it's done is as bad as flat asking how to do it yourself.

I think Lemur, while up on his high horse and I'm guessing not reading the OP properly, appears to have answered your question Leisure.

@Lemur:

LeisureProgrammer, on 25 Jan, 2010 - 02:08 PM, said:

I don't want to know how - I just want to know if it's possible.

What's with the high horse dude? He didn't ask how it was done, only if it was possible. He said as much a few times in his OP.

This post has been edited by Bort: 28 January 2010 - 06:35 AM

[Lemur]

I'm saying it's far beyond dangerous to go talking about those types of issues especially when some twit skript kiddie could come in and use whatever I say to perform an attack.

High horse? No. Common sense. I'd almost be willing to bet this site may have a few issues that could bring about such an attack based on a few reported posts I noticed earlier. (That's why I'm not saying anything)

[numeric]

At the same time, discussing the issue could lead to stronger, more secure programming practises from those who need the information most. Ignoring the fact that the OP repeatedly states that he has no interest in knowing how such an exploit can be carried out, do you really believe that the information you so closely guard is hard enough to obtain that your staying silent on the subject helps prevent such attacks from happening?

It's important for anyone with code in the public domain to understand exactly how and why such attacks are possible - without that knowledge, programmers, administrators and computer users worldwide will continue to make the same mistakes that have been occurring for years. New programmers should be encouraged into learning about how to avoid falling into such pitfalls, not verbally attacked to the point where they learn and begin using the techniques just to spite the people who flamed them on the forums where they originally asked.

To the OP: Yes, it's possible, but as already suggested using a properly configured firewall and antivirus can lessen the danger. Make sure that whatever browser you use is kept constantly up to date and preferably disable scripting and/or ActiveX controls if you are using IE. Staying away from dodgy sites won't completely protect you as there are plenty of hacked legitimate sites out there (facebook anyone?), but it will help lessen your exposure. Running programs as a restricted user will also help to restrict the damage inflicted, should you be unfortunate enough to fall victim to such an attack. There are plenty of books on secure programming out there if your interested in learning more, as well as a ton of infosec websites and even training if you are so inclined. Check it out!

-n

[Lemur]

Noscript and Adblock Plus eliminate 90%+ of any issues such as that in firefox