AV protection free for aliens

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 20, 2009

Klingon language scanner given away.

After last summer saw malware making its way into space, it seemed like only a matter of time before alien races would need protection from the digital contagions infesting our planet, and security firm Sophos has stepped up to fill the gap. A version of the company's 'Threat Detection Test', a standalone scanner, has been translated into Klingon.

The artificial language, created for the cult TV leviathan Star Trek and enjoying lasting popularity with sci-fi and language geeks alike, has a full range of vocabulary and grammar, allowing Sophos's crew to translate their interface. The full character set does not come as standard with Windows (although a fully Klingon edition of Ubuntu Linux is available), so simple transliteration is used instead.

The stunt has attracted wide attention, partly thanks to an apparently unintentional early release on an unfinished web page complete with Trek-fan comments in the page source, with news reports, blogs and comments springing up across the web, linking to various aliases of the download site. More details from Sophos's Graham Cluley are here.

Posted on 20 May 2009 by Virus Bulletin

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

VBSpam tests to be executed under the AMTSO framework

VB is excited to announce that, starting from the Q3 test, all VBSpam tests of email security products will be executed under the AMTSO framework.

In memoriam: Prof. Ross Anderson

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of Professor Ross Anderson a few days ago.

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.