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May 23, 2017 at 12:40 history edited CommunityBot
replaced http://stackoverflow.com/ with https://stackoverflow.com/
Feb 1, 2012 at 0:58 vote accept Sonny Ordell
Jun 9, 2011 at 16:53 comment added Sonny Ordell @Giles, OK, so if you have a malicus pdf file that you hide in a webpage hoping to exploit a users machine, how would Reader start without showing a window? In many of these programs the GUI is fundamentally tied to the application -- I don't think it is possible to open Reader without a window, especially not when it opens as a result of a PDF embedded in a webpage. Unless this is where invisible iframes come in?
Jun 9, 2011 at 16:35 comment added Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' @Sonny: Again, just because these programs open the application (e.g. Acrobat Reader) doesn't mean that the application will show a window. If the application is started in a way that makes it invisible in the GUI, users are unlikely to notice.
Jun 9, 2011 at 16:30 comment added Sonny Ordell @Giles, I was going by the answer I received in my other question where the example of the Zeus malware kit was given, which spams many exploits hoping to get lucky. Given that many exploits target Adobe reader or media players or office programs, programs outside the browser, surely they would open up and the user would notice?
Jun 9, 2011 at 10:09 comment added Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' @Sonny: I don't have examples of malware, and don't know about Windows (I just googled for a Windows equivalent to what I know on Linux, I've added a link to my answer). This is commonly done for non-nefarious purposes, such as automated testing of GUI applications.
Jun 9, 2011 at 10:07 history edited Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' CC BY-SA 3.0
I meant Xvfb, not Xnest; link to an example of similar software for Windows
Jun 9, 2011 at 9:48 comment added Sonny Ordell @Giles, that is interesting. I didn't know it was possible to have a malicious pdf that could execute without adobe reader visibly opening. Would you have any more info on that, or examples of such exploits?
Jun 8, 2011 at 23:40 comment added Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' @Sonny: Then my second paragraph applies: just because Adobe Reader is running doesn't mean it's displaying a window. If it doesn't display a window, it's pretty much unnoticeable if you don't go looking for it.
Jun 8, 2011 at 23:16 comment added Sonny Ordell Because most people would probably notice Adobe Reader opening if they did not initiate it, and it is something that even the most tech unsavy of users could be taught to look out for. I am talking specifically about exploits that would effect a program outside of the browser.
Jun 8, 2011 at 17:19 history answered Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' CC BY-SA 3.0