What About A Virtualization Forum?

Genady Prishnikov · Jun 22, 2007

Admins....

What about a sub-forum (like some of the others) specifically for Virtualization? So many threads in the "Software, Hardware and General Services" are threads about Rollback, FD-ISR, Returnil, ShadowProtect, VMWare, etc. Since these type programs are the future of computer security, I think it would be great to see a sub-forum dedicated to all things virtual!

What do you think?

Genady

ON EDIT: MODS....Feel free to move to appropriate forum. I wasn't thinking - I could have put this in general topics or whatever. I'm curious to see what others think of the idea though. Maybe it could stay here for a day or so?

Coldmoon · Jun 22, 2007

Hi Genady,
I think that is a great idea and you have my vote

ErikAlbert · Jun 22, 2007

Genady Prishnikov,
I guess you mean ShadowUser instead of ShadowProtect or did you mean PowerShadow ?
Doesn't matter, there are so many shadows lately. You got my vote too.

Genady Prishnikov · Jun 22, 2007

ErikAlbert said:

Genady Prishnikov,
I guess you mean ShadowUser instead of ShadowProtect or did you mean PowerShadow ?
Doesn't matter, there are so many shadows lately. You got my vote too.
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Hi Erik Albert!

How funny! You are right, I get all the "powers" confused. I was thinking of PowerShadow, but ShadowUser would fit too!

lucas1985 · Jun 22, 2007

Virtual machines, reboot-to-restore apps and sandboxes have caught the attention of many Wilders' members. I think that a "Virtualization Forum" seems a very good idea.

ErikAlbert · Jun 22, 2007

Genady Prishnikov said:

Hi Erik Albert!

How funny! You are right, I get all the "powers" confused. I was thinking of PowerShadow, but ShadowUser would fit too!
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A little problem might be the name "Virtualization Forum". Not all products belong to virtual software.
FirstDefense-ISR, Deepfreeze, ... are REAL, while PowerShadow, ShadowUser, Returnil, ... are VIRTUAL.
But most of them have one thing in common : boot-to-restore or maybe Immediate System Recovery.

Maybe backup softwares, like ShadowProtect also belong to this forum, because all these software RECOVER your system, as long you don't consider them as security softwares.

trjam · Jun 22, 2007

Add Sandboxie to that idea please.

coolbluewater · Jun 22, 2007

Good call, Genady.
Sure, toss in SP/PS/Returnil/SandboxIE/VMware/VirtualBox etc., as references to those apps are found in multiple forums here already and it would be nice to see them in their own forum.
I think it would be a great idea, as long as the Mods aren't spread too thin.

walking paradox · Jun 22, 2007

I made a similar suggestion some time ago, unfortunately the thread was closed, preventing further discussion and input about potential changes in the layout of the forum. Hopefully this thread will be allowed to remain open, depsite the inconsistency, because it is an important matter that needs to be addressed. Furthermore, I think such input from the members here is instrumental in fostering a sense of community between everyone that frequents this forum. I've pasted the post I made about this a while ago as its content is still relevant. I've also included the post made by herbalist that gave me the idea for my suggestion.

herbalist said:

Having separate categories for anti-trojan apps, AVs, etc is somewhat problematic. With both the the apps themselves and the malware they target, it's hard to draw distinct lines between different categories. With the malware files themselves, very little of it fits into one neat category. There's very few that are just viruses, worms, etc. A trojan that uses rootkit methods to conceal itself and harvests e-mail addresses from the PC it infects in order to send out copys of itself, and attacks security software will fit into several categories. That single piece of malware can legitimately be a rootkit, trojan, malware, and e-mail worm. For all practical purposes, most malicious code can be looked at hybrids of many categories. The categories themselves are not clearly defined.

The "anti" apps have the same problem. Anti-trojans have to target malware that performs the same functions as e-mail worms. AVs target trojans. With some of the pseudo-legitimate malware, the ones there's disagreement over what they are, and what they are can change with every update, the problem gets worse. One vendor calls it adware. Another calls it a trojan. A third calls it a data miner. They can all be correct as well. At times, vendors attempts to classify a piece of code into one specific category has resulted in that piece of code not being detected at all.

There's such an overlap in the apps and the code they target, it would be better if they were just referred to as anti-malware. Depending on how you look at them, HIPS, virtualization software and sandboxes are anti-trojan in a way. IMO, trying to categorize malware and the apps that deal with them doesn't serve much purpose anymore.
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TypicallyOffbeat said:

herbalist makes a good point, and the practical application of it would seem to suggest that Wilders Forums should be reconfigured, at least in the Security Software section. Perhaps a better configuration would be to base the categories (sub-forums within the Security Software section) on general types of security software as in the basic method the software uses rather than basing the categories on the type of malware it focuses on. While the lines between different types of security software (signatures scanner, HIPS, sandbox, virtualization software, etc) are to some extent also becoming blurred (ie some software incorporate multiple methods or in other words combine different types of security software, for instance PrevX = signature scanner + HIPS), they are much clearer than the lines between different types of malware. Besides, organizing the categories by the type of software would, I think, be a more accurate representation of the computer security environment.
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Click to expand...

While I obviously think that reconfiguring the layout of this forum is a good idea, all potential layouts are going to have their pros and cons, and none of them are going to be ideal. But we should always seek the best alternative, which in this case happens to be the general direction of the suggestions in this thread.

BlueZannetti · Jun 22, 2007

TypicallyOffbeat said:

I made a similar suggestion some time ago,...
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To all,

The same comments still do apply, and are referenced here.

On a side note, as is the case with thread moderation or any other aspects of forum operations, a PM to the appropriate Admin staff is the best course of action.

Blue

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