Iran president’s blog used to spread malware

spreads malware only to microsoft brand browsers ...

I don't see the link between "good developers" and those who create malware. Classifying ips by country is quite easy, as is simply reading the accept language from a browser request.

http://news.com.com/French+Microsoft+Web+site+h...

Hackers are able people, but not necessarily skilled or good developers.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1999070,00...

They can however get jobs with Microsoft apparently.

Um Scoble, what exactly are you saying? Are you publically stating that you support Iran, and it's attempt to vanquish Israel, by all means necessary?

If this is malware, isn't that illegal? How do you equate this with good developers? It's more like skilled, yet sinister developers.

The opressed people of Iran, are probably not totally evil like the New Hitler, Iranian dictator (not president) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Scoble, please don't tell me you are one of those guys (the useful idiots). Please don't! Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a brutal dictator. The leadership of Iran treats women like slaves. It wants to vaporize all Jews and Christians.

For goodness sake, do not equate Iran with free democracies, by calling Baboon Armageddon-Jihad a "president". He is not a president! He is a brutal tyrant.

So next time you mention "president" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I sincerely hope that you dont forget to add the word evil in there.

Couldn't you confirm this, perhaps, before spreading a rumor?

Brent,

I totally agree w/ you. Robert please say you don't support what is happening in Iran. If I recall correctly your wife is of a Middle Eastern heritige. Imagine where she would be if she lived in Iran.

I second and third what Brent and Jonathan said. While I'm sure there are many good and decent people in Iran, the fact that you even link to this tyrant's blog doesn't do the world any favors. Can you attempt to employ at least some hint of discretion and thought before posting?

LOL Wow you guys are touchy. "Robert please say you don't want Israel wiped off the map." I think you guys are misreading him completely...

Ok, here's my take.

I can't seem to find anything but this one blog in Israel demonstrating the problem. Can anyone else confirm the problem?

One of the comments on her blog helpfully suggests that the problem is actually with www.khamenei.ir. (The blogger reported that the virus warning popped up when she went to www.ahmadinejad.ir and then clicked on the link for www.khamenei.ir.) The commenter, "Tech," pointed out that www.khamenei.ir has what's called a Mark of the Web that looks like this:

-- saved from url=(0017)http://localhost/ --

(brackets removed so it wouldn't be parsed)

"Tech" goes on to explain that sometimes a Mark of the Web can cause Norton Internet Security to go off, and provides this example of the same problem.

"Tech" then wraps up by saying it's not really a problem, the blogger should apologize for making a false accusation.

I'm not sure why they used LOCALHOST (Local Intranet zone) on their MOTW instead of about:internet (Internet zone). (Dreamweaver uses "about:internet" on its MOTW.) Maybe Norton Internet Security likes one and not the other...?

So, jury still out, but possibly something wrong with Norton Internet Security. It's funny how people are running with this and saying "Switch to Linux!" or "Switch to Firefox!" or "Iran is evil!" when really it might just a case of "Symantec software blows!" LOL

On a more humorous note, this is in the source of Ahmadenijad's blog:

META content="Microsoft FrontPage 6.0" name=GENERATOR

META content=FrontPage.Editor.Document name=ProgId

Yep, Made with FrontPage 2003.

I'm guessing we're not dealing with uber-hackers here. :-)

Influential in your area? What are you saying here Robert?

Influential in your area? What are you saying here Robert?

You guys are too much. :-)

Here, let me fill in the gaps. Here is the un-politically-correct version, with my additions IN ALL CAPS:

Amazing, but THAT KIND OF INSANE CRAP guarantees that Silicon Valley will continue gaining a steady stream of good developers and technical folks from Iran WHO ARE FLEEING THE REGIME THAT REGULARLY DETAINS AND TORTURES JOURNALISTS, INTELLECTUALS AND BLOGGERS. The Iranian community here is quite large and very influential AND IS COMPRISED MOSTLY OF DISSIDENTS WHO WERE SEEKING POLITICAL ASYLUM, SO IF YOU WANT TO ESCAPE IRAN, COME TO CALIFORNIA, THERE ARE LOTS OF I.T. JOBS AND PEOPLE WHO SPEAK FARSI.

That's just how I read it, though. ;-)

A tyrant and dictator ???.

I seem to recall that he was elected by a clear majority of Iranians in their presidential elections.

Do you all watch Fox News to form your opinions of the world ???.

That sounds strange, but unsurprising - I wonder what the White House website does if you come to it from Cuba? (OK, probably nothing, but that'd be because the web developer would get their hands slapped big time)

Farvashan is a SharePoint blogger who is from Iran. His list of accomplishments includes some work for the President's Office in 2004 - I'm interested in his take on this.

Garth, you're joking, right?

No John - I am most certainly not joking at all but then I am not an American and need to lap up and believe in this "Axis of Evil" garbage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Iran

Bravo Karim, that's how I read it.

Um Garth, the Axis of Evil "garbage" couldn't have been more accurate and on target, given the events of this summer, especially with Iran and N. Korea, concerning nuclear proliferation. Add to that Syria, and the acts of terror groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and others. Also, let's not forget Venezuela.

Wake up from your stoned haze. This is reality.

Madman Armageddon-Jihad, the New Hitler wants to behead you, and kill all Jews, that is unless you too are one of the terrorists, in which case, we want to detain you at Club Gitmo, for an undetermined time --until you fold and tell us where your Jihadist buddies are. And Kim Jong Mentally Ill just wants to kill you because he is a maniac.

Get a clue. While your at it, clean the sand out of your hair.

Question: do you have to come up for air, while your head is in the sand?

Some of you people would have never survived in previous years, when people actually had to fight for their freedom!

Useful idiot seems to be an understatement.

Actually, if you look over at The Register (link below), you'll see that the blog is almost certainly *not* being used to spread malware: looks like false alarms from certain security packages. Whatever views one might hold on Iran and the Middle East in general, it's probably a good idea to base them on verifiable facts, not falsehood: perhaps and update to the original post is needed?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/15/iran_pr...

Garth,

Well, I'm not lapping up anything when the Iranian president you are defending is on record as intending to wipe Israel off the the face of the Earth. Do you agree with that? Interested to know.

just because he is against what you think, is no reason for being a dictator.
whether you like it or not, i did vote for him, and he is elected by iranian people.
i wonder it's no evil for usa to have nukes. but if iran tries to gain nuclear technology, it's evil. and your only reason for iran to have nukes is president bush!
i didn't ever hear him saying he wants to behead anyone or kill all jews. jews are living peacfully in iran and even have a member in the parliament.
"israel must be wiped" doesn't mean he wants to kill all jews. they can all go home, where they came from, and let the real owners of this land live their lives.

President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad clearly is an elected president, even if the elections were not exactly free or fair, as the candidates had to be pre-approved by the clerics. However, the man seems to be a bit of a joke so I wouldn't take anything he says too seriously. The truth is that he's a puppet, so if you want the real position of Iran you have to ask the clerics.

Brent, why is it that Iran is "evil" for wanting a civilian nuclear power program and supplying arms to its allies for self defense, while the US is not evil despite having the worlds largest nuclear arsenal, developing new nukes, considering actually using said devices, following a policy of pre-emptive war, and selling arms to Israel which have been used for killing thousands of civilians and perpetrating "collective punishment" (a war crime under the geneva convention). I'm not saying that Iran is in the right, just that the US actions are far from their self righteous words

Brent

Now I am suddenly a Jihadist on my way to Gitmo for voicing my opinion ???.

You Malkin and Coulter rightwing loonies really take the cake but fortunately for most of us we don't have to share a country with you sad lot.

John

No.

Not really related to his blog, but the interview with him on 60 minutes was pretty interesting.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/09/60min...

Not getting into the geopolitics, but well, it's all a false alarm, paranoia run wild...heard from three biggie Press guns.

Leave it to the bloggers to spread rumors before verification... ;)

I think his blog is interesting nonetheless. I find it's always awesome to see another persective on a particular matter.

It's one of my feeds, so I plan on keeping a watchful eye, but there isn't much to it at present.

-eR0CK

So,Garth and paimon, how free is an election where the candidates have to get approved by the Mullah's before they can even be on the ballot?

This is a guy that thinks the Holocaust didn't occur.

Yea, sure.. Saddam was "elected" in a "free" election as well. So, I guess we stand corrected.

But as for the real issue, Christopher appears to be right, another example of Scoble firing before he was ready or even aimed. Publish first, retract later. Gotta love a jounarlism drop out.

And we all know how Bush came to power ;)

Karim read it right. Amazing that anyone would read it any other way after my wife's family shipped her out of that country to escape this regime.

LayZ: I was not practicing journalism in this post. Thanks for noticing. I was linking to another report.

Yes, we have no editors. We have readers. They are far better at catching stuff than editors ever were.

(lays asked) how free is an election where the candidates have to get approved by the Mullah’s before they can even be on the ballot? (/)

maybe it's not, maybe it's something like saddam's democracy. but, i tell you everyone who had a 1% chance to become president, was already approved. and moein was among them. can you name somebody in iran with any chance to be elected by people and wasn't approved? let me tell you, there was none.
now, how free is american democracy? how much money do you need before you run for the election? can a blacksmith's son even run for the election? or maybe he souldn't?
and i wonder, is it in nature of american's to believe what they are told some times, without proof?

Garth, why do you assume that I am any sort of right-wing looney? Is it because I demand to protect my country from those who have publicly stated intent for our defeat? Iran has pledged this against America, for 30 years.

Just so you know, I am a moderate independant, and very much, a patriot.

I assume that you are a left-wing looney!

And to the person who blames Bush for this, all I have to say is read some history. Iran has been a problem for America far longer than five or six years.

And Garth, if Kerry or Gore had won the elections, the same problem would still exist, regardless. I would still feel the same way, in terms of my patriotism and love for my country. Iran does not care about Republicans and Democrats.

Why are you an apologist for a terrorist state?

America has nukes. However, we don't threaten to wipe whole countries off the map with them, just because we don't recognize their right to exist.

@paimon (from iran):

I'm glad that you publicly state your anti-Semitism for all to see. It only proves my point, altogether. You hate Jews, and you don't recognize Israel's right to exist. Just so you know, the Jews were in that land, before Islam ever existed to begin with. Again, try reading some history. I realize that in Iran, it is easy to be brainwashed by your oppressive regime. But I can assure you, that coming from a free and open society where information is freely available, that you are wrong.

The fact that you voted for Madman Armageddon-Jihad, the New Hitler, literally says it all!

(damned Nazis!)

this doesn't seem like a forum or so. seems we are supposed to comment about the topic. tell me if i'm allowed to continue this discussion, and i have many things to say.
and did you ever recognize all what was said about belonged to khamenei.ir and that's another domain and just a link?

maybe it’s not, maybe it’s something like saddam’s democracy. but, i tell you everyone who had a 1% chance to become president, was already approved. and moein was among them. can you name somebody in iran with any chance to be elected by people and wasn’t approved? let me tell you, there was none.

Well, isn't this kind of circular? I mean, if I say Maryam Rajavi wasn't on the ballot, you say, "Well Maryam Rajavi didn't stand a chance of being elected."

The mullahs approve everyone who is electable. And everyone they don't approve didn't stand a chance of being elected anyway. The mullahs filter out the un-electable, and you never see the un-electable being elected! Kind of like that joke about Elephant Repellant. How do you know it works? Well you don't see any elephants around here, do you?

can a blacksmith’s son even run for the election?

Well recently we had a peanut farmer, followed by a B-movie actor. "Blacksmith" is not a growth career sector here these days.

and i wonder, is it in nature of american’s to believe what they are told some times, without proof?

Americans have believed all kinds of stupid things without proof. Like "heavier-than-air powered flight is possible." And "we can land a man on the moon before the end of the decade."

But I thought Iran was a theocracy? And theocracy was based on faith? And faith was the opposite of proof?

Or maybe I've got that wrong, and there's NO faith involved, just a handful of men telling me what to believe. Or else. You don't need faith for that!

i didn't say it has been like this all the time. and don't say it will be in future. but it did happen this time.
and i wonder where do you live now? maryam rajavi is no one loved in iran.
and about the blacksmith, well, you can think of someone,, not rich.

But I thought Iran was a theocracy? And theocracy was based on faith? And faith was the opposite of proof?

faith is against proof in modified christianity. not in islam. that's the main reason why science and religion are opposites, for you, and for me learning is sacred.
should we continue this discussion?

CNN just said that the rumor is not true. There is a link on the blog that sets off a Norton alert because some script on the page is similar to some kind of malware, but it's a false alarm.

To follow on to Karim's excellent points. Sure it takes money to get elected, but lack of money doesn't keep you off the ballot!! ANYONE can run for President in this country, provided they meet the requirements outlined in the Constitution. None of which require someone to be approved by some cabal. Or be of a certain religious persuasion. Paimon, perhaps you have never been in a voting booth here in the US, or perhaps you haven't paid attention much, but we've had every walk of life run for President, Senator, Governor, Mayor, dog cather. From Democrat, to Repbublican, to Libertain, to Green Party, to Communist, to Socialist, and every flavor of extremism in between. Did they need to get approved by anyone to get on the ballot? No.

Hysterics! Folks, just calm down!

Now, a little bit of history, since Brent is so hysterical - or should that be histerical?

Can anyone remember why the mullahs came to power in Iran? Does the name Mohammed Mossadeq ring any bells? The CIA were instrumental in his overthrow - he was the elected prime minister of Iran in the 1950s, and was responsible for attempting to nationalize oil production. Read about it on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Mossadegh

The disharmony between the US and Iran go back _a_ _lot_ further than 30 years - for that matter, disharmony between Iran and its customers goes back to the very beginning of the widespread use of oil for power.

@42. Nice history lesson, but not sure how its relevant the current President of Iran. Does the current President of Iran have as one of his goals the destruction of Israel? yes or no?

no. destruction is not what he says. can't you get his ideas from himSelf, please!?

Iranian president blog was hacked by Russian blogger:

http://leordn.blogspot.com/2006/08/blog-post_16...

@44. Okay, so would he prefer Israel, as a nation, not exist. Of course he's not going to come right out and say it, but his interview in Der Speigel is pretty eye opening

ttp://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,418660-2,00.html

ofcourse. if the holocause happened why must a new nation be created? well, do it, who cares, but why in palestine?
something i found missing on the cbs site was what he said about the outcome of holocaust.
the creation of israel, i believe, is a shame for humanity for ever.