O Brother

May 15, 2006 10:21 PM

W32/Hoots-A: Where overworked internet fads leave the basement and become exposed to the harsh light of day. "Why the author should want to print out pictures of an owl is, of course, anybody's guess..."
posted by setanor (30 comments total)

This is the BEST. VIRUS. EVER. It's about time that we got some virus activity that actually did something cool.

And this was quite amusing.
posted by drstein at 10:28 PM on May 15, 2006

i'm just waiting for the dick in a chicken virus.
posted by 3.2.3 at 10:52 PM on May 15, 2006

It was never cool. It was funny for two minutes.

Have you heard of this "All Your Base" phenomenon that's sweeping the Internet?
posted by Mikey-San at 10:58 PM on May 15, 2006

What ever happened to virus that could melt multisync monitors...... Good times.
posted by IronLizard at 11:01 PM on May 15, 2006

These dicks in chicken, do they come in ASCII?
posted by IronLizard at 11:01 PM on May 15, 2006

But the smoking gun is that the worm has hardcoded within it the specific network paths to almost 40 different printers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "It appears this malware was written for a specific organization, by someone who had inside knowledge of their IT infrastructure."

So basically this was intended to be a local-specific prank.
posted by delmoi at 11:01 PM on May 15, 2006

Also, the guy the Sophos blurb quotes is named Graham Cluley.
posted by hattifattener at 11:03 PM on May 15, 2006

And, if in an animated GIF, these dicks in chicken, do they vibrate?
posted by IronLizard at 11:03 PM on May 15, 2006

Owls? Huh. I guess it's better then that lame "stoned" virus.

I LOVE YOU.
posted by loquacious at 11:17 PM on May 15, 2006

They don't realize it's actually a countdown, and when they hit the NO WAI owl, everything is going to explode.
posted by ScotchLynx at 11:23 PM on May 15, 2006

Mikey-San, I know it's old, but every time I see that dang owl I have to crack a smile. He really seems endearingly surprised.
posted by brundlefly at 11:40 PM on May 15, 2006

So basically this was intended to be a local-specific prank.

Not to mention this: "Sophos has only received reports of the malware from one customer, and is working with the organization to provide more information which may help identify the creator of the worm."

In other words, this is one fark reader who played a prank on his internal network. However, it's good to know that sophos recommends a consolidated solution to prevent such horrible, malicious worms.
posted by whir at 12:10 AM on May 16, 2006

Better if it was a fatal real-world MySpace virus.
posted by HTuttle at 2:53 AM on May 16, 2006

For once I agree with HTuttle. Jesus save me.
posted by Jimbob at 4:57 AM on May 16, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

In other words, this is one fark reader

More like Something Awful...AM I RITE?
posted by thanotopsis at 5:22 AM on May 16, 2006

More like Something Awful...AM I RITE?
(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 5:36 AM on May 16, 2006

Is this the first instance of an infectious agent crossing the meme-virus barrier? Will we see more of these sorts of cross-contaminations in the future?
posted by GuyZero at 5:56 AM on May 16, 2006

This is nothing, just this morning I discovered that my printer was printing out fish and putting them in my pants...pants which I was astonished to find myself wearing!
posted by Biblio at 6:23 AM on May 16, 2006

For all your owlish needs....
posted by MikeMc at 6:26 AM on May 16, 2006

True love. That's a virus I wouldn't mind my office coming down with....
posted by ryran at 6:30 AM on May 16, 2006

local or otherwise, old meme or not, somethingawful or something else entirely, I LOVE THIS VIRUS!
posted by shmegegge at 6:48 AM on May 16, 2006

Yeah, it's old, but how can you not love the owl?

He's so happy.
posted by blacklite at 7:06 AM on May 16, 2006

Eagerly awaiting huge manatee virus.
posted by sonofsamiam at 7:49 AM on May 16, 2006

More like Something Awful...AM I RITE?

Go back to GBS.
posted by Mikey-San at 7:56 AM on May 16, 2006

Sounds like Mikey-San needs a blankie and a hug.
posted by drstein at 8:08 AM on May 16, 2006

It was never cool. It was funny for two minutes.

you tell 'em! nothing anybody likes is good!
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 9:14 AM on May 16, 2006

It was never cool. It was funny for two minutes.
Isn't everything a fad, really, depending on the width of your temporal point of view?

"The Macarena was never cool. It was funny for about six months."
"The Inquisition was never cool. It was funny for about fifty years."
"The Hundred Years War was never cool. It was funny for about 116 years."

Besides, I like the owl.
posted by FormlessOne at 2:33 PM on May 16, 2006

Don't joke. The Interenet is Serious Business.
posted by QuarterlyProphet at 3:23 PM on May 16, 2006

Coming next: Ham[p]sterdance virus!
posted by hattifattener at 8:02 PM on May 16, 2006

Not as cool as the .sig virus.

And who’s this ‘Kibo’ I keep hearing about?
posted by Smedleyman at 1:02 PM on May 17, 2006