Security Bitcoin blockchain allegedly infected by ancient 'Stoned' virus Chap alleges Microsoft Security Essentials has spotted a suss string A curious and probably accidental artefact has popped up in the Bitcoin blockchain, with a user reporting that it's identified as containing a virus by Microsoft's Security Essentials.The reason El Reg is inclined to think it's accidental: in this discussion on a Microsoft discussion board, user edc678 says MSE is identifying the signature of the STONED virus in the blockchain.Since STONED is a 27-year-old relic from the DOS days – all it did was pop up a boot message telling users “Your PC is now STONED”.It's believed to hail from New Zealand in 1987.Given that, it seems unlikely that STONED has been inserted into the blockchain, and far more plausible that a string of bits in the blockchain has managed to reproduce enough of the virus' hexcode to trigger the signature warning.The user who triggered the discussion remarks only on the inconvenience of having Microsoft Security Essentials keep popping up virus warnings, “as its constant alerts of finding threats in the blockchain is (sic) not only worriesome, but can create panic and negative perception of bitcoin as a whole”.

More than collapsing exchanges, lost Bitcoins, or the increasing regulatory attention the crypto-currency is receiving, even … ® Tips and corrections Sign up to our Newsletter Get IT in your inbox daily More from The Register Crims using anti-virus exclusion lists to send malware to where it can do most damage Raspberry Pi sours thanks to mining malware Big mistake by Big Blue: Storwize initialisation USBs had malware Apple blocks comms-snooping malware Microsoft patched more Malware Protection Engine bugs last week after Say hello to Dvmap: The first Android malware with code injection Whitepapers Data architecture optimisation Five things every MSP should know Veracode Secure Development Survey Advanced In-Memory ComputingJump to: , On May 15, 2014, a virus signature of an antique virus called DOS/STONED was inserted into the block chain.This caused Microsoft Security Essentials to recognize the block chain as the virus, prompting it to remove the file in question, and subsequently forcing the node to reload the block chain from that point, continuing the cycle.[1][2]

Stoned was a virus created by an unidentified student from Wellington, New Zealand in 1987.[3][4]It was one of the first computer viruses, and had become common and widespread by the 1990s.When an infected computer started, there was a one in eight probability that it would declare "Your PC is now Stoned!"[5][6] The phrase is found in infected boot sectors of infected floppy disks and master boot records of infected hard disks along with the phrase "Legalise Marijuana".[sic]Only the signature of the virus had been inserted into the blockchain; the virus itself was not there, and if it were, it would not be able to function.[7]ethereum gbp chartThe situation was averted shortly thereafter, as Microsoft had prevented the block chain from being recognized as Stoned.[8]bitcoin wallet nodesMicrosoft Security Essentials did not lose the ability to detect a real instance of Stoned.reddit bitcoin litecoin

There’s an interesting discussion that’s sprouted up on the Microsoft discussion boards relating to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) — Microsoft’s out-of-the-box malware prevention software.A user by the handle “edc678” reports that a virus signature from the “DOS/STONED” virus was uploaded to the bitcoin blockchain.And since we’re only dealing with the virus signature, there doesn’t seem to be a threat to users.But users of Microsoft Security Essentials are getting a whole lot of grief from their software.poland vps bitcoinMSE is essentially recognizing the signature, reporting it to the user as a threat.bitcoin pizza indexEven worse, when MSE attempts to scrub the “infection” from the computer, it effectively deletes the block chain file, forcing the bitcoin client to re-download it (which many know is a very large file, indeed).bitcoin wiki hr

So – what exactly is the DOS/STONED virus?For starters, it’s over twenty-five years old, and it isn’t nearly as complex as today’s malware.Developed in New Zealand in 1987, a message saying “Your PC is now Stoned!”would appear approximately once every eight boots.Aforementioned “edc678” took to the discussion board to find three bits of information.Whether or not MSE is detecting the signature of DOS/STONED; That there isn’t danger to bitcoin users; and whether MSE can be updated to bypass these sort of signatures found in the blockchain.bitcoin chart price inr“…as its constant alerts of finding threats in the blockchain is not only worrisome, but can create panic and negative perception of bitcoin as a whole, damaging its reputation and annoying users.bitcoin widget macIt’s important that MSE be updated with a more selective virus detection algorithm for blockchain files.” Have you had first-hand experience with this scenario?lost bitcoin wallet key

Virus and Malware Microsoft Security Essentials Updating Virus and Spyware Definitions Windows 7 Microsoft Security Essentials reporting false positives in the Bitcoin blockchain, constantly notifying users.edc678 started on May 15, 2014 Earlier today, a virus signature from the virus "DOS/STONED" was uploaded into the Bitcoin blockchain, which allows small snippets of text to accompany user transactions with bitcoin.Since this is only the virus signature and not the virus itself, there apparently is no danger to users in any way.However, MSE recognizes the signature for the virus and continuously reports it as a threat, and every time it deletes the file, the bitcoin client will simply re-download the missing blockchain.It appears to be a joke or prank, simply because this particular virus does nothing more than periodically show "YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN STONED" on one out of every eight computer boot-ups, and is over 25 years old.I'd like to get a verification here that a) what MSE is actually detecting is the signature for a virus and not actually the virus itself, b) that there is truly no danger to users of bitcoin simply because of the limitations of the blockchain to carry all the code needed for a virus, and c) MSE can and should be updated as soon as possible to bypass signatures found in the blockchain, as its constant alerts of finding threats in the blockchain is not only worrisome, but can create panic and negative perception of bitcoin as a whole, damaging its reputation and annoying users.