Marie Curie and Srizbi botnet: Difference between pages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by 76.106.29.189 (talk) to last version by Hqb
 
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Srizbi botnet''', also known by its aliases of '''Cbeplay''' and '''Exchanger''', is the world's largest or second-largest [[botnet]] depending on expert reports, and is responsible for sending out more than half of all the [[E-mail spam|spam]] being sent by all the major botnets combined.<ref name="Darkreading">{{cite news | last = Jackson Higgins| first = Kelly | title = Srizbi Botnet Sending Over 60 Billion Spams a Day | publisher = Dark Reading | date = [[May 8]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=153271 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref><ref name=pcworld>{{cite news | last = Pauli| first = Darren | title = Srizbi Botnet Sets New Records for Spam | publisher = PC World | date = [[May 8]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145631/srizbi_botnet_sets_new_records_for_spam.html | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> The botnets consist of computers infected by the Srizbi [[Trojan horse (computing)|trojan]], which sends spam on command.
{{Otheruses5|the chemist and physicist|the schools named after her|École élémentaire Marie-Curie|Marie Curie High School}}
{{redirect|Madame Curie|the 1943 biographical film about her|Madame Curie (film)}}
<!-- Note: Please do not change the nationality from Polish French without consulting the discussion page. This formulation has been found to be the best way to reflect Curie's strong connections to both of these countries -->
{{Infobox_Scientist
| name = Marie Skłodowska–Curie
| image = Mariecurie.jpg|200px
| image_size=180px
| birth_date = {{birth date|1867|11|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Warsaw]], [[Vistula Country]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1934|7|4|1867|11|7}}
| death_place = [[Passy]], [[France]]
| nationality = [[Poland]]
| field = [[Physics]], [[Chemistry]]
| work_institutions = [[University of Paris]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Paris]] <br />[[ESPCI]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Henri Becquerel]]
| doctoral_students = [[André-Louis Debierne]]<br />[[Óscar Moreno]]<br />[[Marguerite Perey|Marguerite Catherine Perey]]
| known_for = [[Radioactivity]]
| prizes = [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1903)<br />[[Davy Medal]] (1903)<br />[[Matteucci Medal]] (1904)<br>[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1911)
| footnotes = The only person to win two [[Nobel Prize]]s in different ''science'' fields.
}}

'''Marie Skłodowska–Curie''' (7 November 1867 &ndash; 4 July 1934) was a [[physicist]] and [[chemist]] of [[Poland|Polish]] upbringing and, subsequently, [[France|French]] citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of [[radioactivity]], the only person honored with [[Nobel Prize]]s in two different sciences, and the first female professor at the [[University of Paris]].

She was born '''Maria Skłodowska''' in [[Warsaw]], [[Vistula Country]], [[Russian Empire]], and lived there until she was 24. In 1891 she followed her elder sister Bronisława to study in [[Paris]], where she obtained her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. She founded the [[Curie Institute]]s in Paris and Warsaw. Her husband [[Pierre Curie]] was also a Nobel laureate, as were her daughter [[Irène Joliot-Curie]] and son-in-law [[Frédéric Joliot-Curie]].

Her achievements include the creation of a theory of ''[[radioactivity]]'' (a term coined by her and Pierre), techniques for isolating radioactive [[isotope]]s, and the discovery of two new elements, [[radium]] and [[polonium]]. It was also under her personal direction that the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of [[neoplasm]]s ("cancers"), using radioactive isotopes.

While an actively loyal French citizen, she never lost her sense of Polish identity. She named the first new [[chemical element]] that she discovered (1898) "[[polonium]]" for her native country,<ref>[[Poland]] had been partitioned in the 18th century among Russia, Prussia and Austria, and it was Skłodowska–Curie's hope that naming the element after her native country would bring world attention to its lack of independence. [[Polonium]] may have been the first [[chemical element]] named to highlight a [[political]] question. K. Kabzinska, "Chemical and Polish Aspects of Polonium and Radium Discovery," ''Przemysł chemiczny'' (The Chemical Industry), 77:104–7, 1998.</ref> and in 1932 she founded a Radium Institute (now the [[Curie Institute (Warsaw)|Maria Skłodowska–Curie Institute of Oncology]]) in her home town [[Warsaw]], headed by her physician-sister Bronisława.

==Poland==
[[Image:Mc-birthplace.jpg|thumb|left|Maria Skłodowska's birthplace on ''ulica Freta'' in [[Warsaw]]'s "[[Warsaw New Town|New Town]]."]]
[[Image:HerbDolega.svg|thumb|right|80px|[[Dołęga Coat of Arms|''Dołęga'' coat-of-arms]], hereditary in Skłodowska's family]]
Maria Skłodowska was born in [[Warsaw]] in 1867, the fifth and youngest child of well-known teachers Bronisława and Władysław Skłodowski. Maria's older siblings were Zofia (born 1862), Józef (1863), Bronisława (1865) and Helena (1866).

Maria's grandfather Józef Skłodowski had been a respected teacher in [[Lublin]], where he had taught the young [[Bolesław Prus]].<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 12.</ref> Her father Władysław Skłodowski taught mathematics and physics, subjects that Maria was to pursue, and was director successively of two Warsaw ''[[gymnasium (school)|gymnasia]]'' for boys, in addition to lodging boys in the family home. Her mother, Bronisława, operated a prestigious Warsaw girls' [[boarding school]]. She suffered from [[tuberculosis]] and died when Maria was twelve. Her father was an [[atheist]], and her mother a devout [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]].<ref>[[Eve Curie]], ''Marie Curie''.</ref>

Two years earlier, Maria's oldest sibling, Zofia, had died of [[typhus]]. The deaths of her mother and sister, according to Robert William Reid, caused Maria to give up Catholicism and become [[agnosticism|agnostic]].<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Reid
| first = Robert William
| title = Marie Curie
| year = 1974
| location = London
| publisher = Collins
| pages = page 19
| isbn = 0-00-211539-5
}} "Unusually at such an early age, she became what T. H. Huxley had just invented a word for: agnostic."
</ref>

When she was ten years old, Maria began attending the boarding school that her mother had operated while she was well; next Maria attended a female ''[[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]]'', from which she graduated on 12 June 1883. She spent the following year in the countryside at her father's relatives, and next with her father in Warsaw, where she did some [[tutoring]].

On both the paternal and maternal sides, the family had lost their property and fortunes through patriotic involvements in Polish national uprisings. This condemned each subsequent generation, including that of Maria and her elder sisters and brother, to a difficult struggle to get ahead in life.<ref>Wojciech A. Wierzewski, "''Mazowieckie korzenie Marii''" ("Maria's [[Mazowsze]] Roots") [http://www.gwiazdapolarna.com/czytaj.php?nr=813&cat=4&art=04-01.txt], ''Gwiazda Polarna'' (The Pole Star), a Polish-American biweekly, no. 13, 21 June 2008, pp. 16–17.</ref>

Maria made an agreement with her sister Bronisława, that she would give her financial assistance during Bronisława's medical studies in [[Paris]], in exchange for similar assistance two years later.<ref>Marie Curie, ''Autobiography''.</ref> In connection with this, she took a position as [[governess]]. First with a lawyer's family in [[Kraków]], then for two years in [[Ciechanów]] with a landed family, the Żorawskis, relatives of her father. While working for the latter family, she fell in love with their son [[Kazimierz Żorawski]], which the future eminent mathematician reciprocated. His parents, however, rejected the idea of his marrying the penniless relative, and Kazimierz was unable to oppose them. Maria lost her governess' position.<ref>[[Susan Quinn]], ''Marie Curie: A Life''.</ref> She found another with the Fuchs family in [[Sopot]], on the [[Baltic Sea]] coast, where she spent the next year, all the while financially assisting her sister.
[[Image:Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Warsaw.JPG|thumb|''[[Krakowskie Przedmieście|Krakowskie Przedmieście 66]]'', near [[Warsaw]]'s [[Warsaw Old Town|Old Town]] (in the distance). At a lab here, in 1890–91, Maria Skłodowska did her first scientific work.]]

At the beginning of 1890, Bronisława, who had a few months earlier married Kazimierz Dłuski, invited Maria to join them in Paris. Maria declined because she could not afford the university [[tuition]] and was still counting on marrying [[Kazimierz Żorawski]].
She returned home to her father, with whom she remained till the fall of 1891, tutoring, studying at the clandestine [[Flying University|Floating University]], and beginning her practical scientific training in a laboratory at the [[Museum of Industry and Agriculture]] run by her cousin [[Józef Boguski]], who had been assistant in [[St. Petersburg]] to the great Russian chemist [[Dmitri Mendeleyev]].<ref>Another of Skłodowska's teachers at the Museum, Napoleon Milicer, had been a pupil of [[Robert Bunsen]]. Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', pp. 23–24.</ref>
[[Image:Kazm.JPG|thumb|left|[[Kazimierz Żorawski]] in later life]]
In October 1891, at her sister's insistence and after receiving a letter from Żorawski definitively breaking up with her, she decided to go to France after all.<ref>[[Eve Curie]], ''Marie Curie''.</ref>

Maria's breakup with Żorawski was tragic for both. He soon earned a doctorate and pursued an academic career as a mathematician, becoming a professor and [[rector]] of [[Jagiellonian University|Kraków University]] and president of the Warsaw Society of Learning; still, as an old man, a mathematics professor at the [[Warsaw Polytechnic]], he would sit contemplatively in front of the statue of Maria Skłodowska before the Radium Institute that she had founded.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 24.</ref> Maria, in Paris, briefly found shelter with her sister and brother-in-law before renting a primitive garret<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 32.</ref> and proceeding with her studies of physics, chemistry and mathematics at the [[Sorbonne]] (the University of Paris).

== Sorbonne ==
Skłodowska studied during the day, and she tutored evenings, barely earning her keep. In 1893 she obtained a degree in physics and began work in an industrial laboratory at Lippman's. Meanwhile she continued studying at the Sorbonne and in 1894 earned a degree in mathematics.

In the same year [[Pierre Curie]] entered her life. He was an instructor in the School of Physics and Chemistry, the ''[[École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris]]'' (ESPCI). Skłodowska had begun her scientific career in Paris with an investigation of the magnetic properties of various steels; it was their mutual interest in [[magnetism]] that drew Skłodowska and Curie together.<ref>L. Pearce Williams, "Curie, Pierre and Marie," ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'', vol. 8, p. 331.</ref>.

Her departure for the summer to Warsaw only enhanced their mutual feelings for each other. She was still laboring under the illusion that she would be able to return to Poland and work in her chosen field of study. When, however, she was denied a place at [[Jagiellonian University|Kraków University]] merely because she was a woman, she returned to Paris. Almost a year later, in July 1895, she and Pierre Curie married, and thereafter the two physicists hardly ever left their laboratory. Their shared hobbies were only long bicycle trips and journeys abroad, which brought them even closer. Maria had found a new love, a partner and scientific collaborator that she could depend on.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>

== New elements ==
[[Image:Pierre and Marie Curie.jpg|thumb|left|225px|[[Pierre Curie|Pierre]] and Marie Curie in their Paris lab.]]
In 1896 [[Henri Becquerel]] discovered that [[uranium]] salts emitted [[ray]]s that resembled [[X-ray]]s in their penetrating power. He demonstrated that this radiation, unlike [[phosphorescence]], did not depend on an external source of [[energy]] but seemed to arise spontaneously from uranium itself. Becquerel had in fact discovered radioactivity.

Marie decided to look into uranium rays as a possible field of research for a thesis. Her first result was the finding that the activity of the uranium compounds depended only on the amount of uranium present. She had shown that the radiation was not the outcome of some interaction between [[molecule]]s but must come from the [[atom]] itself. In scientific terms, this was the most important single piece of work carried out by her.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', pp. 61–63.</ref>

Marie's systematic studies had included two uranium minerals, [[pitchblende]] and [[chalcolite]]. Her [[electrometer]] showed that [[pitchblende]] was four times as active as uranium itself, and chalcolite twice as active. She concluded that, if her earlier results relating the amount of uranium to its activity were correct, then these two minerals must contain small amounts of some other substance far more active than uranium itself.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', pp. 63–64.</ref>

{{blockquote|The idea [writes Reid] was her own; no one helped her formulate it, and although she took it to her husband for his opinion she clearly established her ownership of it. She later recorded the fact twice in her biography of her husband to ensure there was no chance whatever of any ambiguity. It [is] likely that already at this early stage of her career [she] realized that... many scientists would find it difficult to believe that a woman could be capable of the original work in which she was involved.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 64.</ref>|}}

In her systematic search for other substances besides uranium salts that emitted radiation, Marie had found that the element [[thorium]] was likewise radioactive.

She was acutely aware of the importance of promptly publishing her discoveries and thus establishing her [[scientific priority|priority]]. Had Becquerel, two years earlier, not presented his discovery to the ''[[Académie des Sciences]]'' the day after he made it, credit for the discovery of radioactivity, and even a Nobel Prize, would instead have gone to [[Silvanus Thompson]]. Marie chose the same rapid means of publication. Her paper, giving a brief, simple account of her work, was presented for her to the ''Académie'' on April 12, 1898, by her former professor, [[Gabriel Lippmann]].<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', pp. 64–65.</ref>

Even so, just as Thompson had been beaten by Becquerel, so Marie was beaten in the race to tell of her discovery that thorium gives off rays in the same way as uranium. Two months earlier, Gerhard Schmidt had published his own finding in Berlin.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 65. Such multiple independent discoveries appear in fact to be the rule in science and technology; see [[List of independent discoveries]].</ref>

No one else in the world of physics had, however, yet noticed what Marie recorded in a sentence of her paper in describing how much greater were the activities of pitchblende and chalcolite compared with uranium itself: "The fact is very remarkable, and leads to the belief that these minerals may contain an element which is much more active than uranium." She would later recall how she felt "a passionate desire to verify this hypothesis as rapidly as possible."<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 65.</ref>

Pierre Curie was sure that what she had discovered was not a spurious effect. He was so intrigued that he decided to temporarily drop his work on crystals and join her. On April 14, 1898, they optimistically weighed out a 100-gram sample of pitchblende and ground it with a pestle and mortar. They did not then realize that what they were searching for was present in such minute quantities that they would eventually have to process tons of the ore.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 65.</ref>

In July 1898, Pierre and Marie together published a paper announcing the existence of an element which they named "[[polonium]]," in honor of her native Poland, then still partitioned among three empires. On December 26, 1898, the Curies announced the existence of a second element, which they named "[[radium]]" for its intense ''[[radioactivity]]'' — a word that they coined.

Pitchblende is a complex mineral, and the chemical separation of its constituents was an arduous task. The discovery of polonium had been relatively easy; chemically it resembles the element [[bismuth]], and polonium was the only bismuth-like substance in the ore. But radium was more elusive; it is closely related chemically to [[barium]], and pitchblende contains ''both'' elements. By 1898 the Curies had obtained traces of radium, but appreciable quantities, uncontaminated with barium, were still beyond reach.<ref>L. Pearce Williams, pp. 331–32.</ref>

The Curies undertook the arduous task of separating out radium salt by differential [[crystallization]]. From a ton of pitchblende, one-tenth of a gram of [[radium chloride]] was separated in 1902. By 1910 Marie, working on without her husband, who had been killed in 1906, had isolated the pure radium [[metal]].<ref>L. Pearce Williams, p. 332.</ref>

In an unusual decision, Marie Curie intentionally refrained from [[patent]]ing the radium-isolation process so that the scientific community could do research unhindered.<ref>Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', p. 265.</ref>

Since they were unaware of the deleterious effects of [[radiation exposure]] attendant on their chronic unprotected work with radioactive substances, Marie and Pierre had no idea what price they were paying for their research.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>
== Size ==
In 1903, under the supervision of [[Henri Becquerel]],<ref>{{cite journal | title = The discovery of radium in 1898 by Maria Sklodowska-Curie (1867–1934) and Pierre Curie (1859–1906) with commentary on their life and times | last = Mould | first = R. F. | journal = The British Journal of Radiology | volume = 71 | year = 1998 | pages = 1229–1254 | url = http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/reprint/71/852/1229.pdf | accessdate = 2008-07-31}}</ref> Marie received her [[DSc]] from the [[University of Paris]].
The size of the Srizbi [[botnet]] is estimated to be around 315,000 compromised machines, with estimation differences being smaller than 5% among various sources.<ref name=pcworld/><ref>{{cite news | last = Popa| first = Bogdan| title = Meet Srizbi, the Largest Botnet Ever | publisher = Softpedia | date = [[April 10]] [[2008]] | url = http://news.softpedia.com/news/Meet-Srizbi-The-Largest-Botnet-Ever-82992.shtml | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> The botnet is reported to be capable of sending around 60 billion spam messages a day, which is more than half of the total of the approximately 100 billion spam messages sent every day. As a comparison, the highly publicized [[storm botnet]] only manages to reach around 20% of the total amount of spam sent during its peak periods.<ref name="csoonline">{{cite news | last = E. Dunn| first = John| title = Srizbi Grows Into World's Largest Botnet | publisher = CSO Online | date = [[May 13]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.csoonline.com/article/356219/Srizbi_Grows_Into_World_s_Largest_Botnet | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref><ref name=pcworld/>


The Srizbi botnet is showing a slight decline after a recent aggressive growth in the amount of spam messages sent out. As of [[13 July]] [[2008]], the botnet is believed to be responsible for roughly 40% of all the spam on the net, a sharp decline from the almost 60% market share in May 2008.<Ref name="SpamStats">{{cite news | first = Marshall| title = Spam statistics from TRACE | publisher = Marshall | date = [[July 13]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.marshal.com/TRACE/spam_statistics.asp | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref>
== Nobel Prizes ==
[[Image:Dyplom Sklodowska.jpg|thumb|250px|Maria Skłodowska–Curie's 1911 [[Nobel Prize]] diploma]]
In 1903, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded [[Pierre Curie]], Marie Curie, and [[Henri Becquerel]] the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]], "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the [[ionizing radiation|radiation]] phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."


== Origins ==
Maria and Pierre were unable to go to [[Stockholm]] to receive the prize in person, but they shared its financial proceeds with needy acquaintances, including students.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>
The earliest reports on Srizbi trojan outbreaks were around June 2007, with small differences in detection dates across [[antivirus software]] vendors.<ref name="outbreaksymantec">{{cite news | title = Trojan.Srizbi | publisher = Symantec| date = [[July 23]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2007-062007-0946-99&tabid=1 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref><ref name="outbreaksophos">{{cite news | title = Troj/RKAgen-A Trojan (Rootkit.Win32.Agent.ea, Trojan.Srizbi) - Sophos security analysis | publisher = Sophos| date = [[August]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojrkagena.html | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> However, reports indicate that the first released version had already been assembled on [[31 March]] [[2007]].<ref name="secuworks">{{cite news | last = Stewart| first = Joe| title = Inside the "Ron Paul" Spam Botnet | publisher = SecureWorks | date = [[December 4]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.secureworks.com/research/threats/ronpaul/?threat=ronpaul | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> Ever since its creation, Srizbi has been growing at an extremely rapid pace, making the botnet the second largest (behind the [[Kraken botnet]]) by number of bots, and the largest generator of spam messages, less than one year into its existence. There is currently no sign of decline in the number of bots involved in the botnet.


== Spread and botnet composition ==
On receiving the Nobel Prize, Marie and Pierre Curie suddenly became very famous. The Sorbonne gave Pierre a professorship and permitted him to establish his own laboratory, in which Marie became director of research.
The Srizbi botnet consists of computers which have been infected by the Srizbi [[Trojan horse (computing)|trojan horse]]. This trojan horse is deployed onto its victim computer through the [[MPack (software)|Mpack]] [[malware]] kit.<ref name="malwarepack">{{cite news | last = Keizer | first = Gregg | title = Mpack installs ultra-invisible Trojan | publisher = ComputerWorld | date = [[July 5]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026323 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> Past editions have used the "n404 web exploit kit" malware kit to spread, but this kit's usage has been deprecated in favor of [[MPack (software)|Mpack]].<ref name="secuworks"/>


The distribution of these malware kits is partially achieved by utilizing the botnet itself. The botnet has been known to send out spam containing links to fake videos about celebrities, which include a link pointing to the malware kit. Similar attempts have been taken with other subjects such as illegal software sales and personal messages.<ref name="messages">{{cite news | last = Blog | first = TRACE| title = Srizbi uses multi-pronged attack to spread malware | publisher = Marshal Limited| date = [[March 7]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.marshal.com/trace/traceitem.asp?article=595&thesection=trace | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = McKenzie| first = Grey| title = Srizbi Botnet Is Largely Responsible for Recent Sharp Increase In Spam | publisher = National Cyber Security| date = [[June 25]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.nationalcybersecurity.com/blogs/778/-Srizbi-Botnet-Is-Largely-Responsible-for-Recent-Sharp-Increase-In-Spam.html | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref><ref name="traceblog">{{cite news | title = Srizbi spam uses celebrities as lures | publisher = TRACE Blog| date = [[February 20]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.marshal.com/trace/traceitem.asp?article=568&thesection=trace | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> Apart from this self-propagation, the MPack kit is also known for much more aggressive spreading tactics, most notably the compromise of about 10,000 websites in June 2007.<ref name="10khostcompromise"> {{cite news | last = Keizer | first = Gregg | title = Hackers compromise 10k sites, launch 'phenomenal' attack | publisher = ComputerWorld | date = [[June 10]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9025198 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> These domains, which included a surprising number of pornographic websites,<ref>{{cite news | last = Keizer | first = Gregg | title = Porn sites serve up Mpack attacks | publisher = ComputerWorld | date = [[June 22]] [[2007]] | url = http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9025578 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> ended up forwarding the unsuspecting visitor to websites containing the MPack program.
In 1897 and 1904, respectively, Marie gave birth to their daughters, [[Irène Curie|Irène]] and [[Eve Curie]].


Once a computer becomes infected by the trojan horse, the computer becomes known as a [[bot]], which will then be at the command of the owner of the botnet, commonly referred to as the botnet herder.<ref name="herder">{{cite news | title = Spying on bot nets becoming harder | publisher = SecurityFocus| date = [[October 12]] [[2006]] | url = http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/328 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> The operation of the Srizbi botnet is based upon a number of servers which control the utilization of the individual bots in the botnet. These servers are redundant copies of each other, which protects the botnet from being crippled in case a system failure or legal action takes a server down. These servers are generally placed in countries such as [[Russia]], where law enforcement against digital crime is limited.
Skłodowska–Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Eight years later, she would receive the 1911 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]], "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element."


=== Reactor Mailer ===
A month after accepting her 1911 Nobel Prize, she was hospitalized with depression and a kidney ailment.
The [[server-side]] of the Srizbi botnet is handled by a program called "Reactor Mailer", which is a [[Python (programming language)|Python]]-based [[web component]] responsible for coordinating the spam sent out by the individual bots in the botnet. Reactor Mailer has existed since 2004, and is currently in its third release, which is also used to control the Srizbi botnet. The software allows for [[secure login]] and allows multiple accounts, which strongly suggests that access to the botnet and its spam capacity is sold to external parties ([[Software as a service]]). This is further reinforced by evidence showing that the Srizbi botnet runs multiple batches of spam at a time; blocks of [[IP address]]es can be observed sending different types of spam at any one time. Once a user has been granted access, he or she can utilize the software to create the message they want to send, test it for its [[spam assassin]] score and after that send it to all the users in a list of e-mail addresses.<ref name="secuworks"/>


Suspicion has arisen that the writer of the Reactor Mailer program might be the same person responsible for the Srizbi trojan, as code analysis shows a code fingerprint that matches between the two programs. <ref name="secuworks"/> If this claim is indeed true, then this coder might well be responsible for the trojan behind another botnet, named Rustock. According to [[Symantec]], the code used in the Srizbi trojan is very similar to the code found in the Rostock trojan, and could well be an improved version of the latter.<ref name="kernelspam">{{cite news | last = Hayashi | first = Kaoru| title ="Spam from the Kernel: Full-Kernel Malware Installed by MPack" | publisher = Symantec | date = [[June 29]] [[2007]] | url = https://forums.symantec.com/syment/blog/article?message.uid=305311 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref>
Skłodowska–Curie was the first person to win or share ''two'' Nobel Prizes. She is one of only two people who have been awarded a [[Nobel Prize]] in two different fields, the other being [[Linus Pauling]] (Chemistry, Peace). Nevertheless, in 1911 the [[French Academy of Sciences]] refused to abandon its prejudice against women and she failed by one vote to be elected to membership.<ref>L. Pearce Williams, p. 332.</ref> It would be her doctoral student, [[Marguerite Perey]], who would be the first woman elected to the Academy — in 1962, over half a century later.


== Pierre's death ==
=== Srizbi trojan ===
The Srizbi trojan is the [[client side]] program responsible for sending the spam from infected machines. The [[trojan]] has been credited with being extremely efficient at this task, which explains why Srizbi is capable of sending such high volumes of spam without having a huge numerological advantage in the number of infected computers.
On April 19, 1906, Pierre was killed in a street accident. Walking across the [[Rue Dauphine]] in heavy rain, he was struck by a horse-drawn vehicle and fell under its wheels, fracturing his skull. While it has been speculated that he may previously have been weakened by prolonged radiation exposure, it has not been proven that this was the cause of the accident.


Apart from having an efficient spam engine, the trojan is also very capable in hiding itself from both the user and the system itself, including any products designed to remove the trojan from the system. The trojan itself is fully executed in [[kernel mode|kernel modus]] and has been noted to employ [[rootkit]]-like technologies to prevent any form of detection. By patching the [[NTFS]] [[file system]] [[driver|drivers]], the [[trojan]] will make its files invisible for both the [[operating system]] and any human user utilizing the system. The trojan is also capable of hiding [[network traffic]] it generates by directly attaching [[NDIS]] and [[TCP/IP]] drivers to its own process, a feature currently unique for this [[trojan]]. This procedure has been proved to allow the trojan to bypass both [[firewall]] and [[sniffer]] protection on the system.<ref name="kernelspam"/>
Marie was devastated by her husband's death. She noted that as of that moment she had suddenly become "an incurably and wretchedly lonely person." On May 13, 1906, the Sorbonne physics department decided to retain the chair that had been created for Pierre Curie and entrusted it to Marie together with full authority over the laboratory. This allowed her to emerge from Pierre's shadow. She became the first female professor at the Sorbonne, and sought in her exhausting work regime a meaning for her life.


Once the bot is in place and operational, it will contact one of the [[hardcoded]] [[server|servers]] from a list it carries with it. This server will then supply the bot with a [[zip]] file containing a number of files required by the bot to start its spamming business. The following files have been identified to be downloaded:
Recognition for her work now grew to a crescendo, and in 1911 the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] awarded her a second [[Nobel Prize]]. A delegation of celebrated Polish men of learning, headed by world-famous novelist [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]], besought her to return to Poland and continue her research in her native country.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>


# <code>000_data2</code> - mail server domains
In 1911, too, it transpired that in 1910–11 Marie had conducted an affair of about a year's duration with physicist [[Paul Langevin]],{{Fact|date=September 2007}} a married man who had left his wife. This resulted in a press scandal, exploited by her academic opponents. Despite her fame as a scientist working for France, the public's attitude tended toward [[xenophobia]]—the same that had led to the [[Dreyfus Affair]] and that now fueled false speculation that Skłodowska–Curie was Jewish. Four years Langevin's senior, she was portrayed in the tabloids as a home-wrecker. Later, ''Skłodowska–Curie's granddaughter'', [[Hélène Langevin-Joliot|Hélène Joliot]], would marry ''Langevin's grandson'', Michel Langevin.
# <code>001_ncommall</code> - list of names)
# <code>002_senderna</code> - list of possible sender names
# <code>003_sendersu</code> - list of possible sender surnames
# <code>config</code> - Main spam configuration file
# <code>message</code> - HTML message to spam
# <code>mlist</code> - Recipients mail addresses
# <code>mxdata</code> - MX record data


When these files have been received, the bot will first initialize a software routine which allows it to remove files critical for revealing [[spam]] and [[rootkit]] applications.
Skłodowska–Curie's second Nobel Prize, in 1911, enabled her to talk the French government into funding the building of a private Radium Institute (''Institut du radium'', now the ''Institut Curie''), which was built in 1914 and at which research was conducted in chemistry, physics and medicine. The Institute became a cradle of Nobel Prize winners, producing four more, including her daughter [[Irène Joliot-Curie]] and her son-in-law, [[Frédéric Joliot-Curie]].
<ref name="kernelspam"/> After this procedure is done, the trojan will then start sending out the spam message it has received from the control server.


==War and after==
== Incidents ==
During [[World War I]], Skłodowska-Curie pushed for the use of mobile [[radiography]] units, which came to be popularly known as ''petites Curies'' ("Little Curies"), for the treatment of wounded soldiers. These units were powered using tubes of ''radium emanation'', a colorless, radioactive gas given off by radium, later identified as [[radon]]. Skłodowska-Curie personally provided the tubes, derived from the radium she purified. Also, promptly after the war started, she donated her and her husband's gold [[Nobel Prize]] [[medal]]s for the war effort.


The Srizbi botnet has been the basis for several incidents which have received media coverage in the regular media. Several of the most notable ones will be described below here. This is by no means a complete list of incidents, but just a list of the major ones.
In 1921 Skłodowska-Curie toured the [[United States]], where she was welcomed triumphally, to raise funds for research on radium. These distractions from her scientific labors, and the attendant publicity, caused her much discomfort but provided resources for her work. Her second American tour in 1929 succeeded in equipping the Warsaw [[Curie Institute (Warsaw)|Radium Institute]], founded in 1925 with her sister Bronisława as director.


=== The "Ron Paul" incident ===
In her later years Skłodowska-Curie headed the [[Pasteur Institute]] and a radioactivity laboratory created for her by the [[University of Paris]].
In October 2007, several [[anti-spam]] firms noticed an unusual [[spam]] campaign emerging. Unlike the usual messages about counterfeit watches, stocks or penis enlargement, the mail contained promotional information about [[United States]] [[presidential candidate]] [[Ron Paul]]. The [[Ron Paul]] camp dismissed the [[spam]] as being not related to the official presidential campaign. A spokesman told the press "If it is true, it could be done by a well-intentioned yet misguided supporter or someone with bad intentions trying to embarrass the campaign. Either way, this is independent work, and we have no connection."<ref name="ronpaul">{{cite news | last = Cheng | first = Jacqui| title = Researchers: Ron Paul campaign e-mails originating from spambots | publisher = ARS Technica| date = [[October 31]] [[2007]] | url = http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071031-ron-paul-camp-gets-over-enthusiastic-with-spam.html | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref>


Later, the spam was confirmed as coming from the Srizbi network.<ref name="ronpaultrace">{{cite news | last = Paul| first = Ryan| title = Researchers track Ron Paul spam back to Reactor botnet | publisher = ARS Technica| date = [[December 6]] [[2007]] | url = http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071206-researchers-track-ron-paul-spam-back-to-reactor-botnet.html | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> Through the capture of one of the control servers involved,<ref name="secuworks"/> investigators learned that the spam message had been sent to up to 160 million [[e-mail]] addresses by as few as 3,000 bot computers. The spammer himself has only been identified by his internet [[User (computing)|handle]] "nenastnyj"; his or her real identity has not been determined.
Skłodowska–Curie visited Poland a last time in the spring of 1934.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref> Only a couple of months later, she was dead. Her death on July 4, 1934, at the [[Sancellemoz]] [[Sanatorium]] in [[Passy]], in [[Haute-Savoie]], eastern France, was from [[aplastic anemia]], almost certainly contracted from exposure to [[radiation]]. The damaging effects of [[ionizing radiation]] were then not yet known, and much of her work had been carried out in a shed without any safety measures. She had carried test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket and stored them in her desk drawer, remarking on the pretty blue-green light that the substances gave off in the dark.


=== Malicious spam tripling volumes in a week ===
She was interred at the cemetery in [[Sceaux]], alongside her husband Pierre. Sixty years later, in 1995, in honor of their achievements, the remains of both were transferred to the [[Panthéon, Paris|Paris Panthéon]]. She became the first woman so honored.
In the week from [[20 June]] [[2008]] Srizbi managed to triple the amount of malicious spam send from an average 3% to 9.9%, largely due to its own effort.<ref>{{cite news | last = Salek| first = Negar| title = One of the biggest threats to Internet users today: Srizbi | publisher = SC Magazine| date = [[June 25]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.securecomputing.net.au/News/115170,one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-internet-users-today-srizbi.aspx | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> This particular spam wave was an aggressive attempt to increase the size of the Srizbi botnet by sending e-mails to users which warned them that they had been videotaped naked.<ref>{{cite news | title = The Naked Truth About the Srizbi Botnet | publisher = Protect Web Form Blog| date = [[May 19]] [[2008]] | url = http://blog.protectwebform.com/p/45 | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref> Sending this message, which is a kind of spam referred to as "Stupid Theme", was an attempt to get people to click the malicious link included in the mail, before realizing that this message was most likely [[spam]]. While old, this [[social engineering]] technique has still been proved effective for the means of spammers.


The size of this operation shows that the power and monetary income from a botnet is closely based upon its spam capacity: more infected computers translate directly into greater revenue for the botnet owner. It also shows the power botnets have to increase their own size, mainly by using a part of their own strength in numbers.<ref name=tripspam>{{cite news | last = Walsh| first = Sue| title = Spam Volume Triples In A Week | publisher = All Spammed Up| date = [[June 27]] [[2008]] | url = http://www.allspammedup.com/2008/06/spam-volume-triples-in-a-week/ | accessdate = 2008-07-20}}</ref>
Her laboratory is preserved at the [[Musée Curie]].


== See also ==
She was decorated with the French [[Legion of Honor]]. In Poland, she had received honorary doctorates from the [[Lwów Polytechnic]] (1912), [[Poznań University]] (1922), [[Kraków]]'s [[Jagiellonian University]] (1924) and the [[Warsaw Polytechnic]] (1926).
*[[Botnet]]
*[[Storm botnet]]
*[[MPack (software)|MPack malware kit]]
*[[E-mail spam]]
*[[Internet crime]]
*[[Internet security]]
*[[Operation: Bot Roast]]


== References ==
The Curies' elder daughter, [[Irène Joliot-Curie]], won a [[Nobel Prize]] for Chemistry in 1935 for discovering that [[aluminium]] could be made radioactive and emit neutrons when bombarded with alpha rays. The younger daughter, [[Ève Curie]], wrote a biography of her late mother.

In 1936, Michalina Mościcka, wife of Polish President [[Ignacy Mościcki]], unveiled a statue of the scientist in front of Warsaw's [[Curie Institute (Warsaw)|Curie Institute]], the former Radium Institute. Eight years later, the monument suffered from gunfire during the 1944 [[Warsaw Uprising]]; but after the war, when maintenance work was being done, it was decided not to remove these scars.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>

In 1967, a museum devoted to Skłodowska–Curie was established in Warsaw's "[[Warsaw New Town|New Town]]," in her birthplace on ''ulica Freta'' (Freta Street).<ref>Wierzewski, p. 17.</ref>

Due to their levels of radioactivity, her papers from the 1890s (and even her cookbook) are considered too dangerous to handle. They are kept in lead-lined boxes; those who wish to consult them must wear protective clothing.<ref>Bryson, ''A Short History of Nearly Everything'', p. 148.</ref>

==Legacy==
The Curies' work contributed substantially to shaping the world of the 20th and 21st centuries, in both its physical and [[societal]] aspects. L. Pearce Williams observes:

{{blockquote|The result of the Curies' work was epoch-making. Radium's [[radioactivity]] was so great that it could not be ignored. It seemed to contradict the principle of the [[conservation of energy]] and therefore forced a reconsideration of the foundations of [[physics]]. On the experimental level the discovery of [[radium]] provided men like [[Ernest Rutherford]] with sources of radioactivity with which they could probe the structure of the [[atom]]. As a result of Rutherford's experiments with [[alpha radiation]], the [[atomic nucleus|nuclear atom]] was first postulated. In [[medicine]], the radioactivity of radium appeared to offer a means by which [[cancer]] could be successfully attacked.<ref>L. Pearce Williams, p. 332.</ref>|}}

If the work of Maria Skłodowska–Curie helped overturn established ideas in physics and chemistry, it has had an equally profound effect in the [[societal]] sphere. In order to attain her scientific achievements, she had to overcome barriers that were placed in her way as a woman in both her country of origin and her adoptive country. This aspect of her life and career is highlighted in [[Françoise Giroud]]'s ''Marie Curie: A Life'', which emphasizes Skłodowska's role as a [[feminist]] precursor. She was ahead of her time, emancipated, independent, and in addition uncorrupted. [[Albert Einstein]] is supposed to have remarked that she was probably the only person who was not corrupted by the fame that she had won.<ref>Wierzewski, p. 16.</ref>

==Prizes==
*[[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1903)
*[[Davy Medal]] (1903)
*[[Matteucci Medal]] (1904)
*[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1911)

==Tributes==
[[Image:20000 zl a 1989.jpg|thumb|[[Historical coins and banknotes of Poland]]|[[Poland|Polish]] 20,000-[[Złoty#Third z.C5.82oty .28PLZ.29.2C 1950-1994|old-''złoty'']] [[banknote]] with likeness of Maria Skłodowska-Curie]]
[[Image:Soviet Union stamp 1987 CPA 5875.jpg|thumb|1987 [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] stamp, commemorating 120th anniversary of birth of Maria Skłodowska–Curie]]
[[Image:Maria Skłodowska-Curie Medallion.JPG|thumb|[[Maria Skłodowska-Curie Medallion]].]]
As one of the most famous female scientists to date, Marie Curie has been an icon in the scientific world and has inspired many tributes and recognitions. In 1995, she was the first woman laid to rest under the famous dome of the [[The Panthéon|Paris Panthéon]], alongside her husband.

The [[curie]] (symbol '''Ci'''), a unit of radioactivity, is named in her and/or Pierre's honour,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9028251/curie#245574.hook curie - Britannica Online Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite web | author = Paul W. Frame | title = How the Curie Came to Be | url = http://www.orau.org/ptp/articlesstories/thecurie.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-30}}</ref> as is the element with atomic number 96 — [[curium]].

Skłodowska-Curie's likeness appeared on the Polish late-1980s [[inflation]]ary [[Historical coins and banknotes of Poland|20,000-złoty banknote]]. Her likeness also appeared on stamps and coins, and on the last French 500-[[₣|franc]] note, before the franc was replaced by the [[euro]].

[[Greer Garson]] and [[Walter Pidgeon]] starred in the 1943 U.S. Oscar-nominated film, ''[[Madame Curie (film)|Madame Curie]]'', based on her life. "Marie Curie" is also the name of a character in a 1988 comedy, ''[[Young Einstein]]'', by [[Yahoo Serious]].

Three radioactive minerals are named after the Curies: [http://www.uraniumminerals.com/UTh/Curite.htm curite], [http://www.uraniumminerals.com/UTh/Sklodowskite.htm sklodowskite], and [http://www.uraniumminerals.com/UTh/Cuprosklodowskite.htm cuprosklodowskite].

[[Poland|Polish]] institutions named after Maria Skłodowska–Curie include:
*[[Maria Curie-Skłodowska University]], in [[Lublin]];
*[[Curie Institute (Warsaw)|Maria Skłodowska–Curie Institute of Oncology]], in [[Warsaw]].

[[France|French]] institutions named after Maria Skłodowska–Curie include:
*[[University of Paris VI: Pierre et Marie Curie|Pierre and Marie Curie University]], the largest science, technology and medicine university in France, and successor institution to the faculty of science at the [[University of Paris]], where she taught; it is named in honor of her and Pierre. The university is home to the laboratory where they discovered [[radium]].
*The [[Curie Institute (Paris)|Curie Institute]] and [[Curie Museum]], in Paris.

In [[Bayside, Queens]], New York, another school named for her, Marie Curie [[Marie Curie Middle School 158|M.S. 158]], specializes in [[science]] and [[technology]]; as does [[Curie Metropolitan High School]] — located in [[Archer Heights, Chicago|Archer Heights]], on [[Southwest Side, Chicago|Chicago's Southwest Side]] — which has a Technical, Performing Arts and IB program.

In 2007, the [[Pierre Curie]] [[Paris Métro]] station was renamed the "[[Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris Métro)|Pierre et Marie Curie]]" station.

The [[Maria Skłodowska-Curie Medallion]], a [[stained glass|stained-glass]] panel created by [[Jozef C. Mazur]], may be found at the [[University at Buffalo]] Polish Room.

A [[KLM]] [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] (registration PH-KCC) is named in her honor.<ref>http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1207719/L/. Thierry Deutsch. Retrieved [[2007]]-[[12-20]]</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Poles#Physics|List of Poles]]
* [[List of people on stamps of Ireland#2000-2004|List of people on stamps of Ireland]] (Marie Curie stamp, issued in 2000)
* [[Marie Curie Cancer Care]]
* [[Eusapia Palladino#Paris|Eusapia Palladino]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}


{{Botnets}}
==References==
[[Image:1911 Solvay conference.jpg|thumb|350px|At First [[Solvay Conference]] (1911), Skłodowska-Curie (seated, 2nd from right) confers with [[Henri Poincaré]]. Standing, 4th from right, is [[Ernest Rutherford|Rutherford]]; 2nd from right, [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]; far right, '''[[Paul Langevin]]'''.]]
*Robert Reid, ''Marie Curie'', New York, New American Library, 1974.
*Teresa Kaczorowska, ''Córka mazowieckich równin, czyli Maria Skłodowska–Curie z Mazowsza'' (Daughter of the Mazovian Plains: Maria Skłodowska–Curie of [[Mazowsze]]), [[Ciechanów]], 2007.
* Wojciech A. Wierzewski, [http://www.gwiazdapolarna.com/czytaj.php?nr=813&cat=4&art=04-01.txt "Mazowieckie korzenie Marii"] ("Maria's [[Mazowsze]] Roots"), ''Gwiazda Polarna'' (The Pole Star), a Polish-American biweekly, no. 13, 21 June 2008, pp. 16–17.
* L. Pearce Williams, "Curie, Pierre and Marie," ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'', [[Danbury, Connecticut]], [[Grolier]], Inc., 1986, vol. 8, pp. 331–32.
* Barbara Goldsmith, ''Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie'', New York, W.W. Norton, 2005, ISBN 0393327485.
* Naomi Pasachoff, ''Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity'', New York, [[Oxford University Press]], 1996, ISBN 0195092147.
* [[Eve Curie]], ''Madame Curie: A Biography'', translated by [[Vincent Sheean]], Da Capo Press, 2001, ISBN 0306810387.
* [[Susan Quinn]], ''Marie Curie: A Life'', Da Capo Press, 1996, ISBN 0201887945.
* [[Françoise Giroud]], ''Marie Curie: A Life'', translated by [[Lydia Davis]], Holmes & Meier, 1986, ASIN B000TOOU7Q.

==Fiction==
* {{Cite book |title=The Book about Blanche and Marie |first=Per |last=Olov Enquist |isbn=1-58567-668-3}} A 2004 novel by [[Per Olov Enquist]] featuring Maria Skłodowska-Curie, [[neurologist]] [[Jean-Martin Charcot]], and his ''[[Salpêtrière]]'' patient "Blanche" (Marie Wittman). The English translation was published in 2006.

==External links==
{{commons|Marie Curie}}
{{wikiquote|Marie Curie}}
*[http://www.aip.org/history/curie/contents.htm Long biography] at [[American Institute of Physics]] website.'' (Site also has a short version for kids entitled [http://www.aip.org/history/curie/brief/index.html "Her story in brief!"].)''
*[http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521821971 Out of the Shadows]-A study of women physicists
* [http://www.nobelprize.org/physics/articles/curie/index.html Marie and Pierre Curie and the Discovery of Polonium and Radium] Chronology from nobelprize.org
* [http://www.nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1903 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics] and [http://www.nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1911 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry] &ndash; Nobel committee page; presentation speech, her award lecture etc.
* [http://www.umcs.lublin.pl/index.html?lang=2 The official web page of Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland] in English.
* [http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/sci/msc.htm Detailed Biography at Science in Poland website]; with quotes, photographs, links etc.
* [http://www.ptchem.lodz.pl/en/museum.html Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw]
* [http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/label_france/ENGLISH/SCIENCES/CURIE/marie.html Marie Curie: A Nobel Prize Pioneer at the Panthéon]
* [http://www.cordis.lu/improving/fellowships/home.htm European Marie Curie Fellowships]
* [http://www.mariecurie.org Marie Curie Fellowship Association]
* [http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/ Marie Curie Cancer Care], UK
* [http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/chemistry/institutes/1992/MarieCurie.html ''Marie Sklodowska Curie: Her Life as a Media Compendium'' ]
* [http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Curie,+Marie Annotated bibliography of Marie Curie from the Alsos Digital Library]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1107.html Obituary, New York Times, 5 July 1934 ''Mme. Curie Is Dead; Martyr to Science'']
* [http://himetop.wikidot.com/marie-curie Some places and memories related to Marie Curie]
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jbourj/money1.htm Marie Curie on the 500 French Franc and 20000 old Polish zloty banknotes.]
*[[American Institute of Physics]]: [http://www.aip.org/history/curie/index.html Marie Curie] Exhibit on the Life of Marie Curie. [http://photos.aip.org/ Marie Curie photos available from AIP]
*{{imdb title|id=0956189|title=Marie Curie}} - Animated biography of Marie Curie on DVD from an animated series of world and American history - [[Animated Hero Classics]] distributed by Nest Learning.
*{{imdb title|id=0281993|title=Marie Curie - More than Meets the Eye}} - Live Action portrayal of Marie Curie on DVD from the Inventors Series produced by Devine Entertainment.
*{{imdb title|id=0075534|title=Marie Curie}} - Portrayal of Marie Curie in a television mini series produced by the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]]
*{{worldcat id|id=lccn-n80-155913}}

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1901-1925}}
{{Nobel Prize in Physics Laureates 1901-1925}}


[[Category:Computer network security]]
{{Persondata
[[Category:Multi-agent systems]]
|NAME=Curie, Marie
[[Category:Distributed computing projects]]
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Skłodowska-Curie, Maria (Polish)
[[Category:Spamming]]
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[Physicist]] and [[chemist]]
[[Category:Botnets]]
|DATE OF BIRTH=7 November 1867
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Warsaw]], [[Poland]]
|DATE OF DEATH=4 July 1934
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Sancellemoz]], [[France]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curie, Marie}}
[[Category:1867 births]]
[[Category:1934 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at the Panthéon]]
[[Category:Discoverers of chemical elements]]
[[Category:Experimental physicists]]
[[Category:French chemists]]
[[Category:French physicists]]
[[Category:Deaths from leukemia]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris faculty]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]]
[[Category:French Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Polish Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:People from Warsaw]]
[[Category:Polish chemists]]
[[Category:Polish physicists]]
[[Category:French people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:Radioactivity]]
[[Category:Women chemists]]
[[Category:Women physicists]]
[[Category:Cancer deaths in France]]


[[af:Marie Curie]]
[[de:Srizbi Botnet]]
[[ar:ماري كوري]]
[[es:Srizbi botnet]]
[[an:Marie Curie]]
[[fr:Srizbi botnet]]
[[ast:Marie Curie]]
[[pl:Srizbi botnet]]
[[az:Mariya Küri]]
[[bn:মারি ক্যুরি]]
[[zh-min-nan:Marie Curie]]
[[be-x-old:Марыя Складоўская-Кюры]]
[[bs:Marie Curie]]
[[br:Marie Curie]]
[[bg:Мария Кюри]]
[[ca:Marie Curie]]
[[cs:Maria Curie-Skłodowska]]
[[cy:Marie Curie]]
[[da:Marie Curie]]
[[de:Marie Curie]]
[[et:Marie Curie]]
[[el:Μαρία Κιουρί]]
[[es:Marie Curie]]
[[eo:Maria Skłodowska-Curie]]
[[eu:Marie Curie]]
[[fa:ماری كوری]]
[[fr:Marie Curie]]
[[fy:Maria Curie-Skłodowska]]
[[gd:Marie Curie]]
[[gl:Marie Curie]]
[[ko:마리 퀴리]]
[[hi:मेरी क्युरी]]
[[hr:Maria Skłodowska-Curie]]
[[io:Marie Curie]]
[[id:Marie Curie]]
[[ia:Marie Curie]]
[[is:Marie Curie]]
[[it:Marie Curie]]
[[he:מארי קירי]]
[[jv:Marie Curie]]
[[pam:Marie Curie]]
[[kn:ಮೇರಿ ಕ್ಯೂರಿ]]
[[sw:Marie Curie]]
[[ht:Marie Curie]]
[[ku:Marie Curie]]
[[la:Maria Curie]]
[[lv:Marija Kirī]]
[[lb:Marie Curie]]
[[lt:Marie Curie]]
[[lij:Marie Curie]]
[[hu:Marie Curie]]
[[mk:Марија Склодовска - Кири]]
[[ml:മേരി ക്യൂറി]]
[[mt:Marie Curie]]
[[mr:मेरी क्युरी]]
[[mn:Мари Кюри]]
[[nah:Marie Curie]]
[[nl:Marie Curie]]
[[nds-nl:Marie Curie]]
[[ja:マリ・キュリー]]
[[no:Marie Curie]]
[[nn:Marie Curie]]
[[oc:Marie Curie]]
[[nds:Marie Curie]]
[[pl:Maria Skłodowska-Curie]]
[[pt:Marie Curie]]
[[ro:Marie Curie]]
[[qu:Marie Curie]]
[[ru:Склодовская-Кюри, Мария]]
[[sco:Marie Curie]]
[[sq:Marie Curie]]
[[scn:Marie Curie]]
[[simple:Marie Curie]]
[[sk:Marie Curie]]
[[sl:Marie Skłodowska-Curie]]
[[sr:Марија Кири]]
[[sh:Marie Curie]]
[[fi:Marie Curie]]
[[sv:Marie Curie]]
[[tl:Marie Curie]]
[[ta:மேரி கியூரி]]
[[te:మేరీ క్యూరీ]]
[[th:มารี กูรี]]
[[vi:Marie Curie]]
[[tr:Marie Curie]]
[[uk:Кюрі Марія]]
[[vo:Marie Curie]]
[[war:Marie Curie]]
[[zh-yue:居禮夫人]]
[[bat-smg:Marie Curie]]
[[zh:玛丽亚·居里]]

Revision as of 20:48, 10 October 2008

The Srizbi botnet, also known by its aliases of Cbeplay and Exchanger, is the world's largest or second-largest botnet depending on expert reports, and is responsible for sending out more than half of all the spam being sent by all the major botnets combined.[1][2] The botnets consist of computers infected by the Srizbi trojan, which sends spam on command.

Size

The size of the Srizbi botnet is estimated to be around 315,000 compromised machines, with estimation differences being smaller than 5% among various sources.[2][3] The botnet is reported to be capable of sending around 60 billion spam messages a day, which is more than half of the total of the approximately 100 billion spam messages sent every day. As a comparison, the highly publicized storm botnet only manages to reach around 20% of the total amount of spam sent during its peak periods.[4][2]

The Srizbi botnet is showing a slight decline after a recent aggressive growth in the amount of spam messages sent out. As of 13 July 2008, the botnet is believed to be responsible for roughly 40% of all the spam on the net, a sharp decline from the almost 60% market share in May 2008.[5]

Origins

The earliest reports on Srizbi trojan outbreaks were around June 2007, with small differences in detection dates across antivirus software vendors.[6][7] However, reports indicate that the first released version had already been assembled on 31 March 2007.[8] Ever since its creation, Srizbi has been growing at an extremely rapid pace, making the botnet the second largest (behind the Kraken botnet) by number of bots, and the largest generator of spam messages, less than one year into its existence. There is currently no sign of decline in the number of bots involved in the botnet.

Spread and botnet composition

The Srizbi botnet consists of computers which have been infected by the Srizbi trojan horse. This trojan horse is deployed onto its victim computer through the Mpack malware kit.[9] Past editions have used the "n404 web exploit kit" malware kit to spread, but this kit's usage has been deprecated in favor of Mpack.[8]

The distribution of these malware kits is partially achieved by utilizing the botnet itself. The botnet has been known to send out spam containing links to fake videos about celebrities, which include a link pointing to the malware kit. Similar attempts have been taken with other subjects such as illegal software sales and personal messages.[10][11][12] Apart from this self-propagation, the MPack kit is also known for much more aggressive spreading tactics, most notably the compromise of about 10,000 websites in June 2007.[13] These domains, which included a surprising number of pornographic websites,[14] ended up forwarding the unsuspecting visitor to websites containing the MPack program.

Once a computer becomes infected by the trojan horse, the computer becomes known as a bot, which will then be at the command of the owner of the botnet, commonly referred to as the botnet herder.[15] The operation of the Srizbi botnet is based upon a number of servers which control the utilization of the individual bots in the botnet. These servers are redundant copies of each other, which protects the botnet from being crippled in case a system failure or legal action takes a server down. These servers are generally placed in countries such as Russia, where law enforcement against digital crime is limited.

Reactor Mailer

The server-side of the Srizbi botnet is handled by a program called "Reactor Mailer", which is a Python-based web component responsible for coordinating the spam sent out by the individual bots in the botnet. Reactor Mailer has existed since 2004, and is currently in its third release, which is also used to control the Srizbi botnet. The software allows for secure login and allows multiple accounts, which strongly suggests that access to the botnet and its spam capacity is sold to external parties (Software as a service). This is further reinforced by evidence showing that the Srizbi botnet runs multiple batches of spam at a time; blocks of IP addresses can be observed sending different types of spam at any one time. Once a user has been granted access, he or she can utilize the software to create the message they want to send, test it for its spam assassin score and after that send it to all the users in a list of e-mail addresses.[8]

Suspicion has arisen that the writer of the Reactor Mailer program might be the same person responsible for the Srizbi trojan, as code analysis shows a code fingerprint that matches between the two programs. [8] If this claim is indeed true, then this coder might well be responsible for the trojan behind another botnet, named Rustock. According to Symantec, the code used in the Srizbi trojan is very similar to the code found in the Rostock trojan, and could well be an improved version of the latter.[16]

Srizbi trojan

The Srizbi trojan is the client side program responsible for sending the spam from infected machines. The trojan has been credited with being extremely efficient at this task, which explains why Srizbi is capable of sending such high volumes of spam without having a huge numerological advantage in the number of infected computers.

Apart from having an efficient spam engine, the trojan is also very capable in hiding itself from both the user and the system itself, including any products designed to remove the trojan from the system. The trojan itself is fully executed in kernel modus and has been noted to employ rootkit-like technologies to prevent any form of detection. By patching the NTFS file system drivers, the trojan will make its files invisible for both the operating system and any human user utilizing the system. The trojan is also capable of hiding network traffic it generates by directly attaching NDIS and TCP/IP drivers to its own process, a feature currently unique for this trojan. This procedure has been proved to allow the trojan to bypass both firewall and sniffer protection on the system.[16]

Once the bot is in place and operational, it will contact one of the hardcoded servers from a list it carries with it. This server will then supply the bot with a zip file containing a number of files required by the bot to start its spamming business. The following files have been identified to be downloaded:

  1. 000_data2 - mail server domains
  2. 001_ncommall - list of names)
  3. 002_senderna - list of possible sender names
  4. 003_sendersu - list of possible sender surnames
  5. config - Main spam configuration file
  6. message - HTML message to spam
  7. mlist - Recipients mail addresses
  8. mxdata - MX record data

When these files have been received, the bot will first initialize a software routine which allows it to remove files critical for revealing spam and rootkit applications. [16] After this procedure is done, the trojan will then start sending out the spam message it has received from the control server.

Incidents

The Srizbi botnet has been the basis for several incidents which have received media coverage in the regular media. Several of the most notable ones will be described below here. This is by no means a complete list of incidents, but just a list of the major ones.

The "Ron Paul" incident

In October 2007, several anti-spam firms noticed an unusual spam campaign emerging. Unlike the usual messages about counterfeit watches, stocks or penis enlargement, the mail contained promotional information about United States presidential candidate Ron Paul. The Ron Paul camp dismissed the spam as being not related to the official presidential campaign. A spokesman told the press "If it is true, it could be done by a well-intentioned yet misguided supporter or someone with bad intentions trying to embarrass the campaign. Either way, this is independent work, and we have no connection."[17]

Later, the spam was confirmed as coming from the Srizbi network.[18] Through the capture of one of the control servers involved,[8] investigators learned that the spam message had been sent to up to 160 million e-mail addresses by as few as 3,000 bot computers. The spammer himself has only been identified by his internet handle "nenastnyj"; his or her real identity has not been determined.

Malicious spam tripling volumes in a week

In the week from 20 June 2008 Srizbi managed to triple the amount of malicious spam send from an average 3% to 9.9%, largely due to its own effort.[19] This particular spam wave was an aggressive attempt to increase the size of the Srizbi botnet by sending e-mails to users which warned them that they had been videotaped naked.[20] Sending this message, which is a kind of spam referred to as "Stupid Theme", was an attempt to get people to click the malicious link included in the mail, before realizing that this message was most likely spam. While old, this social engineering technique has still been proved effective for the means of spammers.

The size of this operation shows that the power and monetary income from a botnet is closely based upon its spam capacity: more infected computers translate directly into greater revenue for the botnet owner. It also shows the power botnets have to increase their own size, mainly by using a part of their own strength in numbers.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jackson Higgins, Kelly (May 8 2008). "Srizbi Botnet Sending Over 60 Billion Spams a Day". Dark Reading. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Pauli, Darren (May 8 2008). "Srizbi Botnet Sets New Records for Spam". PC World. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Popa, Bogdan (April 10 2008). "Meet Srizbi, the Largest Botnet Ever". Softpedia. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ E. Dunn, John (May 13 2008). "Srizbi Grows Into World's Largest Botnet". CSO Online. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Spam statistics from TRACE". Marshall. July 13 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Trojan.Srizbi". Symantec. July 23 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Troj/RKAgen-A Trojan (Rootkit.Win32.Agent.ea, Trojan.Srizbi) - Sophos security analysis". Sophos. August 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e Stewart, Joe (December 4 2007). "Inside the "Ron Paul" Spam Botnet". SecureWorks. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Keizer, Gregg (July 5 2007). "Mpack installs ultra-invisible Trojan". ComputerWorld. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Blog, TRACE (March 7 2008). "Srizbi uses multi-pronged attack to spread malware". Marshal Limited. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ McKenzie, Grey (June 25 2008). "Srizbi Botnet Is Largely Responsible for Recent Sharp Increase In Spam". National Cyber Security. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Srizbi spam uses celebrities as lures". TRACE Blog. February 20 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Keizer, Gregg (June 10 2007). "Hackers compromise 10k sites, launch 'phenomenal' attack". ComputerWorld. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Keizer, Gregg (June 22 2007). "Porn sites serve up Mpack attacks". ComputerWorld. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Spying on bot nets becoming harder". SecurityFocus. October 12 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b c Hayashi, Kaoru (June 29 2007). ""Spam from the Kernel: Full-Kernel Malware Installed by MPack"". Symantec. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Cheng, Jacqui (October 31 2007). "Researchers: Ron Paul campaign e-mails originating from spambots". ARS Technica. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Paul, Ryan (December 6 2007). "Researchers track Ron Paul spam back to Reactor botnet". ARS Technica. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Salek, Negar (June 25 2008). "One of the biggest threats to Internet users today: Srizbi". SC Magazine. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "The Naked Truth About the Srizbi Botnet". Protect Web Form Blog. May 19 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Walsh, Sue (June 27 2008). "Spam Volume Triples In A Week". All Spammed Up. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marie_Curie&oldid=244443111"