Anonymous OS is Malware, Hacktivist Group Says. But is it Really?

Immediately after the news of a possible Ubuntu-based, Anonymous-approved OS first hit, the hacktivist group said it was malware and denied having anything to do with it. The operating system doesn’t seem to be official Anonymous ™ © branded merchandise, but no other sources have identified any damaging programs within the software. (And it’s not likeAnonymous hasn’t given its followers malware before.)

The “Anonymous OS” does pack some security, hacking, and DDoS tools like Slowloris and HOIC. It also includes other tools favored by hacktivists, including security applications Wireshark and Zenmap, as well as Firefox, Pidgin, and the Transmission Bittorrent client. Bringing all these items together in one convenient place qualifies it as “mall-ware,” at the very least….but is it really malware?

The OS can be found here. But note, the link is for informational purposes. Unless you have advance degrees in IT security, or you’re simply looking for trouble, downloading and/or installing it would generallly be unwise. The BBC reports the software has been downloaded more than 26,000 times. This proves there are just as many fools out there as you and I had suspected–maybe more.

So far no one independent of Anonymous has found trojans or other bugs in the software. (Again, if you are still thinking of downloading it ask yourself, “Do I really want that claim to fame at the expense of my hard drive?”) The developers of the OS are clearly miffed at the malware claims; their homepage now features a link to results of a Rootkit Hunter examination that proclaimed the program 100 percent cootie-free.

It also has the plea:

If any user believe that Anonymous-OS “is wrapped in trojans” or “backdoored OS by any Law enforcement Company or Hacker” please don’t download it! But don’t mislead the world that Linux is dangerous and has trojans!

It’s certainly difficult to imagine any legitimate law enforcement company writing in such an authentically poor manner.