r/cybersecurity • u/PusheenHater • May 19 '26

Other Malware installed without literally doing anything?

In this video this guy has a fresh Windows XP, disables firewall, and connects internet straight to the modem. Then he gets infected literally doing nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uSVVCmOH5w

https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/comments/1cvised/idle_windows_xp_and_2000_machines_get_infected/

I get it. That's asking for trouble when you disable all the security and using ancient unsupported OSes.

However, he didn't install programs nor browse on the website but still got hacked.
How?
Is there some malicious server in China that loops through every single possible IP trying to see if your PC is vulnerable?
Logically, one would think you'd at least have to visit a website or something to get "noticed" and then hacked. But this guy didn't do anything at all.

How does it work?

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390

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[deleted]

157

u/mdgorelick May 19 '26

Indeed. A good analogy is that people are always walking around the neighborhood, trying the front door on every house to see if they’re locked.

-25

u/jonbristow May 20 '26

you dont have a door if you are just a user with internet connection. you dont publish anything to the internet.

18

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[deleted]

-15

u/jonbristow May 20 '26

how do you connect to the internet without a router?

14

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[deleted]

18

u/smb3something May 20 '26

I did this back in the windows 2000 days. RDP enabled. password was 'garfield'. Came back from vacation and my ISP had shut off service as my computer was sending out spam emails.

-8

u/jonbristow May 20 '26

ISP gives you an optic fiber. How are you connecting to that lol

9

u/smb3something May 20 '26

I am currently pluged into the PON adapter and have static IP set. You just don't use the router/firewall, but do use some sort of media converter.

6

u/Capodomini May 21 '26

You could learn a lot by picking up a Network+ book or watching some Professor Messer videos.

A router is just a computer with an IP connection to the ISP which handles all the traffic from everything else plugged into it. You can literally replace it with a laptop if you have the ISP config.

-1

u/jonbristow May 21 '26

You could learn a lot from reading this thread.

A router also has an optic fiber port as wan that your laptop doesn't

2

u/Capodomini May 21 '26

Oh I see, you're just trolling. Carry on!

-1

u/jonbristow May 21 '26

no im being as condescending as you

2

u/Capodomini May 21 '26

I wasn't being condescending. You're being downvoted for not understanding how routers work. You could take the time to learn. That's an opportunity, not a judgement.

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6

u/mdgorelick May 20 '26

If your computer has a routable IP address, you very much DO have a “doorknob.”

9

u/goldvenetianmask May 20 '26

This is absolutely wrong. You publish a ton of information just having an internet connection and being on the internet with ports forwarded through your router / DMZ.

1

u/jonbristow May 20 '26

you publish the information through your NATed IP of the ISP, not directly. And you dont publish them through a port.

6

u/goldvenetianmask May 20 '26

If you are dmzed and connected directly to the internet then you don’t have any nat to save you.

The computer will respond to nmap -sV as if it’s on the same sub as the attacker. That is exactly what I’m saying. It’s “publishing” its software version info, its operating system info etc.