Demythifying Linux Virus Engineering

What you’ll learn:
how viruses could be engineered and how to overcome various challenges to make them work
computer virus infection algorithms and mechanisms on Linux
what software design decisions viruses writers exploit
how to create your own virus and research its effectiveness using a provided framework by this course
code for example (compilable, runnable) viruses and the damage they can do
basic executable static analysis skills
various tools that are useful for displaying executable information

Requirements:
Prior programming experience in C and C++
Basic understanding of operating system concepts
Have a computer that’s running recent versions of Windows, Linux or Mac.

Description:
Have you ever wondered how a computer virus runs and spreads? Assuming you possess some knowledge of computer systems, this course will guide you through the intricacies of virus engineering. You will learn how they exploits design trade-offs in computer operating systems and user programs to achieve effectiveness and, at times, cause significant harm.Unlike conventional software development, virus engineering demands specialized expertise to optimize for survival, replication, and stealth. Whether you are a computer science student, software professional, or technology enthusiast, you will find the techniques employed by malware both eye-opening and informative. By the end of this course, you will have a thorough understanding of virus engineering principles and defensive strategies, supported by live demonstrations and detailed walkthroughs.Each course module will be enriched with references to sources, complementary readings to deepen your knowledge, and links to help you catch up on relevant operating systems concepts. At the end, we will summarize the course with a discussion on ethics to wrap up. This course is supplemented with a Virus Software Framework (available publicly on GitHub), that provides working code for infection algorithms that you can build and run on your computers locally. While the course content covers things at great detail, curious students will have the chance to experiment and research deeper into specific topics without starting from scratch by leveraging existing software infrastructure. Support is also provided, via the GitHub issues page, in case students have trouble setting up the development environment, or any content related questions.The content of this course is not taught anywhere to the best of my knowledge. Some technical details from this course are well known in the binary forensics community but are not easily accessible for someone new to this field. I want to lower the barrier for entry and share knowledge more widely to software developers, system administrators, and those who are simply curious. The objective of this course however is not to instigate harm to computer systems. Rather, it aims to elucidate the mechanisms behind computer viruses and the vulnerabilities they exploit, empowering individuals to avoid falling prey to its tactics repeatedly. I want to underscore that, it is ignorance, not viruses, that pose the true harm.**By enrolling into this course, you agree that nobody but yourself would be held liable for your own actions.**

Who this course is for:
Those who are curious how computer viruses are engineered and how to defend against them
Computer science students who wish to start a career in computer security
Reverse engineers who wish to learn Linux virus technologies