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-
-
- VIRUS-L Digest Friday, 1 Feb 1991 Volume 4 : Issue 18
- ******************************************************************************
-
-
- Today's Topics:
-
- Re: Text in MLTI virus (PC)
- Boot Sector/Partition Table Protection (PC)
- Hardware damage?
- Virex 3.0 init problems? (Mac)
- Table of Contents for Virus-L Digest
- Virus Proctection in Real Time
- Re: Text in MLTI virus (PC)
- STONED in files (PC)
- RE: Anti-virus policies
- Re: Word Perfect and change checkers (PC?)
- New viruses (PC)
- re: Antiviral product contact list (PC);
- Re: Infected vendor software (Mac)
- Weird Thing With F-Prot (PC)
- Re: Problem with virus checker (PC)
- Re: Stoned virus in partition table (PC)
-
- VIRUS-L is a moderated, digested mail forum for discussing computer
- virus issues; comp.virus is a non-digested Usenet counterpart.
- Discussions are not limited to any one hardware/software platform -
- diversity is welcomed. Contributions should be relevant, concise,
- polite, etc. Please sign submissions with your real name. Send
- contributions to VIRUS-L@IBM1.CC.LEHIGH.EDU (that's equivalent to
- VIRUS-L at LEHIIBM1 for you BITNET folks). Information on accessing
- anti-virus, documentation, and back-issue archives is distributed
- periodically on the list. Administrative mail (comments, suggestions,
- and so forth) should be sent to me at: krvw@CERT.SEI.CMU.EDU.
-
- Ken van Wyk
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 91 17:28:00 +0200
- From: Y. Radai <RADAI@HUJIVMS.BITNET>
- Subject: Re: Text in MLTI virus (PC)
-
- Fridrik Skulason asked about the meaning of the following text in
- the MLTI virus:
- > This programm was written in the city of Prostokwashino
- > (C) 1990 RED DIAVOLYATA
-
- The following info was supplied to me by a co-worker who recently
- emigrated from the USSR:
- "RED DIAVOLYATA" is a partial translation of "Krasnie Dyavolyata".
- It and "Prostokvashino" are the names of well-known Soviet films.
- "Dyavolyata" was apparently too hard for the virus-writer to
- translate. It means something like "little devils", and "Krasnie
- Dyavolyata" refers to the youth who fought against the White Army
- during the Russian Revolution. The village "Prostokvashino" is a
- fictitious one, which explains why Brian McMahon didn't find it in the
- books he consulted.
- Y. Radai
- RADAI@HUJIVMS.BITNET
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 30 January, 1991
- From: Padgett Peterson <padgett%tccslr.dnet@uvs1.orl.mmc.com>
- Subject: Boot Sector/Partition Table Protection (PC)
-
- >>From: gt1546c@prism.gatech.edu (Gatliff, William A.)
-
- >>To help combat this, what would be the possibility of 'delibrately'
- >>infecting ones boot-sector with a piece of code that would display
- >>some kind of 'ok' message if it hadn't been tampered with?
-
- Exactly what I was talking about in issue 17 except the "partition
- table" sector (absolute sector one) should be used, not the boot
- sector. More, such code can be used to prevent any tampering with
- itself, the real partition table, or the active boot sector. At one
- extreme I have tried on a system with C: & D: drives was to put all
- executables on the C: drive and prohibit ANY writes or formats to that
- drive (except with a special maintenance program). The D: drive just
- has its low area protected and contains mutable programs and data.
-
- A university or corporate environment might allow writing only to
- floppies or bernoullis, protecting the hard disk. While such software
- techniques alone cannot prevent an infected boot from occurring from a
- floppy - only hardware can do this - they do allow such intrusion to
- be detected prior to the load of the OS and can block any such
- infection thereafter.
-
- I hope that this will stimulate some activity on the part of the
- vendors to provide such protection - it is not difficult to write, but
- for me, I would no longer consider any product complete unless some
- such form of low level protection was included.
-
- Padgett
-
- ps: This is my hobby - you should see my job.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 29 Jan 91 17:10:38 +0000
- From: hagins@gamecock.rtp.dg.com (Jody Hagins)
- Subject: Hardware damage?
-
- Please forgive my ignorance on this subject...
-
- Is it possible for a virus, etc to cripple physical hardware
- components? I ask as I have recently experienced an abrupt halt of my
- system, frying my power supply. This occurred after aquiring a piece
- of software from a supposedly very reliable source. Just wondering if
- this is related, or a coincidence.
-
- Thanks for any help!
-
- Jody Hagins
- hagins@gamecock.rtp.dg.com
- Data General Corp.
- 62 Alexander Dr.
- RTP, N.C. 27709
- (919) 248-6035
-
- Nothing I ever say reflects the opinions of DGC.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 91 13:10:47 -0600
- From: "Stan Kerr" <stankerr@uiuc.edu>
- Subject: Virex 3.0 init problems? (Mac)
-
- I just received Virex 3.0 a few days ago, and as soon as I installed
- it, Gatekeeper (1.1) started going crazy, complaining about things I
- had specified to allow in its configuration menu. As an example, I got
- NUMEROUS complaints that DA Handler was violating 'Res(other)'
- privileges against various applications. As soon as I turned off the
- Virex init, the complaints stopped.
-
- - --------------------------------------------------------
- Stan Kerr Internet: stankerr@uiuc.edu
- University of Illinois BITNET: stankerr@uiucvmd
- Computing Services Office Phone: (217) 333-5217
- 1304 W. Springfield
- Urbana IL 61801
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 29 Jan 91 15:44:41 -0500
- From: Colin Lay <CMLHD%UOTTAWA@acadvm1.uottawa.ca>
- Subject: Table of Contents for Virus-L Digest
-
- Being a dedicated listener, and occasional contributor, to VIRUS-L
- Digest, I sometimes want to find out what was said, when, and by whom.
- There is no index to the Digest topics I am aware of, and therefore I
- decided to start the process, at least for myself, by creating a Table
- of Contents on a month by month basis.
-
- I routinely download and ZIP the Digest and store the results on
- floppies (720K), in 1 month groups. The big problem is where to find
- what I am looking for, a month or so later. My partial solution is to
- use the following WordPerfect 5.1 macros to strip out all but the
- topic list and individual submission Date, From and Subject entries.
- So far in the month of January 1990, issues 1 to 16 are reduced to a
- Table of Contents file of 35,161 bytes, while the ZIPped digests are
- 148,044 bytes long, and the originals take 335377 bytes.
-
- Following the macros in this submission I am including a sample of the
- output from Vol.4 Issue 1. If there is sufficient interest, I can
- submit the Table of Contents on a regular basis to the Digest or some
- other appropriate repository.
-
- [Ed. You might want to also take a look at Anthony Appleyard's index
- system.]
-
- =============================================================
- Macro: Action
- File VIRUSL.WPM
- Description cleanup Virus-L Digest for Tbl of Con.
- --------------------------------------------------------
- {DISPLAY OFF}{Block}{Search}{Enter}
- virus{Home}-l {Search}{Home}{Left}{Backspace}y{Enter}
- {Search}{Search}{Home}{Left}{Block}{Search}{Enter}
- Date: {Search}{Home}{Left}{Backspace}y
- {CHAIN}vira~
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- Macro: Action
- File VIRA.WPM
- Description Clean indiv.submiss. to Date,From,Subj
- --------------------------------------------------------
- {DISPLAY OFF}
- {ON NOT FOUND}{GO}end~~
- {Search}{Enter}
- Subject: {Search}{Home}{Left}{Down}{Enter}
- {Block}{Search}{Enter}
- Date: {Search}{Home}{Left}{Backspace}y
- {CHAIN}vira~
- {RETURN}
- 1 {LABEL}end~
- {CHAIN}virb~
- {RETURN}
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- Macro: Action
- File VIRB.WPM
- Description Cleanup last submission to eof
- --------------------------------------------------------
- {DISPLAY OFF}{Home}{Home}{Down}
- {Up}{Up}{Up}{Up}{Up}{Backspace}y{Down}
- {Down}{Down}{Block}{Home}{Home}{Down}{Backspace}y{HPg}
- --------------------------------------------------------
-
- ==============================================================
-
- VIRUS-L Digest Wednesday, 2 Jan 1991 Volume 4 : Issue 1
-
- Today's Topics:
-
- EXE file compression with LZEXE and PKLITE (PC)
- Macvirus index? (Mac)
- Disk Utilities (PC)
- Re: Virus Protection (PC)
- more about the conference in Hamburg
- ZeroHunt Virus (PC)
- Re: Viruses for the holidays & admin note
- please stop the requests
- Re: (1) GAO Report on Computer Security
- Zmodem infected with Violator (PC)
- UK Computer Crime Unit
- MIBSRV downtime
- WP viri and bugs (PC)
- Unix and Mainframe Viruses
- New virus (PC)
-
- Date: 20 Dec 90 14:22:50 +0000
- From: Mark Scase <coa44@seq1.keele.ac.uk>
- Subject: EXE file compression with LZEXE and PKLITE (PC)
-
- Date: Thu, 20 Dec 90 11:58:36 -0800
- From: rrk@planets.risc.com (Richard Killion)
- Subject: Macvirus index? (Mac)
-
- Date: Thu, 20 Dec 90 15:14:00 -0400
- From: Bill Thater <THATERW@SNYSYRV1.BITNET>
- Subject: Disk Utilities (PC)
-
- Date: Thu, 20 Dec 90 22:06:33 -0800
- From: sulistio@sutro.SFSU.EDU (Sulistio Muljadi)
- Subject: Re: Virus Protection (PC)
-
- etc.
- etc.
- etc.
-
- Colin M. Lay,Assoc. Prof.
- Fac. of Administration, Univ. of Ottawa
- Tel. (613)564-7015 FAX (613) 564-6518
- "Any opinions expressed are mine, not necessarily those of my employer."
- Acknowledge-To: <CMLHD@UOTTAWA>
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 29 Jan 91 10:50:00 -0800
- From: "David M. Ung x57408 <CSMIDMU%MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU@BITNET.CC.CMU.EDU
- Subject: Virus Proctection in Real Time
-
- Does anyone know about existing software packages that watch for suspicious
- viral activities in real time?
- Ken, if you have any of these info, could you please send it to me. Thank you.
- My address is CMSIDMU@UCLAMVS (this is a BITNET address).
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 91 16:32:36 +0000
- From: morgan@ms.uky.edu (Wes Morgan)
- Subject: Re: Text in MLTI virus (PC)
-
- >>The MLTI virus contains this text - clearly a reference to the "Eddie"
- >>virus, but what does "RED DIAVOLYATA" mean ? (I want to emphasize
- >>that "Dark Avenger" is the name of the author of the "Eddie" virus -
- >>not the name of the virus itself.)
- >>
- >> Eddie die somewhere in time!
- >> This programm was written in the city of Prostokwashino
- >> (C) 1990 RED DIAVOLYATA
- >> Hello! MLTI!
-
- Perhaps our virus author is a heavy-metal fan. "Eddie" is the mascot
- of the group Iron Maiden. Eddie happens to be a {corpse, undead, zom-
- bie}. (I'm not sure which word to use. That group's discography in-
- cludes an album titled "Somewhere In Time".
-
- Hmmmm.....a techno-metalhead conspiracy, perhaps? Subliminal messages
- in rock albums inciting teenagers to digital terrorism? Hmmmmmmm.....
-
- | Wes Morgan, not speaking for | {any major site}!ukma!ukecc!morgan |
- | the University of Kentucky's | morgan@engr.uky.edu |
- | Engineering Computing Center | morgan%engr.uky.edu@UKCC.BITNET |
- Lint is the compiler's only means of dampening the programmer's ego.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 30 January, 1990
- From: Padgett Peterson
- Subject: STONED in files (PC)
-
- For those wanting to check for STONED in executables as
- mentioned earlier using the McAfee /ext switch, I would suggest trying
- the string "a1 4c 00 *(2) a3 ? ? a1 4e 00 a3" <name>
-
- While this may generate some "false positives", I would like to
- know about ANY files that try to do this since it may indicate a low level
- (not through DOS) access of the INT 13 vectors.
-
- Note: use your own <name> since duplication of one of Mr. McAfee's
- names may result in SCAN not checking for the virus otherwise.
-
- Padgett
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 31 Jan 91 10:57:00 +0100
- From: "Nick FitzGerald" <CCTR132@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>
- Subject: RE: Anti-virus policies
-
- In V4 #17 (Mon, 28 Jan 91) rtravsky@CORRAL.UWyo.Edu (Richard W Travsky) wrote:
-
- >[deletions]
- > 1. Viral Software
- > a. Viral scanning/cleaning software will not be used unless the
- > accompanying documentation has been read by the support person
- > doing the scan/cleanup.
- > b. Viral scanning/cleaning software should be kept reasonably up to date.
- >[As stated, we've had fairly low virus activity, so being up to date with
- >the latest is not real important - yet.]
- > c. More than software product should be used for cross checking purposes.
- > d. After removal of a virus, the machine/disk should be re-scanned to
- > verify removal.
-
- I would disagree on point b. - you should keep as up to date as there is.
- Whilst the virii you are most likely to experience are "old" and widely
- distributed, the newest scanner might one day save you from a very recent
- hard disk trasher. Unfortunately, it is difficult to convince most users
- (and "the powers that be") to go to the little extra trouble of updating
- their external virus file (or the software itself) as often as possible
- (unless they have been caught already).
-
- > 2. Maintenance
- >[good practices deleted]
- > c. All diagnostic disks will have write protect tabs.
-
- NO!! All such disks should be UNNOTCHED. Get one of your tech's to
- bypass the write-protect switch on drive B: on ONE machine that is in
- a very secure place. Make copies of diagnostics disks, installation
- disks (more below) etc onto disks that have not been notched. It may
- take a bit of effort on your part to find a supply, but do so and use
- them. (We found a ready supply in our safe - multiple copies of
- obsolete software packages like PC (IBM) DOS, PC-SAS.) For 3.5" disks
- pry the slide thingy out. (That's what I don't like about 3.5" disks
- compared to notchless 5.25" disks - a user with malicious intent can
- easily disable write-protection and then enable it without leaving any
- obvious signs of it).
-
- > d. If software is being restored to someone's machine (like a backup,
- > format, and then a restore) the disks should be checked for infection.
- >
- > 3. Installs
- >[We install software - like PC SAS - on users' machines.
- > a. When possible, install disks will have write protect tabs.
- > b. When write protect tabs can not be used, the install disks will be
- > checked for infection upon return.
- >[Some software, like dBase 4 we found, writes to the install floppy during
- >installation.]
- > c. User's machine should be checked for infection.
- >[This would take care of b .]
-
- Similar comments as above re write-protect tabs. Installation
- procedures that write to the installation disks are the pits. The
- sooner that vendors take the virus threat seriously, and start
- distributing their software on *unnotched* disks the better - McAfee
- Associates, are you listening? Some software licences we have allow
- us to install on many machines - we copy the original disks to
- notchless ones and distribute these to the users who want to install
- the programs. (We only do installation ourselves if specially asked -
- we would spend all our time doing them otherwise.) This may seem
- paranoid, but (before I started here) there was a case of the notched
- but write-protected disks our working copy was on coming back
- infected. The user had taken the tabs off the disks - because of past
- experience with install programs that required write access to the
- distribution disks - and dutifully stuck them back on when the
- installation was complete. This was not an intentionally malicious
- act.
-
- >[further good practices deleted]
-
- My recommendations above may seem a little strong for some, but I
- would say you're kidding yourself if you think you don't have to go to
- these lengths. Possible exception - *everyone* at your site who will
- *ever* have access to your disks and/or machines *always* does
- *everything* that *perfect* users *should* do. Get the point?
-
- Can't remember where, but I read the following somewhere:
- "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action".
-
- With virii, "Once is enemy action", and you have to be very careful if you
- want to prevent that one event.
-
- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nick FitzGerald, PC Applications Consultant, CSC, Uni of Canterbury, N.Z.
- Internet: n.fitzgerald@csc.canterbury.ac.nz Phone: (64)(3) 642-337
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 31 Jan 91 03:53:55 +0000
- From: hampster@wyatt.ksu.ksu.edu (Kip J Mussatt)
- Subject: Re: Word Perfect and change checkers (PC?)
-
- p1@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca (Rob Slade) writes:
- >csw76@seq1.keele.ac.uk (J.C. Kohler) writes:
- >
- >> I'm using a Dutch version of WP 5.1, does anybody has an ideay why
- >> F-XLOCK can't lock them, it displays an error message, which contains
- >> something about a illegal header.
- >
- >All versions of Word Perfect (at least since 4.2) have had a self
- >testing module on them. Neither F-XLOCK nor SCAN /AV nor any other
- >slef checker that adds code to the program can be used on it, since
- >the added code invalidates the internal self test.
-
- If I am understanding you correctly, WP 4.2 and later versions should
- be virus proof? If this is your assumption then why did we have an
- epidemic of the Jeru II virus that infected almost every wp 4.2, 5.0,
- and 5.1 at work? Again, if I am misunderstanding what you are saying
- about WP product, then please clarify. If not, then could you please
- shed some light on my question. Thanx
-
- -KJM
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 31 Jan 91 09:29:14 +0000
- From: frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason)
- Subject: New viruses (PC)
-
- Well, folks - we now have around 400 PC viruses - currently we get on
- the average one new virus per day, and the rate is increasing...maybe
- we will have 1000 before the end of the year.
-
- Anyhow - for users of F-PROT 1.14 - please add the following encrypted
- signatures to the SIGN.TXT, to provide detection of the viruses I have
- received since Jan 15th.
-
- Hybryd iglMWj8jKMNAUHcZbj2AgYSdg9nmFsp7Ueys-pc3-ha7Iv
- Akuku 3Ux5pMu5858HMj5MgXdA19n8x4ybN5YtMmkm6PpykupSZ6
- SVC3.1 3Hxnv5u5uM749Lydm-SnY4PoYnOwIt7V5fUuMFxBWfZa9j
- Paris iH15v5umAmruKeV504HK8eHKjrG8wEEjT5m2M5DsdwO+UO
- Doom2 zU1MCmKMA5m8UVPmT5Xpp3cMgB7jUE0MTmURMVc5zv5nOk
- Wolfman ZUo5pjKmujwA5fwOvjMMxl08fifY55pip5JWdwxhDU1eA7
- MIX2 zw1NW58mAjwH4AuFV51rm6AtQlj5j62fXXjXFujf8gQelB
- 403 zHTkvju5AmvVgbS8Jl75nmwlrKxNc5N5gbED3mk5GKlYYn
- ACAD-2576 3g6jpmKMAMa62XAcz5hkFSwRqqUNd0m5HNimvOSWGrAHYb
- Ontario ZHJnWM-MimyuCuAwkj-28UnjxYjLwlMEWm1vRgKqE47UYK
- Leprosy iHNjpjKmumoXO8rHxotuxiWmtHW5mK4bD51CMK4Em5tnCG
- Perfume-731 Zwbjvju585fhqt5jjm7YpyNufwmMWj1jhOFtM53cOrmNYW
- Spyer ZgJnC58Mu5O8JVTjTmEmih4YV+vPmo74O810TMkjYd3tFW
- Ussr-1594 iUCTpmSMzmUkiMt26N5MURjKz7jaVpT8thP0bjfZcqbLHQ
- Sentinel zHJkpM8mum4YIPgBEPjMNMfPgBRsB5NmauFwe6At5j+8ol
- Monxla-B zHbmvjujKMSKWaQTjjWdfBe4Nb5uQg35XiMNWtMvSdIsbE
- Xmas Viol 3HRmvjuMAjnN4saOj5m8BhgDStp5MMFPUD6i9UBHDhTVHV
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 31 Jan 91 09:32:51 -0500
- From: "Otto.Stolz" <RZOTTO@DKNKURZ1.BITNET>
- Subject: re: Antiviral product contact list (PC);
-
- You wrote:
- > The following is a list of antiviral product vendors, mostly for the
- > PC line. [...]
- > I would appreciate feedback on any errors or ommissions
-
- I did not see one of my favourite products on your list:
- Vendor: S&S International Ltd.
- Berkley Court, Mill Street
- Berkhamsted, Herts. HP4 2HB
- England
- Phone: +44 442 877 877
- Fax: +44 442 877 882
- (Note that address & phone have been changed around New Year
- 1991, so anybody having the old address in Chesham Bucks.,
- please update your files!)
- BBS: +44 494 724 946 (used to be -- still valid??)
- E-Mail: Dr. Alan Solomon <DRSOLLY@IBMPCUG.CO.UK>
- Product: Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit
-
- A German variant of this product is also available:
- Vendor: perComp Verlag GmbH
- Holzm&LU17.hlenstra&LS61.e 84
- 2000 Hamburg 70
- Germany
- Phone: +49 40 693 2033
- Fax: +49 40 695 9991
- E-Mail: G&LU17.nter Mu&LS61.topf <percomp@infohh.rmi.de>
- Product: Dr. Solomons Anti-Viren-Werkzeuge
- where "&LU17." is u-Umlaut (looking like a small letter u with diaeresis)
- and "&LS61." is German sharp-s (resembling a greek small beta)
- I know, Ken's system will trash genuine Umlauts and sharp-s, so I had to
- resort to this device ... :-(
-
- The toolkit is regularly updated & comes with a detailed documentation.
- It comprises tools for preventing, finding and removing viruses.
- The virus-scanner provided with this toolkit is the fastest I've ever
- seen; it's search-patterns are derived from the vendor's own research.
-
- Please do not regard the above as advertising: I'm not affiliated or
- otherwise economically connected to S&S, nor to perComp; I'm just a
- satisfied user.
-
- Btw, as it has been asked in VIRUS-L befor for information of this kind:
- We also use F-PROT, and I'm pleased with it. I try to convince as many
- users as possible to install F-DRIVER and F-OSCHK on their own computers
- (so far I've not been successful enough), and I use Dr. Solomon's
- FINDVIRU to cope with heavy virus incidents. I also use ancillary tools
- from both packages.
-
- A general remark:
-
- For virus-specific tools, particularly virus-scanners, your final product
- list should state
- 1. how often the tools will be updated;
- 2. where the virus-specific information is derived from.
-
- ad 1: These days, we are experiencing an ever increasing flood of new
- virus strains and variants. To cope with these new viruses, a
- virus-specific tool has to be updated regurlarly -- actually more
- often than any other product in the EDP market. I'd guess that we
- will have to arrive at monthly updating in the near future.
-
- ad 2: Many vendors take their search string from public sources. Now, two
- virus-specific tools from two different vendors are essentialy the
- very same thing when they exploit search patterns from the same
- external source. Only a vendor who does his own research into
- viruses and derives his own search patterns can offer a genuinely
- particular product. And the more different scanners a user
- applies, the more unknown variants of known viruses he is likely
- to spot.
-
- Best regards
- Otto Stolz
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 31 Jan 91 10:30:43 -0500
- From: Joe McMahon <XRJDM@SCFVM.GSFC.NASA.GOV>
- Subject: Re: Infected vendor software (Mac)
-
- THE GAR <GLWARNER@SAMFORD.BITNET> writes:
- >BUT . . . SIMWARE's "SimMac 3.1 Application Disk" (Master Program),
- >which I received on or about Jan 11 was infected! SAM reports that it
- >was last altered on 12/21/90 at 12:55 PM. This INFURIATES me, as I
- >had up until today always trusted the programs that come straight from
- >the manufacturer sealed in the "Read Carefully BEFORE Opening" license
- >envelope!
-
- We have, many times, emphasized that manufacturers are human, too.
- Always scan *everything* you get, no matter what the source!
-
- --- Joe M.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 31 Jan 91 10:05:43 -0700
- From: rtravsky@CORRAL.UWyo.Edu (Richard W Travsky)
- Subject: Weird Thing With F-Prot (PC)
-
- This Wednesday I visited our Law school to check on problem with the
- pong virus in their computer lab (three machines, not a big lab).
- Each machine had a 5.25" drive and a 20 meg hard disk. I scanned the
- machines, booting off a tabbed write-protected floppy in the A: drive.
- I ran McAfee's Scan (version 4.5V6-B), said everything was ok. Out of
- curiousity, I also ran F-FCHK and F-BOOT from the F-PROT package
- (version 1.13). A funny thing happened: when F-FCHK came across the
- file INSTALL.EXE from the PCPANEL package (something to do with
- redirecting printer output) I got an error message saying it couldn't
- write to the A: drive (the familiar "abort, retry, fail"). I ran it
- again, same result. I ran it on another machine, same result when it
- came across that file.
-
- This is a bit weird. Didn't happen using Scan. Why should scanning a
- file provoke a write attempt? I realize these are not the latest
- versions of the packages, but I feel that to be irrelevant. Anyone
- have any ideas?
-
- +-----------------+ Richard Travsky
- | | Division of Information Technology
- | | University of Wyoming
- | | Bitnet: RTRAVSKY @ UWYO
- | | Internet: RTRAVSKY @ CORRAL.UWYO.EDU
- | U W | (307) 766 - 3663 / 3668
- | * | "Wyoming is the capital of Denver." - a tourist
- +-----------------+ "One of those square states." - another tourist
- Home state of Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense of these here UNITED STATES!
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 31 Jan 91 17:31:37 +0000
- From: jesse@altos86.Altos.COM ( Jesse Chisholm)
- Subject: Re: Problem with virus checker (PC)
-
- PERETTI%auvm.auvm.edu@VM1.gatech.edu (Brian J. Peretti) writes:
- >A friend of mine is using the McAfee virus scan program on his computer. When
- >he attempts to run the program, however, the program does not run. As soon as
- >the line with the phone number comes up, some funny characters come onto the
- >screen and then the c: prompt reappears. Whenever he puts a clean disk into
- > the computer, the disk, when scanned on another machine, the stoned virus is
- >on the disk. Does anyone have an answer to this problem?
- >
- >Thanks,
- >Brian J. Peretti
-
- Sounds to me like two things have happened.
-
- (1) his machined has the STONED virus in its partition table
-
- (2) the copy of SCAN that he has is damaged. He should call the
- McAfee BBS and down load the current version as soon as
- possible.
-
- Since the STONED virus is there, he could go ahead and run the
- CLEAN program to remove it. Then see if SCAN could detect any
- more.
-
- ========================================================================
- Jesse Chisholm | "Belief without understanding is superstition;
- jesse@Altos86.Altos.COM | Understanding without belief is theology;
- Tel 1-408-432-6200x4810 | It takes both for a living faith."
- Fax 1-408-434-0273 | -- Dr. Wolfgang Gross
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: 31 Jan 91 17:36:51 +0000
- From: jesse@altos86.Altos.COM ( Jesse Chisholm)
- Subject: Re: Stoned virus in partition table (PC)
-
- The STONED (and other partition table) virus is tricky to get
- rid of. I recommend getting the CLEAN program from McAfee
- Associates.
-
- McAfee Associates
- 4423 Cheeney Street
- Santa Clara, CA 95054
- 408 988 3832 (voice)
- 408 988 4004 (BBS)
-
- The current versions of SCAN and CLEAN may be downloaded. With
- these the STONED virus can be removed without the hassle of
- removing/losing data on the hard disk.
-
- ========================================================================
- Jesse Chisholm | "Belief without understanding is superstition;
- jesse@Altos86.Altos.COM | Understanding without belief is theology;
- Tel 1-408-432-6200x4810 | It takes both for a living faith."
- Fax 1-408-434-0273 | -- Dr. Wolfgang Gross
-
- ------------------------------
-
- End of VIRUS-L Digest [Volume 4 Issue 18]
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