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Virus Bulletin, February 1991

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Virus Bulletin, February 1991 February 1991 ISSN 0956-9979 THE AUTHORITATIVE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION ON COMPUTER VIRUS PREVENTION, RECOGNITION AND REMOVAL Editor: Edward Wilding Technical Editor: Fridrik Skulason, University of Iceland Editorial Advisors: Jim Bates, Bates Associates, UK, Phil Crewe, Fingerprint, UK, Dr. Jon David, USA, David Ferbrache, Information Systems Integrity & Security Ltd., UK, Ray Glath, RG Software Inc., USA, Hans Gliss, Datenschutz Berater, West Germany, Ross M. Greenberg, Software Concepts Design, USA, Dr. Harold Joseph Highland, Compulit Microcomputer Security Evaluation Laboratory, USA, Dr. Jan Hruska, Sophos, UK, Dr. Keith Jackson, Walsham Contracts, UK, Owen Keane, Barrister, UK, Yisrael Radai, Hebrew University, Israel, John Laws, RSRE, UK, David T. Lindsay, Digital Equipment Corporation, UK, Martin Samociuk, Network Security Management, UK, John Sherwood, Sherwood Associates, UK, Dr. Peter Tippett, Certus International Corporation, USA, Dr. Ken Wong, PA Consulting Group, UK, Ken van Wyk, CERT, USA. CONTENTS IBM PC VIRUSES (UPDATE) 8 COUNTERMEASURES EDITORIAL 2 A Backup Strategy Based on TECHNICAL NOTES Risk Analysis 9 The Write-Protected System Floppy Disk 2 VIRUS ANALYSES Education Training and 1. Beijing 11 Awareness Presentations 3 2. Aircop 12 Direct Port Access 3 3. Faust 14 The Kamikaze Virus 4 4. LoveChild 16 Overlay Files 5 The Virus ‘Underground’ 5 PRODUCT REVIEW Turbo Anti-Virus 18 INVESTIGATION The Search for Den Zuk 6 END-NOTES & NEWS 20 VIRUS BULLETIN ©1991 Virus Bulletin Ltd, 21 The Quadrant, Abingdon Science Park, Oxon, OX14 3YS, England. Tel (+44) 235 555139. /90/$0.00+2.50 This bulletin is available only to qualified subscribers. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical or photocopying, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Page 2 VIRUS BULLETIN February 1991 The apologists for these activities invariably argue that it is the EDITORIAL big organisations - the multinationals, the banks and all the other institutions that supposedly ‘oppress’ - which suffer most from computer misuse. In fact, these organisations are well A Troubled World aware of the dangers, are well defended and can respond quickly and appropriately to the threats they face. It would be profane and disproportionate at a time of such intense international crisis to talk of ‘war’ and ‘warfare’ in any The real victim of computer viruses is, and increasingly will context other than mortal combat - this journal has in the past be, the individual - be it the computer user; wholly dependent made occasional reference to the ‘computer virus war’; the on his data, ignorant to the threat and woefully ill-prepared to analogy may be apposite when peace prevails but is probably recover from the effects of malicious software, or the ‘man in best shelved for the time being. the street’; temporarily or permanently inconvenienced by essential medical, welfare, financial or other personal data It would also be futile, as the level of conflict and violence becoming corrupted or inaccessible. intensifies, to rain emotional invective on those people who write computer viruses. Their activities, which many countries We are all responsible for our own actions and the people who have designated crimes, are seemingly trivial (but not com- develop and propagate viruses should, at the very least, realise pletely inconsequential) in the face of current world events. that they are responsible for impeding other peoples’ freedom, creativity and progress indiscriminately. Millions of peoples’ It is now obvious that many lives will be lost in 1991 - a year livelihoods and welfare are now dependent on the humble that has already wrought a succession of sobering images in the personal computer - to attack such systems is irresponsible, if electronic and printed media worldwide. Matters of life and not palpably wicked. death invariably sharpen peoples’ perspectives and help us to regain a sense of proportion. Regardless of individual loyalties The world is troubled and faces enormous dangers which and conscience, it is important to will peace, justice and makes many other problems appear quite inconsequential. progress for all people, everywhere. However, every responsible course of action by every individ- ual, whatever his particular field of interest or knowledge, This journal’s function is to report on a technical threat to serves to lessen the world’s problems in some small but computers - software, hardware and data. It attempts to address significant way. This is as relevant to computer programming an increasing, but not yet overbearing problem which besets as it is to all other endeavours. computer users in all the developed and developing nations of the world. Stopping this problem at its source will depend on reason, clarity and logic, both on the part of those people seeking to curtail the threat and from those who are actively promoting it. In this respect, computer misuse, albeit unlikely TECHNICAL NOTES to cause extreme trauma, is not dissimilar to the greater issues which trouble the world. The Write-Protected System Floppy Disk In the very first VB editorial in July 1989, the indiscriminate nature of computer viruses, which victimise in a random and Long term readers of VB will be familiar with our continual unpredictable manner, was presented as one of the clearest warnings of the dangers of using scanning programs or disk reasons for the virus writers to desist from their activities. utilities to search for viruses in the event that a ‘stealth’ virus, or a virus which infects program files as they are opened, Parallels with terrorism are perhaps drawn too easily here; becomes resident in memory. In the former case the virus will computer viruses are not yet designed to kill, although the become ‘invisible’ providing no indication of infection, in the repercussions of a multitude of safety critical systems being latter all files searched will become infected. attacked by these means might well involve death and injury. Reason, clarity and logic combined may even (if certain The need to repeat the warning has been re-emphasised by the academics and computer industry experts are to be believed) release of the Norton AntiVirus (VB, Jan 90). The documenta- provide a rationale for developing such programs. tion with this product only mentions the write-protected system disk (or write-protected DOS disk as it is referred to) It remains, however, stupefyingly difficult to find a rationale on page 20 of the manual (section QS 2) without sufficient for the sort of vandalism which manifests itself in the random, emphasis. indiscriminate destruction of peoples’ data and programs. This may lead the user to commence scanning directly in an Temporarily discounting matters of peace and justice, where infected DOS environment - the Norton AntiVirus does not is the progress in all of this? Inflicting such damage is more claim to search for viruses in memory and tests have shown it than just a hindrance - it is patently regressive. unable to do so. VIRUS BULLETIN ©1991 Virus Bulletin Ltd, 21 The Quadrant, Abingdon Science Park, Oxon, OX14 3YS, England. Tel (+44) 235 555139. /90/$0.00+2.50 This bulletin is available only to qualified subscribers. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical or photocopying, without the prior written permission of the publishers. February 1991 VIRUS BULLETIN Page 3 SymantecUK, which markets the product, has been informed of this oversight and VB understands that plans are underway to emphasise this essential requirement in the documentation and/or a banner. This problem is not confined to this particular VIRUS BULLETIN product; unfortunately, anti-virus software developers often automatically assume that the user will be aware of the need to EDUCATION, TRAINING scan in a clean DOS environment and warnings are often omited or muted. In fact, this requirement is fundamental to AND combating computer virus infections and cannot be over- AWARENESS PRESENTATIONS emphasised. For the benefit of new readers and as a general reminder, a Education, training and awareness are essential as part brief resume of the the contents and use of the write-protected of an integrated campaign to minimise the threat of system floppy disk follows: computer viruses and malicious software. A write-protected system floppy disk should be From March 1991, a VB representative will be avail- prepared and made available as an essential contin- able to visit subscribing organisations and deliver a gency measure for combating computer virus infec- presentation about the threat and the measures neces- tions. sary to minimise it. The presentation, aimed at compu- ter users and non-technical staff, can be tailored to This disk contains all MS-DOS system files which are comply with individual company requirements and transferred from the hard disk to the floppy by issuing the procedures in coordination with management. command ‘FORMAT A:/S’. These presentations are offered free of charge except for The floppy disk should also contain the set-up and reimbursement of travel and any accommodation configuration files known as AUTOEXEC.BAT and expenses incurred. Information is available fromVirus CONFIG.SYS and any other system files or device Bulletin, UK. Tel 0235 555139. drivers such as ANSI.SYS. These files are transferred to the floppy disk by using the DOS COPY command. Note that CONFIG.SYS usually refers to other files which load into memory before the system starts, using Direct Port Access statements such as ‘DEVICE = filename’. All files should Examples of virus code continue to come in to researchers in be copied onto the floppy disk, and CONFIG.SYS should ever-increasing numbers. Fortunately however, the number of be modified to refer to files on the floppy disk, rather new techniques used by the virus writers is diminishing and than files on the hard drive.
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