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        New Message Board Archives >> Jan-Mar 2003 >> VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
        
(Message started by: Svenn on Jan 10^th, 2003, 7:20am)

Title: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by Svenn on Jan 10^th, 2003, 7:20am

F-Secure Virus Descriptions

Alphabetical Index
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Radar Alert LEVEL 2
NAME: Sobig
VARIANT: Sobig.A

THIS VIRUS IS RANKED AS LEVEL 2 ALERT UNDER F-SECURE RADAR.
For more information, see: http://www.F-Secure.com/products/radar/

The Sobig worm was found in the wild on January 9th. The worm spreads via email and network shared drives. It also tries to download other files from web pages located on a geocities site.

Mass-mailing

Email addresses are collected from files with various extensions:

'.WAB'
'.DBX'
'.HML'
'.HTML'
'.EML'
'.TXT'

The sender address is fixed, it is always 'big@boss.com'.

Subjects are randomly chosen from the following list:

'Re: Here is that sample'
'Re: Document'
'Re: Sample'
'Re: Movies'

The message body says:

'Attached file:'

The message contains an executable attachment. The attachment name can be one of the following:

'Sample.pif'
'Untitled1.pif'
'Document003.pif'
'Movie_0074.mpeg.pif'

The infected emails are sent using the worm's own STMP engine that is independent from the user's email settings.

Local Area Network propagation

Sobig lists all the network shares available to the infected computer and tries to copy itself to either of these directories:

'Windows\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp'

or

'Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup'

These are the default startup folders for Windows 9x and NT/XP based systems. If the worm is copied there Windows will run it next time the user logs in. This way the system gets infected.

System infection

When the worm is run on a system for the first time it copies itself to the Windows System Directory using the name 'winmgm32.exe'. After this a new value, pointing to this file is added to the registry as

'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\WindowsMGM'

This way the worm will be started every time Windows starts.

Backdoor downloader

Sobig contains a routine that downloads a text file from a website. The content of the file is used as a URL to download some program and run it on the infected machine.

At the time of writing this description this feature is inactive, the file points to a non-exisiting location.

Detection

Detection in F-Secure Anti-Virus was published on January 9th, 2003 in update:

[FSAV_Database_Version]

Version=2003-01-09_04

[Analysis: Gergely Erdelyi; F-Secure Corp.; January 9th, 2003]

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Title: Re: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by Svenn on Jan 10^th, 2003, 7:20am

Title: Re: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by Svenn on Jan 10^th, 2003, 7:22am

Global ExploreZip Worm Information Center

Information and remedy for the ExploreZip / ZippedFiles Internet Worm

ExploreZip is an internet worm which was first found in June 1999. The original version (ExploreZip.A) spread all over the globe within days of initial discovery, becoming first of the really widespread internet worms. After this, several modified version of the worms have been found.

On the 8th of January, 2003 - three and half years after the virus was first found - another new version was found. This version is now known as ExploreZip.E (or as ExploreZi-N). This version is compressed so that it was undetectable by current anti-virus programs on the time of the release of the virus. The worm functionality has stayed the same.

All of the ExploreZip variants spread as an e-mail attachment and activate by destroying document and source code files. The worm infects your computer and modifies it so that the worm will reply to unread e-mails, sending dummy reponses with an infected attachment.

More information

Questions & Answers on the ExploreZip worm
Technical description of ExploreZip.E (from 2003)
Technical description of ExploreZip.A (from 1999)

Press Release Archive

New Variant of ExploreZip Worm Wreaks Havoc Across Corporate Networks
(December 1, 1999)
New Discovery in the ZippedFiles Internet Worm
(June 14, 1999)
A new e-mail worm spreading globally
This Press Release was made six hours after receiving the initial sample of ExploreZip.A.
(June 10, 1999)

Updates for F-Secure Anti-Virus to detect ExploreZip.E

Web site:
http://www.europe.f-secure.com/download-purchase/updates.shtml

Ftp site:
ftp://ftp.europe.f-secure.com/anti-virus/updates/fsupdate.exe

CONTACT

Support Anti-Virus e-mail: Anti-Virus-Support@F-Secure.com
Support hotline phone number: +358 9 2520 5050
F-Secure Contact Info
F-Secure Partner Contact Info
MEDIA CONTACTS
For media comments and interviews, please contact:

Mikko Hypponen, Manager, Anti-Virus Research
F-Secure Corporation
Tel. +358 9 2520 5513
Email: Mikko.Hypponen@F-Secure.com

Tony Magallanez, Systems Engineer
F-Secure Inc.
Tel +1 (408) 350-2321
E-mail Tony.Magallanez@F-Secure.com

F-Secure Support hotline phone number: +358 9 2520 5050

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Title: Re: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by firebrix on Jan 11^th, 2003, 12:48am

Thank you Svenn

Really appreciate these warnings - you seem to hear of these things earlier than we do.
Will my Norton 2003 take care of it if I get it?
Personally I wouldn't open anything from big bosses!!!
I will be careful anyway
Thanx again
firebrix

Title: Re: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by Svenn on Jan 11^th, 2003, 6:05am

Fire

Just keep your antivirus updated and you should be safe.
Everybody should have that and a firewall too.

The reason that i get this info is that i am one of many that tests symantecproducts for Symantec and get the infoes that way

Be well

Svenn

Title: Re: VIRUSWARNING AGAIN
Post by SommelierCH on Jan 11^th, 2003, 8:32am

Thanks Svenn,

I'm a Norton guy (person) too. I would only add 2 things:

"Zone Alarm" basic fire wall is free. Everyone should at least get that good working freebee. Here is the link, then work your way through a questionier, keep following the word "free". It's not prominent.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

Also, if you have Symantec’s, Norton AntiVirus with Live Update--open the program, and click on “Live Update”, when you get a warning like this from overseas. If you run your computer 24/7, “Live Update” might only check in once a week. You should manually check in everyday, as part of the routine.

David J.