Hacker Chronicles 2 (Alt)/The_Hacker_Chronicles_Volume_II-CD2.iso/virusl2/virusl2.256

Text File | 1995-01-03 | 14.0 KB | 318 lines

VIRUS-L Digest   Friday,  8 Dec 1989    Volume 2 : Issue 256

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., and sent to [e-mail] (that's
LEHIIBM1.BITNET for BITNET folks).  Information on accessing
anti-virus, document, and back-issue archives is distributed
periodically on the list.  Administrative mail (comments, suggestions,
and so forth) should be sent to me at: [e-mail].
 - Ken van Wyk

Today's Topics:

Virus Buster v2.00 (beta) (PC)
Re: Signature programs
WDEF Virus Alert (MAC)
Video problem (PC)
Network Virus Protection (Mac)
WDEF Virus (Mac)

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Date:    Thu, 07 Dec 89 16:07:16 +0200
From:    "Yuval Tal (972)-8-474592" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Virus Buster v2.00 (beta) (PC)

Hello!

I am looking for a few beta-testers for the new version of Virus
Buster.  The current version of VB is 1.10 and a new 2.00 will be
released soon. I need people who have special hardware (large HD,
special graphics adapter etc).  People who like to volunteer for this
task should send e-mail to Yuval Tal ([e-mail]) or to
one of the addresses written at the end of this letter.

Ok, here is some info about Virus Buster 1.10:

Virus Buster is an anti-viral software that was written in Israel by
Uzi Apple ([e-mail]) and by me. It can identify and
remove about 15 viruses (version 2.00 will remove about 23) including:
Data-crime, Jerusalem, 1st of april, Saratoga, FuManchu, Icelandic and
more! Most important thing: It is PUBLIC DOMAIN! No fee charged! It
has windows, statistics and much more. It will be soon available on
the SIMTEL20 directories.

- -Yuval

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BitNet:   NYYUVL@WEIZMANN        Domain: [e-mail] |
| InterNet: [e-mail]                        |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Yuval Tal                         | Voice:   [phone]               |
| The Weizmann Institute Of Science | BBS:     [phone] * 20:00-7:00  |
| Rehovot, Israel                   | FidoNet: 2:403/136         (CoSysop) |
+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|   "Always look on the bright side of life" *whistle*  -  Monty Phyton    |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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Date:    Thu, 07 Dec 89 14:33:11 +0200
From:    Y. Radai <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Signature programs

  Bob Bosen has posted a couple of articles on "signature" programs
(I prefer to call them "checksum" programs).  I agree with some of
what he has written, but disagree with other portions.  In V2 #249 he
asks Steve Woronick:
>                                              Are you saying you could
>write or describe a virus that could infect a program but avoid
>detection by an off-line ANSI X9.9-based message authentication code?

  I don't know what Steve's answer is, but mine is definitely YES, and
I say that even though I know very little about the ANSI X9.9 algo-
rithm.  Bob and many others, particularly those with backgrounds in
cryptology, tend to emphasize the *algorithm*: X9.9 or DES or RSA
is considered by the experts to be more secure than CRC, and that's
all there is to it.  What they miss is the fact that what has to
ensure security on a computer is not simply an algorithm, but rather a
*program* which implements it in a given *operating system*.  And even
a program based on the most sophisticated checksum algorithm in the
world is circumventable if it is not written *very carefully*.
  Take, for example, the PC checksum programs in the directory <MSDOS
TROJAN-PRO> or <MSDOS.FILUTL> of the Simtel20 archives.  They all use
a CRC (or in a few cases a more primitive) algorithm.  Suppose we
choose one of them and replace the CRC algorithm by the ANSI X9.9
algorithm.  Will that ensure security?  Far from it!  For one thing,
most of these programs have no provision for checksumming the boot
sector.  That means that despite the use of a sophisticated algorithm,
these programs would be totally ineffective against boot-sector virus-
es, and that includes a sizable percentage of existing viruses.
  Boot-sector checksumming is available in a few of these programs,
e.g. it was finally added to the FluShot+ program a few months ago.
But to the best of my knowledge this program still does not have
partition-record checksumming.  And that goes for almost all the other
programs in those directories also (Sentry is a welcome exception).
  But is checksumming the BS and PR all we need to worry about?  Defi-
nitely not.  If we perform the checksumming when memory is infected by
a Brain-type virus, even X9.9 won't detect any modification.
  So now all we have to do is ensure that memory is uninfected when we
perform the checksumming (by booting from a clean diskette, etc.).
Right?  Wrong!  There are at least five other loopholes in PC-DOS/
MS-DOS which a virus writer could exploit if the program is not care-
fully written, all of which are independent of the checksum algorithm
and do not depend on memory being infected.  (These have apparently
never been used in any actual virus so far.)  Exploitation of such
loopholes is much more practical (from the point of view of the virus
writer) than the checksum-forging methods alluded to by several people
in this forum, since they are independent of the checksum program and
do not require any calculations (of checksums, polynomials, keys,
etc.).  True, all of these loopholes can be blocked if the author of
the checksum program thinks of them.  The trouble is not only that
most authors do not, but also that there may be other loopholes which
none of us has thought of yet.
  The conclusion is that even a program based on the most sophistica-
ted checksum algorithm in the world cannot be depended on to detect
all infections.  Whether a given algorithm is secure depends heavily
on how it's implemented as a *program* in a particular *system*.
  If it's relevant, Bob, I would suggest that you raise this issue
with the rest of the ANSI working group.  There's a small problem,
however:  I have not publicly specified what these additional, more
subtle loopholes are, since I feel it would be quite irresponsible of
me to do so.  But somewhere around No. 89 on my list of 927 things to
do is writing virus simulators to implement all, or at least most, of
these loopholes.  If Bob or anyone else is willing to send me a PC
program which implements X9.9 or any other signature algorithm which
he thinks is secure, that would raise the priority of my writing at
least one of these simulators, which I could then throw at the program
in order to test whether it really is secure.

  Bob also asks:
>                                                   Who can say whether
>the more sophisticated viruses of the future will attempt to analyze
>CRC signatures or target specific products that rely on CRC methods?

  Since he specifically mentions CRC methods, he is obviously not re-
ferring to the types of loopholes to which I alluded above.  In V2
#238 I gave arguments against the claim that CRC programs are circum-
ventable in practice by checksum-forging methods, provided certain ob-
vious precautions are taken.  Bob has given no reply to these argu-
ments and I don't see how emphasis on *future* viruses affects them
(except possibly as concerns the time required for the virus to do its
work).  While I obviously can't prove it, my personal feeling is that
*in practice* a CRC algorithm based on a randomly or personally chosen
generator is, and will remain, just as secure as any more sophistica-
ted algorithm (if the CRC base and program are kept offline) and pro-
bably a lot faster.  In any case, the most important thing is the pro-
gram, not the algorithm.

                                     Y. Radai
                                     Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Israel
                                     [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 07 Dec 89 10:55:38 -0700
From:    Pete Troxell <[e-mail]>
Subject: WDEF Virus Alert (MAC)

This is being cross-posted from comp.sys.mac. The original article is
by John Norstad of Northwestern University:

A new Macintosh virus named "WDEF" has been discovered in Belgium,
at Northwestern University, and at the University of Texas.

The WDEF virus infects the invisible "Desktop" files used by the
Finder.  Every Macintosh disk has one of these files (hard drives
and floppies).  The virus spreads from Desktop file to Desktop
file, but it does not infect applications, data files, or system
files.

The virus does not intentionally try to do any damage.  In fact,
it doesn't do anything except spread from disk to disk.

Due to a bug, the virus causes Mac IIcis to crash.  We have also
noticed unusually frequent crashes on infected Mac IIcxs, and
severe performance problems with infected AppleShare servers.
There are also other bugs in the virus which could cause problems.

You do not have to run a program for the virus to spread.

Unlike most of the other Mac viruses, the WDEF virus is not spread
via the sharing and distribution of programs, but rather via the
sharing and distribution of disks, usually floppy disks.

You can eliminate the virus from a disk by rebuilding the desktop
file (hold down the Command and Option keys while booting or while
inserting a floppy).

Jeff Shulman, the author of Virus Detective 3.1, recommends adding
the following search string to detect the virus:

    Creator=ERIK & Resource WDEF & Any

Virus Detective can also be used to remove the virus - click on
the "Remove" button whenever the search string is matched.  This
only works if you are not using MultiFinder, and if you are
running some program other than the Finder.  Don't try this with
the other viruses - Virus Detective can only repair WDEF
infections, not infections by the other known Macintosh viruses.

As far as we know, Virus Detective is the only virus-fighting tool
which can detect the new WDEF virus.

Unfortunately, the virus manages to avoid detection by all of the
popular protection INITs, including Vaccine 1.0.1, GateKeeper
1.1.1, SAM Intercept 1.10, and Virex INIT 1.12.

Disinfectant 1.3, Virus Rx 1.5, SAM Virus Clinic 1.10, and Virex
2.12 also all fail to detect the virus.

We expect that many of the virus-fighting programs mentioned above
will be updated soon to deal properly with the new WDEF virus.

John Norstad
Academic Computing and Network Services
Northwestern University
2129 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208

[e-mail]

- --
Peter Troxell
NET:     ncar!dinl!troxell
ARPA:    [e-mail]
US-MAIL: Martin Marietta I&CS, MS XL8058, P.O. Box 1260,
         Denver, CO 80201-1260
Phone:   [phone]

------------------------------

Date:    07 Dec 89 20:55:51 +0000
From:    [e-mail] (Thuan-Tit Ewe)
Subject: Video problem (PC)

Regarding your posting, I know of a virus which will do just such a thing.
After disassemblying Jerusalem B virus, I saw code in there triggered by
the clock interrupt that will scroll a region of the screen some two lines
up.

Your best bet is to use any anti-viral program to check your system and
make sure it's not affected. Also, to see if it a virus attact:

1. Get a good copy of any small program from a floppy. (Maybe debug.com from
   your DOS distribution)
2. Note its size
3. Run the program that will cause the screen scroll. (Or any wierd problem)
4. Exit program on step 3, and execute the small program.
5. Exit the small program and check to see if the size increased.

If it does, chances are very, very, very good that you have a virus problem!

Of course, if the small program has already been infected, you won't see
any size increase.

Thuan-Tit Ewe                   MetaWare Inc
[e-mail]                [phone]
{uunet|ucscc|acad}!metaware!tte

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Date:    Thu, 07 Dec 89 15:47:27 -0500
From:    "Gregory E. Gilbert" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Network Virus Protection (Mac)

Is there any freeware that will provide virus protection when using a
network such as AppleShare or TOPS?  I know SAM will work fine.  Will
Gatekeeper or Vaccine provide adequate protection?  Will Disinfectant
provide adequate diagnosing capabilities?

Greg

Postal address:   Gregory E. Gilbert
                  Computer Services Division
                  University of South Carolina
                  Columbia, South Carolina   USA   29208
                  [phone]
Acknowledge-To: <C0195@UNIVSCVM>

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 08 Dec 89 11:42:58 -0500
From:    "Gregory E. Gilbert" <[e-mail]>
Subject: WDEF Virus (Mac)

Recently there was a posting on VALERT-L about a new virues, WDEF.  In the
alert it is mentioned that:

(stuff deleted)

"Jeff Shulman, the author of Virus Detective 3.1, recommends adding the
following search string to detect the virus:

CREATOR=ERIK & Resource WDEF & Any

Virus Detective can also be used to remove the virus ......"

Where or to what do we add the "following search string".  Please
pardon my ignorance.

Greg

Postal address:   Gregory E. Gilbert
                  Computer Services Division
                  University of South Carolina
                  Columbia, South Carolina   USA   29208
                  [phone]
Acknowledge-To: <C0195@UNIVSCVM>

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