W95.LoveSong.998

SUMMARY

W95.LoveSong.998 is a memory resident Windows 95/98 virus discovered in Korea. The virus will play a Korean song after Feb 16, 2000 with exception of the 30th of each month when certain criteria are meet.

Protection

• Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) January 6, 2000

Threat Assessment

Wild

• Wild Level: Low
• Number of Infections: 0 - 49
• Number of Sites: 0 - 2
• Geographical Distribution: Low
• Threat Containment: Moderate
• Removal: Easy

Damage

• Damage Level: Low
• Payload Trigger: After Feb 16, 2000 with exception of the 30th of each month when certain criteria are meet
• Payload: Plays a popular commercial Korean song on the PC speaker.
• Modifies Files: Win32.EXE

Distribution

• Distribution Level: Low

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Once an infected file is executed, the virus will load into memory and will infect files that are accessed. The virus code will be inserted into the .reloc section of the 32-bit executable. If this section of the file is not large enough, it may corrupt the file. The technique used to hook the file access is based on the method used in the W95.CIH virus. But W95.LoveSong.998 will not split its code like the W95.CIH virus

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

• Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
• If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
• Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services (for example, all Windows-based computers should have the current Service Pack installed.). Additionally, please apply any security updates that are mentioned in this writeup, in trusted Security Bulletins, or on vendor Web sites.
• Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
• Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
• Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
• Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.