W97M.Opey.S

SUMMARY

W97M.Opey.S infects Microsoft Word documents via the Normal.dot template file. The virus attempts to block all access to the macro editor.

Protection

• Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) September 22, 2000

Threat Assessment

Wild

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

Damage

• Damage Level: Low

Distribution

• Distribution Level: Low

TECHNICAL DETAILS

W97M.Opey.S attempts to infect Normal.dot and active documents when the following actions are performed:

• Save As
• Exit
• Add-in load
• File Open
• Saving an active document
• Closing an active document
• Creating a new file
• Opening an infected document

W97M.Opey.S stealths by turning off VirusProtection, SaveNormalPrompt, and ConfirmConversions. In addition, all shortcut keys that provide access to the macro storage are disabled.

W97M.Opey.S changes the following options:

• User name = Subramanya
• User address = CyberNet
• User initials = SCN

You may want to restore these options after cleaning your computer.

File summary info:

· Author = Subramanya
· Keywords = CyberNet

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.

REMOVAL

Run Norton AntiVirus to repair files infected with W97M.Opey.S.