McAfee > Theat Center > Virus Detail Page

Overview

This is a virus detection. Viruses are programs that self-replicate recursively, meaning that infected systems spread the virus to other systems, which then propagate the virus further. While many viruses contain a destructive payload, it's quite common for viruses to do nothing more than spread from one system to another.

Aliases

• Faust

Characteristics

Spyer is a memory resident, file infecting virus. It infects .COM and .EXE files. It does not infect COMMAND.COM.

Upon infection, the Spyer virus becomes memory resident as a 1,760 byte low system memory Terminate-and-Stay Resident (TSR). Interrupts 21 and 22 are hooked by the virus.

Once the virus is memory resident, the virus attempts to infect the next file that is executed. If the file is already infected with the Spyer virus, the system hangs. If the file was not already infected, Spyer infects it and then hangs the system.

Additional Comments:
The Spyer virus was isolated in November, 1990 in Taiwan. This virus is a memory resident infector of .COM and .EXE files. It does not infect COMMAND.COM. The first time a program infected with the Spyer virus is executed, the Spyer virus will install itself memory resident as a 1,760 byte low system memory TSR. Interrupts 21 and 22 will be hooked by the virus. Once the virus is memory resident, the virus will attempt to infect the next program that is executed. If the program is already infected with the Spyer virus, the system will become hung. If the program was not already infected, Spyer will infect it and then hang the system. Infected .COM files will always increase in length by 1,181 bytes. EXE files infected with Spyer will have a file length increase between 1,181 and 1,195 bytes. In both cases, the virus will be located at the end of the infected file. Infected files will also always have the following hex character sequence at the end of file: "CBDFD9DE848484". The Spyer virus, in its present form, is not expected to ever be a serious problem. Since it always hangs the system when the next program is executed after becoming memory resident, it is simply too obvious that something is wrong. Known variant(s) of Spyer are:

Symptoms

Infected files have the following hex character sequence at the end of file: "CBDFD9DE848484".

Infected .COM files increase in length by 1,181 bytes. Infected .EXE files have a file length increase between 1,181 and 1,195 bytes. In both cases, the virus is located at the end of the infected file.

Method of Infection

The only way to infect a computer with a file infecting virus is to execute an infected file on the computer. The infected file may come from a multitude of sources including: floppy diskettes, downloads through an online service, network, etc. Once the infected file is executed, the virus may activate.

Removal

All Users :
Script,Batch,Macro and non memory-resident:
Use current engine and DAT files for detection and removal.

PE,Trojan,Internet Worm and memory resident :
Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. To remove, boot to MS-DOS mode or use a boot diskette and use the command line scanner:

Additional Windows ME/XP removal considerations

Users should not trust file icons, particularly when receiving files from others via P2P clients, IRC, email or other mediums where users can share files.

AVERT Recommended Updates :

* Office2000 Updates

* Malformed Word Document Could Enable Macro to Run Automatically (Information/Patch )

* scriptlet.typelib/Eyedog vulnerability patch

* Outlook as an email attachment security update

* Exchange 5.5 post SP3 Information Store Patch 5.5.2652.42 - this patch corrects detection issues with GroupShield

For a list of attachments blocked by the Outlook patch and a general FAQ, visit this link .
Additionally, Network Administrators can configure this update using an available tool - visit this link for more information .

It is very common for macro viruses to disable options within Office applications for example in Word, the macro protection warning commonly is disabled. After cleaning macro viruses, ensure that your previously set options are again enabled.

Variants

Variants

• Spyer-B
• Spyer-C

All Information

Overview -

This is a virus detection. Viruses are programs that self-replicate recursively, meaning that infected systems spread the virus to other systems, which then propagate the virus further. While many viruses contain a destructive payload, it's quite common for viruses to do nothing more than spread from one system to another.

Aliases

• Faust

Characteristics

Characteristics -

Spyer is a memory resident, file infecting virus. It infects .COM and .EXE files. It does not infect COMMAND.COM.

Upon infection, the Spyer virus becomes memory resident as a 1,760 byte low system memory Terminate-and-Stay Resident (TSR). Interrupts 21 and 22 are hooked by the virus.

Once the virus is memory resident, the virus attempts to infect the next file that is executed. If the file is already infected with the Spyer virus, the system hangs. If the file was not already infected, Spyer infects it and then hangs the system.

Additional Comments:
The Spyer virus was isolated in November, 1990 in Taiwan. This virus is a memory resident infector of .COM and .EXE files. It does not infect COMMAND.COM. The first time a program infected with the Spyer virus is executed, the Spyer virus will install itself memory resident as a 1,760 byte low system memory TSR. Interrupts 21 and 22 will be hooked by the virus. Once the virus is memory resident, the virus will attempt to infect the next program that is executed. If the program is already infected with the Spyer virus, the system will become hung. If the program was not already infected, Spyer will infect it and then hang the system. Infected .COM files will always increase in length by 1,181 bytes. EXE files infected with Spyer will have a file length increase between 1,181 and 1,195 bytes. In both cases, the virus will be located at the end of the infected file. Infected files will also always have the following hex character sequence at the end of file: "CBDFD9DE848484". The Spyer virus, in its present form, is not expected to ever be a serious problem. Since it always hangs the system when the next program is executed after becoming memory resident, it is simply too obvious that something is wrong. Known variant(s) of Spyer are:

Symptoms

Symptoms -

Infected files have the following hex character sequence at the end of file: "CBDFD9DE848484".

Infected .COM files increase in length by 1,181 bytes. Infected .EXE files have a file length increase between 1,181 and 1,195 bytes. In both cases, the virus is located at the end of the infected file.

Method of Infection

Method of Infection -

The only way to infect a computer with a file infecting virus is to execute an infected file on the computer. The infected file may come from a multitude of sources including: floppy diskettes, downloads through an online service, network, etc. Once the infected file is executed, the virus may activate.

Removal -

Removal -

All Users :
Script,Batch,Macro and non memory-resident:
Use current engine and DAT files for detection and removal.

PE,Trojan,Internet Worm and memory resident :
Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. To remove, boot to MS-DOS mode or use a boot diskette and use the command line scanner:

Additional Windows ME/XP removal considerations

Users should not trust file icons, particularly when receiving files from others via P2P clients, IRC, email or other mediums where users can share files.

AVERT Recommended Updates :

* Office2000 Updates

* Malformed Word Document Could Enable Macro to Run Automatically (Information/Patch )

* scriptlet.typelib/Eyedog vulnerability patch

* Outlook as an email attachment security update

* Exchange 5.5 post SP3 Information Store Patch 5.5.2652.42 - this patch corrects detection issues with GroupShield

For a list of attachments blocked by the Outlook patch and a general FAQ, visit this link .
Additionally, Network Administrators can configure this update using an available tool - visit this link for more information .

It is very common for macro viruses to disable options within Office applications for example in Word, the macro protection warning commonly is disabled. After cleaning macro viruses, ensure that your previously set options are again enabled.

Variants

Variants -

• Spyer-B
• Spyer-C