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

• Cacophony1

Characteristics

Cacophony is file infecting virus. It does not become memory resident. It infects .EXE files. A later version of this virus, Cacophony 2, is memory resident and adds encryption techniques to the virus.

Each time an infected file is executed, Cacophony infects one .EXE file in the current directory.

Additional Comments:
The Cacophony, or Cacophony 1, virus was received in February, 1994. Its origin or point of isolation is unknown. Cacophony is a non- resident, direct action infector of .EXE programs. A later version of this virus, Cacophony 2, is memory resident adds encryption to the virus, as well as no longer altering the file date and time. When a Cacophony infected program is executed, this virus will infect one .EXE file located in the current directory. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 950 to 960 bytes with the virus being located at the end of the file. The program's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing will have been altered so that the time field is set to 4:08a. The following text strings are visible within the viral code in all Cacophony infected programs: "cacophony" "*.e?*" "\ .. smartc*.cps" Cacophony may interfer with the functionality of the Central Point Anti-Virus program. The virus also installs a small portion of code at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, hooking interrupt 08. This code is not a complete copy of the virus, but a routine to play a tune on the system speaker sometime after the first infected program is executed. Known variant(s) of Cacophony are:

Symptoms

The following text strings are visible within the viral code in all Cacophony infected files:

"cacophony"
"*.e?*"
"\ ..smartc*.cps"

Infected files have a file length increase of 950 to 960 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing is altered; the time field is set to 4:08a.

The virus also installs a small portion of code at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, hooking interrupt 08. This code is not a complete copy of the virus, but a routine to play a tune on the system speaker sometime after the first infected file is executed.

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

• Cacophony2

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

• Cacophony1

Characteristics

Characteristics -

Cacophony is file infecting virus. It does not become memory resident. It infects .EXE files. A later version of this virus, Cacophony 2, is memory resident and adds encryption techniques to the virus.

Each time an infected file is executed, Cacophony infects one .EXE file in the current directory.

Additional Comments:
The Cacophony, or Cacophony 1, virus was received in February, 1994. Its origin or point of isolation is unknown. Cacophony is a non- resident, direct action infector of .EXE programs. A later version of this virus, Cacophony 2, is memory resident adds encryption to the virus, as well as no longer altering the file date and time. When a Cacophony infected program is executed, this virus will infect one .EXE file located in the current directory. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 950 to 960 bytes with the virus being located at the end of the file. The program's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing will have been altered so that the time field is set to 4:08a. The following text strings are visible within the viral code in all Cacophony infected programs: "cacophony" "*.e?*" "\ .. smartc*.cps" Cacophony may interfer with the functionality of the Central Point Anti-Virus program. The virus also installs a small portion of code at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, hooking interrupt 08. This code is not a complete copy of the virus, but a routine to play a tune on the system speaker sometime after the first infected program is executed. Known variant(s) of Cacophony are:

Symptoms

Symptoms -

The following text strings are visible within the viral code in all Cacophony infected files:

"cacophony"
"*.e?*"
"\ ..smartc*.cps"

Infected files have a file length increase of 950 to 960 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing is altered; the time field is set to 4:08a.

The virus also installs a small portion of code at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, hooking interrupt 08. This code is not a complete copy of the virus, but a routine to play a tune on the system speaker sometime after the first infected file is executed.

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 -

• Cacophony2