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

• Como

• Como-Lake

Characteristics

Como.2019 is a file infecting virus. It does not become memory resident. It infects .EXE files.

Each time an infected file is executed, Como.2019 may infect a .EXE file in the current directory, though it does this only with about a 1 in 7 probability.

Additional Comments:
The Como, or Como-Lake, virus was submitted in December, 1992, and is originally from Italy. Como is a non-resident, direct action infector of .EXE programs. When a program infected with the Como virus is executed, this virus may infect a .EXE program in the current directory, though it does this only with about a 1 in 7 probability. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 2,022 to 2,035 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 not be altered. The following text is encrypted within the viral code in Como infected programs: "This is the" "COMO-LAKE" "virus" "(rel. 1.1)" "I'm a non-destructive virus developed to study the worldwide" "diffusion rate. I was released in September 1990 by a software" "group resident near Como lake (north Italy)." "Don't worry about your data on disk. My activity is limited only" "to auto-transferring into other program files. Perhaps you've got" "many files infected. It's your task to find and delete them." "Best wishes." "Pres a key to execute the program" "*.EXE" Known variant(s) of Como are:

Symptoms

The following text is encrypted within the viral code in Como.2019 infected files:

"This is the"
"COMO-LAKE"
"virus"
"(rel.1.1)"
"I'm a non-destructive virus developed to study the worldwide"
"diffusion rate.I was released in September 1990 by a software"
"group resident near Como lake (north Italy)."
"Don't worry about your data on disk.My activity is limited only"
"to auto-transferring into other file files.Perhaps you've got"
"many files infected.It's your task to find and delete them."
"Best wishes."
"Pres a key to execute the file"
"*.EXE"

Infected files have a file length increase of 2,022 to 2,035 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing are not altered.

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

• Como.1786

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

• Como

• Como-Lake

Characteristics

Characteristics -

Como.2019 is a file infecting virus. It does not become memory resident. It infects .EXE files.

Each time an infected file is executed, Como.2019 may infect a .EXE file in the current directory, though it does this only with about a 1 in 7 probability.

Additional Comments:
The Como, or Como-Lake, virus was submitted in December, 1992, and is originally from Italy. Como is a non-resident, direct action infector of .EXE programs. When a program infected with the Como virus is executed, this virus may infect a .EXE program in the current directory, though it does this only with about a 1 in 7 probability. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 2,022 to 2,035 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 not be altered. The following text is encrypted within the viral code in Como infected programs: "This is the" "COMO-LAKE" "virus" "(rel. 1.1)" "I'm a non-destructive virus developed to study the worldwide" "diffusion rate. I was released in September 1990 by a software" "group resident near Como lake (north Italy)." "Don't worry about your data on disk. My activity is limited only" "to auto-transferring into other program files. Perhaps you've got" "many files infected. It's your task to find and delete them." "Best wishes." "Pres a key to execute the program" "*.EXE" Known variant(s) of Como are:

Symptoms

Symptoms -

The following text is encrypted within the viral code in Como.2019 infected files:

"This is the"
"COMO-LAKE"
"virus"
"(rel.1.1)"
"I'm a non-destructive virus developed to study the worldwide"
"diffusion rate.I was released in September 1990 by a software"
"group resident near Como lake (north Italy)."
"Don't worry about your data on disk.My activity is limited only"
"to auto-transferring into other file files.Perhaps you've got"
"many files infected.It's your task to find and delete them."
"Best wishes."
"Pres a key to execute the file"
"*.EXE"

Infected files have a file length increase of 2,022 to 2,035 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing are not altered.

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 -

• Como.1786