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.

Characteristics

James Bond is a memory resident, stealth, file infecting virus. It infects .COM files, including COMMAND.COM.

Upon infection, the James Bond virus becomes memory resident in a hole in allocated system memory. It hooks interrupt 21.

Once memory resident, James Bond infects .COM files, including COMMAND.COM, as they are executed or opened.

Additional Comments:
The James Bond virus was submitted in May, 1993, and is from The Netherlands. James Bond is a memory resident stealth virus which infects .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM. When the first James Bond infected program is executed, the James Bond virus will become memory resident in a "hole" in allocated system memory, hooking interrupt 21. Total system and available free memory, as indicated by the DOS CHKDSK program, will not be altered. Once memory resident, James Bond will infect .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM, when they are executed or opened for any reason. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 356 bytes, with the virus being located at the end of the file. The file length increase will be hidden by the virus in memory on some infected files, and will be visible on other infected files. The program's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing appear to be unaltered, but the seconds field will have been set to "62". The following text string occurs very near to the end of all infected programs: "James Bond is Alive!" Systems infected with the James Bond virus will find that the DOS CHKDSK program will report a very high number of lost clusters when it is executed with the virus memory resident.

Symptoms

The following text string occurs very near to the end of all infected files:

"James Bond is Alive!"

Total system and available free memory, is not altered. Infected files have a file length increase of 356 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file length increase is hidden by the virus in memory on some infected files, and will be visible on other infected files. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing appears to be unaltered, but the seconds field is set to "62".

The DOS CHKDSK program reports a very high number of lost clusters when it is executed with the virus memory resident.

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

N/A

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.

Characteristics

Characteristics -

James Bond is a memory resident, stealth, file infecting virus. It infects .COM files, including COMMAND.COM.

Upon infection, the James Bond virus becomes memory resident in a hole in allocated system memory. It hooks interrupt 21.

Once memory resident, James Bond infects .COM files, including COMMAND.COM, as they are executed or opened.

Additional Comments:
The James Bond virus was submitted in May, 1993, and is from The Netherlands. James Bond is a memory resident stealth virus which infects .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM. When the first James Bond infected program is executed, the James Bond virus will become memory resident in a "hole" in allocated system memory, hooking interrupt 21. Total system and available free memory, as indicated by the DOS CHKDSK program, will not be altered. Once memory resident, James Bond will infect .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM, when they are executed or opened for any reason. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 356 bytes, with the virus being located at the end of the file. The file length increase will be hidden by the virus in memory on some infected files, and will be visible on other infected files. The program's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing appear to be unaltered, but the seconds field will have been set to "62". The following text string occurs very near to the end of all infected programs: "James Bond is Alive!" Systems infected with the James Bond virus will find that the DOS CHKDSK program will report a very high number of lost clusters when it is executed with the virus memory resident.

Symptoms

Symptoms -

The following text string occurs very near to the end of all infected files:

"James Bond is Alive!"

Total system and available free memory, is not altered. Infected files have a file length increase of 356 bytes. The virus is located at the end of the file. The file length increase is hidden by the virus in memory on some infected files, and will be visible on other infected files. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing appears to be unaltered, but the seconds field is set to "62".

The DOS CHKDSK program reports a very high number of lost clusters when it is executed with the virus memory resident.

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 -

N/A