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

• AIDS-II

• Aids.8064

• AIDS_8064

• AIDS_II.8064

Characteristics

The AIDS II.8064 is a companion, file infecting virus. Unlike other generic file infectors, the AIDS II.8064 virus was the first known virus to employ what could be called a "corresponding file technique" of infection so that the original target .EXE file is never changed. The virus takes advantage of the DOS feature where if a file exists in both .COM and .EXE form, the .COM file is executed.

The AIDS II.8064 virus does not actually infect .EXE files, instead it stores a copy of the virus in a corresponding .COM file which is executed when the user tries to execute one of his .EXE files. The .EXE file and the .COM file both have the same base file name.

The method of infection is as follows: when an "infected" file is executed, since a corresponding .COM file exists, the .COM file containing the viral code is executed. The virus first locates an uninfected .EXE file in the current directory and creates a corresponding (or companion) .COM file with the viral code.

The AIDS II.8064 virus then spawns to the .EXE file that was attempting to be executed, and the file runs without problem.

Additional Comments:
The AIDS II virus, or Companion virus, was isolated for the first time in April 1990. Unlike other generic file infectors, the AIDS II virus is the first known virus to employ what could be called a "corresponding file technique" of infection so that the original target .EXE file is never changed. The virus takes advantage of the DOS feature where if a program exists in both .COM and .EXE form, the .COM file will be executed. The AIDS II virus does not actually infect .EXE files, instead it stores a copy of the virus in a corresponding .COM file which will be executed when the user tries to execute one of his .EXE files. The .EXE file and the .COM file will both have the same base file name. The method of infection is as follows: when an "infected" program is executed, since a corresponding .COM file exists, the .COM file containing the viral code is executed. The virus first locates an uninfected .EXE file in the current directory and creates a corresponding (or companion) .COM file with the viral code. These .COM files will always be 8,064 Bytes in length with a file date/time of the date/time of infection. The .EXE file is not altered at all. After creating the new .COM file, the virus then plays a melody and displays the following message: "Your computer is infected with ... `xff`x03 Aids Virus II `xff`x03 - Signed WOP & PGT of DutchCrack -" The AIDS II virus then spawns to the .EXE file that was attempting to be executed, and the program runs without problem. After completion of the program, control returns to the AIDS II virus. The melody is played again with the following message displayed: "Getting used to me? Next time, use a Condom ....." Since the original .EXE file remains unaltered, CRC checking programs cannot detect this virus having infected a system. One way to manually remove the AIDS II virus is to check the disk for programs which have both an .EXE and a .COM file, with the .COM file having a length of 8,064 bytes. The .COM files thus identified should be erased. The displayed text strings do not appear in the viral code.

Symptoms

After creating the new .COM file, the virus plays a melody and displays the following message:

"Your computer is infected with ...

`xff`x03 Aids Virus II `xff`x03

- Signed WOP & PGT of DutchCrack -"

After an infected file is executed, control returns to the AIDS II.8064 virus. The melody is played again with the following message displayed:

"Getting used to me?

Next time, use a Condom ....."

Infected systems have filenames with both .EXE and a .COM. The .COM file length is 8,064 bytes.

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.

Aliases

• AIDS-II

• Aids.8064

• AIDS_8064

• AIDS_II.8064

Characteristics

Characteristics -

The AIDS II.8064 is a companion, file infecting virus. Unlike other generic file infectors, the AIDS II.8064 virus was the first known virus to employ what could be called a "corresponding file technique" of infection so that the original target .EXE file is never changed. The virus takes advantage of the DOS feature where if a file exists in both .COM and .EXE form, the .COM file is executed.

The AIDS II.8064 virus does not actually infect .EXE files, instead it stores a copy of the virus in a corresponding .COM file which is executed when the user tries to execute one of his .EXE files. The .EXE file and the .COM file both have the same base file name.

The method of infection is as follows: when an "infected" file is executed, since a corresponding .COM file exists, the .COM file containing the viral code is executed. The virus first locates an uninfected .EXE file in the current directory and creates a corresponding (or companion) .COM file with the viral code.

The AIDS II.8064 virus then spawns to the .EXE file that was attempting to be executed, and the file runs without problem.

Additional Comments:
The AIDS II virus, or Companion virus, was isolated for the first time in April 1990. Unlike other generic file infectors, the AIDS II virus is the first known virus to employ what could be called a "corresponding file technique" of infection so that the original target .EXE file is never changed. The virus takes advantage of the DOS feature where if a program exists in both .COM and .EXE form, the .COM file will be executed. The AIDS II virus does not actually infect .EXE files, instead it stores a copy of the virus in a corresponding .COM file which will be executed when the user tries to execute one of his .EXE files. The .EXE file and the .COM file will both have the same base file name. The method of infection is as follows: when an "infected" program is executed, since a corresponding .COM file exists, the .COM file containing the viral code is executed. The virus first locates an uninfected .EXE file in the current directory and creates a corresponding (or companion) .COM file with the viral code. These .COM files will always be 8,064 Bytes in length with a file date/time of the date/time of infection. The .EXE file is not altered at all. After creating the new .COM file, the virus then plays a melody and displays the following message: "Your computer is infected with ... `xff`x03 Aids Virus II `xff`x03 - Signed WOP & PGT of DutchCrack -" The AIDS II virus then spawns to the .EXE file that was attempting to be executed, and the program runs without problem. After completion of the program, control returns to the AIDS II virus. The melody is played again with the following message displayed: "Getting used to me? Next time, use a Condom ....." Since the original .EXE file remains unaltered, CRC checking programs cannot detect this virus having infected a system. One way to manually remove the AIDS II virus is to check the disk for programs which have both an .EXE and a .COM file, with the .COM file having a length of 8,064 bytes. The .COM files thus identified should be erased. The displayed text strings do not appear in the viral code.

Symptoms

Symptoms -

After creating the new .COM file, the virus plays a melody and displays the following message:

"Your computer is infected with ...

`xff`x03 Aids Virus II `xff`x03

- Signed WOP & PGT of DutchCrack -"

After an infected file is executed, control returns to the AIDS II.8064 virus. The melody is played again with the following message displayed:

"Getting used to me?

Next time, use a Condom ....."

Infected systems have filenames with both .EXE and a .COM. The .COM file length is 8,064 bytes.

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