SCREEN Virus

Alias:---
Strain:---
detected when:May 1989
where:Utrecht (Netherlands)
Classification:Boot sector virus
Length:456 Bytes (512)

Preconditions

Operating System(s):Atari TOS
Version/Release:ROM TOS from 02.06.1986; in other versions, virus will not b
Computer model(s):All Atari ST
Caroname:SCREEN

Attributes

Easy identification:In memory at Phystop +34 and in the boot sector at the same offset, the following bytes can be found: $0206198600FC0018

Type of Infection:

Boot sector of drive A.

Infection Technique:
Infection Trigger:Usage of drive A.
Storage Media affected:Drive A.
Interrupts hooked:200 Hz interrupt($114) for time-control and damage. hdv_bpb to infect bootsector. Critical Error Handler at infection time. Phystop is decremented by 512.
Stealth:
Tunneling/Selfprot:
Oligo/Polymorphism:
Encoding Method:
Damage:The screen is blacked out from bottom to middle and from top to middle at same time; no more action can be performed as screen is permanently black.
Damage Trigger:Between 3 and 30 minutes (depends on value of 200 Hz timer; action when timer >=360000).
Particularities:Only boot sectors that are not executable are in- fected. The word at offset 30 from beginning of bootsector varies from infection to infection. If a reset is performed, the virus becomes inactive but is still in RAM. If the virus is on a disk used after reset and the damage was active before reset, it reappears after 3 minutes.
Similarities:Same screen damage as BLOT VIRUS (same routine).

Agents

Countermeasures:Make sure that the virus is not in memory. Search boot sector for the string mentioned above. Modify the last byte in boot sector to another value.
Standard means:Clear all bytes in boot sector beginning at offset 30 decimal.

Acknowledgements

Location:Virus Test Center, University of Hamburg, FRG
Classification by:Ronald Greinke
Documentation by:Ronald Greinke
Date:5-June-1990
Information Source:George R. Woodside

(c) 1996 Virus-Test-Center, University of Hamburg