Semtex Virus

Alias:Screen Trasher
Strain:
detected when:September 1991
where:Germany
Classification:Program (appending) virus, resident
Length:1,000 Bytes

Preconditions

Operating System(s):MS-DOS
Version/Release:1.xx upward
Computer model(s):IBM - PC, XT, AT, upward and compatibles
Caroname:Semtex.1000

Attributes

Easy identification:Infected files will contain the string: " S E M T E X by Dusan Toman, CZECHOSLOVAKIA" " (7)213-040 or (804)212-23 "

Type of Infection:

All *.COM that are executed or opened will be infected if their length <= 61,000 Bytes. COMMAND.COM will also be infected; there is explicit code in the virus that exploits the comspec.

Infection Technique:
Infection Trigger:All *.COM files with length <= 61,000 Bytes.
Storage Media affected:
Interrupts hooked:INT 08 (hooked); INT 10, INT 21 (used); INT 61 (occupied)
Stealth:
Tunneling/Selfprot:
Oligo/Polymorphism:
Encoding Method:
Damage:At an hourly intervall, virus will trash screen contents by overwriting with garbage.
Damage Trigger:A Counter that counts the timer tics.
Particularities:1) This virus does not intercept INT 24, so a write error will occur upon each infection attempt. 2) Windows 3.0 will not like what virus does to the memory allocation. 3) INT 61 usage will render the following pro- ducts inoperative: Atari Portfolio (system management) HP 95LX System (system management) JPI topspeed modula (procedure exit trap) FTP PC/TCP (function calls) Adaptec and Omti controller Banyan Vines (network) Sangoma CCIP (CCPOP3270)
Similarities:---

Agents

Countermeasures:
Standard means:

Acknowledgements

Location:Micro-BIT Virus Center, Univ Karlsruhe, Germany
Classification by:Christoph Fischer
Documentation by:Christoph Fischer
Date:31-January-1992
Information Source:

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