Burma.563 Virus
Virus Name: Burma.563
Aliases: Burma
V Status: Viron
Discovery: July, 1994
Symptoms: .COM & .EXE files become 563 bytes in size; display effect;
file date/time changes
Origin: Unknown
Eff Length: 563 Bytes Overwriting
Type Code: ONAK - Overwriting Non-Resident .COM & .EXE Infector
Detection Method: F-Prot, AVTK, IBMAV, ViruScan, Sweep, NAV,
NAVDX, VAlert, PCScan, ChAV,
NProt, AVTK/N, NShld, Sweep/N, IBMAV/N, NAV/N,
Innoc 4.0+
Removal Instructions: Delete infected files
General Comments:
The Burma.563 virus was submitted in July, 1994. Its origin or point
of isolation is unknown. This virus is a non-resident overwriting
virus which permanently corrupts the programs it infects.
The first time a program infected with the Burma.563 virus is
executed, this virus will display the following message:
"Reading system configuration, please wait."
The virus will have infected the first .COM and .EXE program located
in the current directory. The user will then be returned to the
DOS prompt.
The next time a program infected with the Burma.563 virus is executed,
it will check to determine if the first .COM and .EXE files are
infected. If they are, a swirling effect will occur on the system
display. On monochrome monitors, this effect may appear as the
display of characters from memory.
The Burma.563 virus does not continue to infect programs in the
current directory after the first .COM and .EXE programs are infected.
Infected programs will become 563 bytes in size with the file date
and time in the DOS disk directory listing having been updated to the
current system date and time. The following text strings are visible
within the viral code in all infected programs:
"*.?o? *.?x? \DOS \"
"Reading system configuration, please wait."
Two text strings, "SwizzleStyxx!" and "Dark Avenger", are also
contained within the viral code, though the characters are separated
by an open happy face (hex 01) character.
Known variant(s) of Burma.563 are:
Burma.442.D: Received in February, 1995, Burma.442.D is a 442
byte variant of the Burma.563 virus described above. It
overwrites the first 442 bytes of the host .COM and .EXE
files it infects, truncating the file length to 442 bytes.
The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing
will have been updated to the current system date and time
when infection occurred. The following text string will be
visible within the viral code:
"*.?x? *.?o? \DOS"
Origin: Unknown February, 1995.
Burma.756: Received in July, 1995, Burma.756 is a 756 byte
variant of the Burma virus described above. Infected
programs become 756 bytes in length with the current
system date and time. The following text strings are
visible within the viral code:
"*.?o? *.?x? A:\DOS A:\"
"SwizzleStyxx!"
"Reading system configuration, please wait."
"DarkAvenger"
The second and fourth text strings have each character
separated by hex 01 (happy face) characters. This variant
also produces the whirlpool effect of the original virus.
Origin: Unknown July, 1995.