Linda Virus

Virus Name: Linda Aliases: Linda.517 V Status: New Discovered: January, 1996 Symptoms: .COM & .EXE file corruption; file date/time seconds = "58"; programs fail to function, returning user to DOS prompt; system hangs; decrease in available free memory Origin: Unknown Eff Length: 517 Bytes Overwriting Type Code: OhA - Overwriting Resident .COM & .EXE Infector Detection Method: NAV, NAVDX, IBMAV, AVTK, ViruScan, F-Prot, ChAV, NAV/N, IBMAV/N, AVTK/N, NShld, Innoc 4.0+ Removal Instructions: Delete infected files General Comments: The Linda or Linda.517 virus was received in January, 1996. Its origin or point of isolation is unknown. Linda is a memory resident overwriting virus which infects .COM and .EXE files, but not COMMAND.COM. When the first Linda infected program is executed, this virus will install itself memory resident at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, not moving interrupt 12's return. Available free memory will have decreased by approximately 768 bytes, and interrupt 21 will be hooked by the virus in memory. Once the Linda virus is memory resident, it will infect .COM and .EXE files when they are executed. Infected files will have the first 517 bytes overwritten by the Linda viral code. The file's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing will not appear to be altered, though the seconds field will have been set to "58". The following text string is visible within the viral code in all infected files: "FUCKING TO L.I.N.D.A." Infected programs will not function properly, returning the user to the system prompt when the user attempts to execute them. System hangs may also occur when infected programs are executed.