Graveyard-479 Virus

Virus Name: Graveyard-479 Aliases: V Status: Rare Discovered: July, 1993 Symptoms: .COM file growth; decrease in total system & available free memory Origin: Norway Eff Length: 479 Bytes Type Code: PRtCK - Parasitic Resident .COM Infector Detection Method: ViruScan, F-Prot, NAVDX, NAV, AVTK 7.68+, NShld, NAV/N, AVTK/N 7.68+ Removal Instructions: Delete infected files General Comments: The Graveyard-479 virus was received from Norway in July, 1993. It is a memory resident infector of .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM. When the first Graveyard-479 infected program is executed, the Graveyard-479 virus will install itself memory resident at the top of system memory but below the 640K DOS boundary, moving interrupt 12's return. Total system and available free memory, as indicated by the DOS CHKDSK program, will have decreased by 1,024 bytes. This virus directly hooks interrupt 21, though mapping programs will not show the virus having hooked this interrupt. Once the Graveyard-479 virus is memory resident, it will infect .COM programs, including COMMAND.COM, when they are executed. Infected programs will have a file length increase of 479 bytes with the virus being located at the end of the file. The program's date and time in the DOS disk directory listing will not be altered. The following text strings are encrypted within the Graveyard-479 viral code: "Graveyard!" "TCP1/X" It is unknown what Graveyard-479 may do besides replicate.