Malware Defense History

by Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov.

Copyright: Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov 1994-2013. Unpublished notes. Version 0.80.October, 2013

Contents : Foreword : Ch01 : Ch02 : Ch03  : Ch04 : Ch05 : Ch06 : Ch07 : Ch08 : Ch09 : Ch10 : Ch11 : Ch12 : Ch13

Chapter 6: Mail Worms

Beagle Worm

Beagle is a mass-mailing worm that will only work until 28th of January. This worm will insert several files and registry keys on the system. It will also access remote websites, and email all contacts it can find. The emails sent by this worm will have the following characteristics:

Subject: Hi
Message:
Test =)
<Random characters>
--
Test, yep.
Filename: <Random>.exe
Filesize: 16Kbytes
 

Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) * January 18, 2004 Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate™) ** January 18, 2004 * Intelligent Updater definitions are released daily, but require manual download and installation. Click here to download manually. ** LiveUpdate virus definitions are usually released every Wednesday. Click here for instructions on using LiveUpdate.

Damage

• Payload Trigger: n/a
• Payload: n/a
  • Large scale e-mailing: Emails all contacts it can find inside files with the extensions .wab, .htm, .html and .txt
  • Deletes files: n/a
  • Modifies files: n/a
  • Degrades performance: n/a
  • Causes system instability: n/a
  • Releases confidential info: n/a
  • Compromises security settings: n/a

Distribution

• Subject of email: Hi
• Name of attachment: [Random]
• Size of attachment: 16Kbytes
• Time stamp of attachment: n/a
• Ports: n/a
• Shared drives: n/a
• Target of infection: n/a

When W32.Beagle.A@mm is executed, it will do the following.
 

1. Check if the date on the system is later then Jan 28th, 2004. If so, do not do anything.
   
    
2. Insert the file %system%\bbeagle.exe
    

   ---

   Note: %System% is a variable. The worm locates the System folder and copies itself to that location. By default, this is C:\Windows\System (Windows 95/98/Me), C:\Winnt\System32 (Windows NT/2000), or C:\Windows\System32 (Windows XP).

   ---

    

3. Launch calc.exe.
   
    
4. Create the following registry keys:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, "d3update.exe" = "%system%\bbeagle.exe"
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows98, "uid" = "[Random Value]"
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows98, "frun" = "1"
   
    
5. Scan the system for all files with the extensions .wab, .txt, .htm and .html. Find email addresses in these files, and email the worm to all found contacts. The email will have the following characteristics:
   
   Subject: Hi
   
   Message:
   
   Test =)
   <Random characters>
   --
   Test, yep.
   
   Filename: <Random>.exe
   
   Filesize: 16Kbytes
    
6. Access a website from a static list in the body of the worm. On the website, access a script called 1.php. At the time of writing it was not possible to access any of the scripts, although this can change at any time. It is unclear what exactly the scripts are used for, but it is possible that they are used to track infected users.
   

• Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
• If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
• Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
• Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
• Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
• Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
• Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines:
 

• "How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore"
• "How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore"

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure, and you are satisfied that the threat has been removed, you should reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, "Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder," Article ID: Q263455.

2. Updating the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:

• Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions: These virus definitions are posted to the LiveUpdate servers once each week (usually on Wednesdays), unless there is a major virus outbreak. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by LiveUpdate, refer to the Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate).
• Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted on U.S. business days (Monday through Friday). You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to the Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).
  
  The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are available: Read "How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater" for detailed instructions.

3. Deleting the value from the registry

 

WARNING: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified keys only. Read the document, "How to make a backup of the Windows registry," for instructions.

1. Click Start, and then click Run. (The Run dialog box appears.)
   
    
2. Type regedit
   
   Then click OK. (The Registry Editor opens.)
   
    
3. Navigate to the key:
   
   HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   
    
4. In the right pane, delete the value:
   
   "d3update.exe" = "%system%\bbeagle.exe"
   
    
5. Exit the Registry Editor and reboot the system.

4. Scanning for and deleting the infected files:

1. Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.
   • For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document, "How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files."
   • For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document, "How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files."
2. Run a full system scan.
3. If any files are detected as infected with W32.Beagle.A@mm, click Delete.
4. 

Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotes :  Somerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose Bierce :  Bernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOS :  Programming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC development :  Scripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-Month :  How to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D

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Last modified: March 12, 2019