Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: RZOTTO@DKNKURZ1.BITNET (Otto.Stolz) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: re: Anyone recognize this virus? (PC) Message-ID: <0001.9011061327.AA14231@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 5 Nov 90 11:15:58 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 22 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu > ... it completely erases your hard drive and then reformats it > ... or is this a rather common virus effect Indeed! It is most destructive and pretty easy to program, hence it this sort of damage is one of the favourites of virus writers. As examples, I've send you the following memo files (most of them containing descriptions of several variants): DATACRIM PCMEMO (both variants) DENZUG PCMEMO (cf. variant SYS-B) MERRITT PCMEMO (cf. ALAMEDA & GOLDEN GATE) VIENNA PCMEMO (several variants render arbitrary program into low-level hard-disk formatter) 12-TRICK PCMEMO Try to identify the beast you are hosting according to the "easy identification" sections in some of the descriptions, or use virus scan programs (e.g. McAfee's SCAN, or Frisk's F-DISINF and F-FCHK from the F-PROT package). Good luck Otto Stolz