ALIAS:	W32/Netsky.W@mm, I-Worm.Netsky.o
SIZE:	24064

NetSky.W worm variant was discovered on April 16th, 2004. Although it has been just discovered, this variant is much more similar to NetSky.P or NetSky.Q than to any of the later variants. In fact, its structure bears a striking resemblance to that of NetSky.P, so only some differences among them will be listed on this description. This variant does not spread through P2P networks, as NetSky.P does.

Automatic Disinfection

Allow F-Secure Anti-Virus to disinfect the relevant files.

For more general information on disinfection, please see Removal Instructions.

Eliminating a Local Network Outbreak

If the infection is in a local network, please follow the instructions on this webpage:

Installation to system

Upon execution Netsky.W copies itself as VisualGuard.exe file to the Windows folder. The worm adds a startup key for itself into System Registry:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
 "NetDy" = "%WinDir%\VisualGuard.exe"

where %WinDir% represents Windows folder name.

Additionally the worm drops the following files into Windows folder:

 zipped.tmp
 base64.tmp
 zip1.tmp
 zip2.tmp
 zip3.tmp

Email Spreading

Most of the email spreading functionality is similar or identical to NetSky.P.

Deleting Registry keys and disinfecting Bagle worm

NetSky.W worm removes Registry keys of several Bagle worm variants if it finds them on an infected computer.