F-Secure Virus Descriptions : Pieck

NAME:	Pieck
TYPE:	Resident MBR EXE-files Stealth
SIZE:	2016
ORIGIN:	Poland

Pieck has some similarities to the Tequila virus. It's a multipartite virus which infects the MBR when an infected file is run. After next boot, the virus goes resident and infects EXE files when they are executed or accessed. However, EXE files are infected in floppy drives only. If infected EXE files are accessed on hard drives, the virus will disinfect them!

Pieck is a stealth virus, so changes made to MBR and EXE files are not visible as long as the virus is resident.

Pieck activates on third of March, every year. At this date, it decrypt and display this message:

                Podaj haslo ?

Which means "Password?". The correct password is 'PIECK'. If an incorrect answer is given, the virus displays 'Blad!' (which means 'Bad!') and makes the machine unbootable. Correct password is greeted with a new message:

        Pozdrowienia dla wynchowankow Pieck'a.

('Greetings to "wychowankow" Pieck').

Pieck was known to be in the wild in Eastern Europe in 1995 and in Germany in early 1996.

VARIANT: Pieck.4444

ALIAS: Kaczor

If the word "kaczor" is typed on the keyboard of an infected machine, the virus disinfects the MBR and displays this text:

        Zrobione.

If the word "test" is written, the virus displays these texts:

        Wersja
        Kodowanie
        Licznik HD

Otherwise this variant is similar to Pieck.2016 but activates by shaking the screen rapidly causing serious screen flicker on every 3rd of March. It also has some problems infecting files on 3.5" floppies.

Pieck.4444 is known to be in the wild internationally.

[Analysis: Peter Szor, F-Secure, 1996]