Swiss_Boot

Classification

Category :

Malware

Type :

Virus

Aliases :

Swiss_Boot, Swiss Army

Summary

This is a DOS boot sector virus. It infects DOS boot sectors on floppies and on the active partition on a hard disk. It does not infect MBRs.

Removal

Based on the settings of your F-Secure security product, it will either move the file to the quarantine where it cannot spread or cause harm, or remove it.

A False Positive is when a file is incorrectly detected as harmful, usually because its code or behavior resembles known harmful programs. A False Positive will usually be fixed in a subsequent database update without any action needed on your part. If you wish, you may also:

  • Check for the latest database updates

    First check if your F-Secure security program is using the latest updates, then try scanning the file again.

  • Submit a sample

    After checking, if you still believe the file is incorrectly detected, you can submit a sample of it for re-analysis.

    Note: If the file was moved to quarantine, you need to collect the file from quarantine before you can submit it.

  • Exclude a file from further scanning

    If you are certain that the file is safe and want to continue using it, you can exclude it from further scanning by the F-Secure security product.

    Note: You need administrative rights to change the settings.

Technical Details

The virus is 3 sectors long. When it infects a hard disk it hides the original boot sector and its own two sectors to the last three sectors of the first partition. When it infects a floppy it hides the original boot sector and rest of itself to the two first unused clusters.

On the 7th of February this virus displays the following message and overwrites part of the hard disk:

Schaft die Schweizer Armee ab !

The Swiss_Boot virus is not related to the ExeBug virus at all, although one antivirus program will identify ExeBug as the 'Swiss' virus.