Threat Descriptions

Sylvia

Classification

Category :

Malware

Type :

Virus

Platform :

-

Aliases :

Sylvia, Holland Girl

Summary

This virus is a bit unusual, to say the least. It contains the following message: 

Thisprogram is
 infected

 by a
HARMLESS

Text-Virus V2.1
Send a FUNNY postcard to : Sylvia Verkade,

 Duinzoom 36b,

 3235 CD Rockanje

 The Netherlands.
You might get an ANTIVIRUS program.....

It will display this message when an infected program is executed, but if the above text is tampered with, the following message, (which is stored in an encrypted form) will appear instead: 

FUCK YOU LAMER !!!!

system halted...$

Some people have a weird sense of humor...

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

Two versions are known, only slightly different - possibly modified to avoid some anti-virus program. When an infected program is run, the virus will seek out up to 5 .COM files to infect. It will search drive C: and the current drive. The three system files, COMMAND.COM, IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM are not infected. The virus adds 1301 bytes to the beginning of the files it infects (and also 31 bytes to the end), but does no other damage. The girl mentioned above exists, but she says that she has no idea who the author is, although there is a rumor he is her ex-boyfriend.