Summary
Choke is a worm that utilises MSN Messenger for spreading. It sends itself using filenames like 'ShootPresidentBUSH.exe', 'choke.exe' and 'George.W.Bush@whitehouse.gov' as username.
Removal
F-Secure Anti-Virus with the latest updates detects and removes it. To remove it it's enough to delete the file 'c:\choke.exe'. If it's locked exit to DOS first then delete 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
When executed it copies itself to 'c:\choke.exe' and creates a key in the registry under
'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'
with the name 'Choke' and the value 'c:\choke.exe -blahhh' to ensure that it will be started at every system startup. After this it exits with and error message saying
'This program needs Flash 6.5 to run!'
It creates a file 'c:\about.txt' with this content:
Choke , Copyright 1886 ... A MAD CHRISTIAN --------------------------------------- Go talk swearwords about God You all will die, stupid humans. You fools didn't see what you have done Bye slut, go talk shit about me. (Call me a 'psychophatt', but I respect the Creator of life...) ' Consider your earth '
The worm sends messages to random ICQ users (using 'xxxxxxx@pager.icq.com') saying:
'Micro$oft invites you to use MSN Messenger!'
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