Counter

Classification

Category:

Malware

Type:

-

Platform:

-

Aliases:

Counter, Counter.A

Summary

WordMacro/Counter virus was found in October 1997.

The virus contains a counter displaying the generation number of the virus. This counter is incremented with every infection.

Removal

Automatic action

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.

Suspect a file is incorrectly detected (a False Positive)?

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 detection database 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.

For more Support

Community

Find the latest advice in our Community.

User Guide

See the user guide for your product on the Help Center.

Contact Support

Chat with or call an expert for help.

Submit a sample

Submit a file or URL for further analysis.

Technical Details

The virus contains 6 macros: Generation, ToolsMacro, FileTemplate, FileSave, FileClose and FileExit (or FileExit0 in Normal.Dot). The last tree macros begin with the following text:

 ' ---------------------------- ' | Written by Guy Incognito | ' |

 Bedford, England

 | ' | on 26/09/97
| ' ----------------------------

To protect itself the virus disables Tools/Macro and File/Templates menus.

Some macros contain the following text lines as comments:

 But all I wanna do is reproduce, man!A generation counterYou didn't say the magic word.Not in this house.

Probably the virus was written with idea to encrypt infected files when seconds are not 30, with password equals to amount of available disk space in bytes, but this part of virus body has been commented out.