Summary
This is a stealth boot sectors virus, infecting floppy boot sectors on all floppy types and hard disk MBRs.
FindMe activates on the 26th of December and 26th of May. At these dates it overwrites the CMOS setup information.
FindMe overwrites the floppy boot sector OEM name with text "FIND_ME".
Removal
Do not use FDISK /MBR to clean FindMe: you will loose all your data.
Note: When disinfecting FindMe with F-PROT after a floppy boot, use the command F-PROT /HARD /DISINF instead of using F-PROT C:, or just run F-PROT in interactive mode and scan 'Hard disk' with disinfection option on. After disinfection, error message 'No hard disk found' is normal: just reboot after the disinfection is done and you should see your hard drive again.
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
FindMe does not let the original partition table remain in its proper place in the Master Boot Record, as most other MBR viruses do. This causes the hard disk to be inaccesible after a floppy boot, since the operating system cannot find valid partition data in the Master Boot Record - attempts to use the hard disk result in the DOS error message "Invalid drive specification".
When the computer is booted from the hard disk, the virus is executed first, and the hard disk can thereafter be used normally. The virus is not, therefore, easily noticeable, unless the computer is booted from a diskette.
FindMe was found in the wild in Norway in September 1996.
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