Classification

Category :

Backdoor

Type :

Virus

Aliases :

Major, Puppet, BBS-1643, MajorBBS

Summary

This virus got widespread in April 1996, because it was available in an infected file called CANCER01.ZIP in ftp site wuarchive.wustl.edu. In addition to the infected files inside CANCER01.ZIP, Major virus has been spread in files called TAP.EXE and FLASH.EXE (PKLited dropper).

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

Major tries to interact with the Major BBS system. Without further information on this BBS system, it is impossible to tell what the virus actually tries to do. In any case it tries to access files

\BBSV6\BBSAUDIT.DAT and \BBSV6\BBSUSR.DAT.
Major contains these encrypted texts:

The Major BBS Virus created by Major tomwn to DOS

 Puppet Image Gnat Minion Cindy F'nor 	 	

As many other memory-resident viruses, Major will conflict with some memory managers.

Major virus has been confirmed to be in the wild in several countries.