New Macintosh Virus Discovered



Author: 

Date: April, 1994

Keywords: INIT-29-B Disinfectant

Text:
New Macintosh Virus Discovered
     Virus: INIT-29-B 
     Damage: Alters applications, system files, and documents. May
cause unexpected program failures or system crashes. 
     Spread: few reported cases yet, but might have spread widely. 
     Systems affected: All Apple Macintosh computers, all systems.
      The INIT-29 virus first appeared in late 1988. We do not know
much about its origin.  A variant of the INIT-29 virus has recently
been discovered at a West Coast U.S. site.  Its behavior is similar to
that of the original INIT-29 virus.
      Both strains of INIT-29 spread quickly and widely.  INIT-29
viruses will alter and infect almost every kind of file, including
document (data) files; infected document files do not spread the
INIT-29 virus, however.  All versions of INIT-29 will infect both
applications and systems files, and will spread from those files.  An
application on an infected computer may itself become infected even if
it is not launched or executed.
      INIT-29 viruses may reveal themselves when a locked floppy disk
is inserted in the disk drive. An infected Mac will display the alert:
The disk ''xxxxx'' needs minor repairs. Do you want to repair it?
      Previous experience with the original INIT-29 virus indicates
that the INIT-29-B version may cause printing problems and unexpected
crashes. Some applications may fail to run correctly.  Damage may occur
as a result of the file and application modifications.
      Check with the publisher of your anit-viral software for possible
upgrade availability.
     Finding the INIT-29-B virus follows quickly on the discovery last
month of the virus INIT-9403 which affects only the Italian version of
the Mac operating system.
     SMUG will have Disinfectant 3.5 available at the next meeting. 
Bring a formatted disk. Both Disinfectant 3.5 and the most recent
revision of Symantec's SAM anti-virus strings are available for
download on SMUGgler's BBS.

Copyright © april, 1994 by Date: April, 1994