Computer users warned against destructive virus
ISLAMABAD- Computer users have been warned against the CIH destructive virus, which may strike the computers all over the world on April 26 and destroy all data.
On April 26, 1999, the virus struck for the first time causing many computer users to lose their data. Although the virus is rather old, computer experts still believe the virus is in the wild and may cause damage to computer users who use outdated virus definitions, or who do not use anti-virus software.
The CIH virus, also known as Chernobyl, was first discovered in June 1998 in Taiwan. According to the Taipei authorities, Chen Ing-hau wrote the CIH virus and the name of the virus is derived from his initials.
The virus becomes resident in memory when an infected programme is run and it infects other files when accessed. As of April 1999, three known, similar variants of this virus exist. CIH versions 1.2 and 1.3 have a payload that will trigger on April 26, commemorating Chernobyl, the Soviet nuclear disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986.
The first payload overwrites the hard disk with random data, starting at the beginning of the disk (sector 0) using an infinite loop. The overwriting of the sectors does not stop until the system has crashed. As a result, the computer will not boot from the hard disk or floppy disk.
Also, the data that has been overwritten on the hard disk will be very difficult or impossible to recover. The second payload tries to cause permanent damage to the computer. This payload attacks the Flash BIOS and tries to corrupt the data stored there. As a result, nothing may be displayed when one starts the computer.
The experts have advised the computer users not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, not to execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses.
Another way of avoiding this virus is to change the date of the computer, skipping April 26.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:4/25/2003
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