North Star II Virus - Amiga Virus Encyclopedia

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Amiga Virus Encyclopedia
North Star II Virus
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==== Computer Virus Catalog 1.2: NORTH STAR II Virus (5-June-1990) ====
Entry...............: NORTH STAR II Antivirus Virus
Alias(es)...........: ---
Virus Strain........: NORTH STAR Antivirus Virus
Virus detected when.: October 1988
              where.: Elmshorn, FRG
Classification......: system virus (bootblock), resident
Length of Virus.....: 1. length on storage medium: 1024 byte
                      2. length in RAM           : 1024 byte
--------------------- Preconditions -----------------------------------
Operating System(s).: AMIGA-DOS
Version/Release.....: 1.2/33.166, 1.2/33.180 and 1.3/34.20
Computer model(s)...: AMIGA 500, AMIGA 1000, AMIGA 2000A, AMIGA 2000B
--------------------- Attributes --------------------------------------
Easy Identification.: typical text: 'VIRUS Detected on Disk! STARFIRE/
                         NORTH STAR', 'OLD AntiVirus.  STARFIRE/NORTH
                         STAR', 'My AntiVirus is Better! STARFIRE/
                         NORTH STAR'
                      virus feature: pressing left mouse/fire button of
                         port 2 during system reboot, causes the power
                         LED to blink fast; detection of some viruses
                         (see below)
Type of infection...: self-identification method: 'Nort' at 19th byte,
                         'Star' at 25th byte, 15th word (version)
                      system infection: RAM resident, reset resident,
                         bootblock
Infection Trigger...: reset (CONTROL + Left-AMIGA + RIGHT-AMIGA)
Storage media affected: only floppy disks (3.5" and 5.25")
Interrupts hooked...: ---
Damage..............: permanent damage: overwrites bootblock; disks
                         infected with a known virus can't be booted
                         without deprotecting (and infecting) them
                      transient damage: screen buffer manipulation:
                         alert box when detecting a known virus or an
                         older version of this virus
Damage Trigger......: permanent damage: reset
                      transient damage: detecting a known virus (see
                                        below)
Particularities.....: resident programs using the CoolCaptureVector or
                         the KickTagPointer are shut down
                         version id:                15th word
                         copy counter:              16th word
                         detects and counts following viruses:
                         SCA and clones:           counter (17th word)
                         BYTE BANDIT:              counter (18th word)
                         NORTH STAR I:             counter (19th word)
                         SYSTEM Z lower than V3.0: counter (20th word)
Similarities........: NORTH STAR I virus
--------------------- Agents ------------------------------------------
Countermeasures.....: Names of tested products of Category 1-6:
                      Category 1: .2 Monitoring System Vectors:
                                     'CHECKVECTORS 2.2'
                                  .3 Monitoring System Areas:
                                     'CHECKVECTORS 2.2','GUARDIAN 1.2',
                                     'VIRUSX 4.0'
                      Category 2: Alteration Detection: ---
                      Category 3: Eradication: 'CHECKVECTORS 2.2',
                                     'VIRUSX 4.0'
                      Category 4: Vaccine: ---
                      Category 5: Hardware Methods: ---
                      Category 6: Cryptographic Methods: ---
Countermeasures successful: 'CHECKVECTORS 2.2', 'GUARDIAN 1.2',
                                     'VIRUSX 4.0'
Standard means......: 'CHECKVECTORS 2.2'
--------------------- Acknowledgement ---------------------------------
Location............: Virus Test Center, University Hamburg, FRG
Classification by...: Oliver Meng
Documentation by....: Alfred Manthey Rojas
Date................: 5-June-1990
Information Source..: ---
===================== End of NORTH STAR II Virus ======================

Antivirus...........: Kickstart 1.2 & 1.3 : VT-Schutz v3.17
                      Kickstart all others: VirusZ III v1.04B or higher, and also Xvs.library v33.47 or higher


Screenshot of NorthStar II Virus:
 


Ascii of North Star II virus:





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