Mike's VIRUS INFO PAGES
To VIRUS INFO main
To Mike's VIRUS INFO Page 2
To Mike's VIRUS INFO HACKFIX TIPS Page 3
To HACKFIX PROGRAM UPDATES Page 4
To ME_XP Restore
Uninstalling_Norton_AV
Mike's VirusInfo Virus Information Feeds
Mike's Virus Removers
VIRUS ALERTS Feed
My Doom Information
NETSKY P information

W32Zafi-D  Christmas Virus Makes the Rounds  

Name W32/Zafi-D   Medium threat

**Panda has one of the best grahical descriptions ~  Mike
http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia/overview.aspx?IdVirus=56161&sind=0

Type  Worm

How it spreads   Email attachments
Peer-to-peer

Affected operating systems Windows

Side effects Sends itself to email addresses found on the infected computer
Installs itself in the Registry

Aliases Email-Worm.Win32.Zafi.d
W32/Zafi.d@MM

Protection Download virus identity (IDE) file  
Protection available since 14 December 2004 11:56:00 (GMT)  
Included in our products from February 2005 (3.90)
More information on IDE files What are IDE files?
How to use IDE files
Get the latest IDE files

Staying up to date
EM Library, part of the Enterprise Manager suite of management tools, allows
fully automated web-based installation and updating of Sophos Anti-Virus on
a wide range of platforms. If you're using one of our enterprise solutions
and aren't already using EM Library, check it out now. Users of our small
business solutions are automatically updated by Sophos AutoUpdate.


Description
This section helps you to understand how it behaves
W32/Zafi-D is a mass mailing worm and peer-to-peer worm.

W32/Zafi-D copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename
Norton Update.exe.

W32/Zafi-D creates a number of files in the Windows system folder with
filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. Some of
these are exact or zipped copies of the worm, detected as W32/Zafi-D, while
others are log files created by the worm.

W32/Zafi-D harvests email addresses from the Windows Address Book and from
files found on the hard drive.

W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or
music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe.

W32/Zafi-D displays an fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh"
and the text "Error in packed file!".


Recovery
This section tells you how to disinfect.
Please follow the instructions for removing worms.


Advanced
This section is for technical experts who want to know more.  
W32/Zafi-D is a mass mailing and peer-to-peer worm.

W32/Zafi-D copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename
Norton Update.exe and creates the following entry in the registry so as to
run itself when a user logs on:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\
Wxp4

W32/Zafi-D creates a number of files in the Windows system folder with
filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. Some of
these are exact or zipped copies of the worm, detected as W32/Zafi-D, while
others are log files created by the worm.

W32/Zafi-D attempts to terminate processes related to files found in folders
that have names containing the following strings:

syman, viru, trend, secur, panda, cafee, sopho, kasper

W32/Zafi-D attempts to open files containing the following strings and keep
them open so as to make them inaccessible to the user:

reged, msconfig, task

W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders containing one of the following strings:


share, upload, music

W32/Zafi-D copies itself to these folders with one of the following
filenames:

ICQ 2005a new!.exe
winamp 5.7 new!.exe

W32/Zafi-D harvests email addresses from the Windows Address Book and from
files it finds with the extensions HTM, WAB, TXT, DBX, TBB, ASP, PHP, SHT,
ADB, MBX, EML, PMR, FPT or INB.

W32/Zafi-D may copy the file from which it is harvesting addresses to
C:\S.CM.

W32/Zafi-D does not harvest addresses that contain the following words:

yaho, google, win, use, info, help, admi, webm, micro, msn, hotm, suppor,
syman, viru, trend, secur, panda, cafee, sopho, kasper

W32/Zafi-D does not harvest addresses that contain 16 or more digits.

W32/Zafi-D may generate random addresses using harvested domain names.

W32/Zafi-D produces emails with the following characteristics depending on
the nationality of the recipient, which it gathers from the region-specific
top-level domain (e.g. .uk, .de, .fr, .nl etc.)

From line: This is either a name gathered from the host email setup or one
of the following:

Pamela M.
T. Antonio
J. Martin
V. Dusan
R. Cornel
H. Irene
S. Ewa
C. Lina
M. Virtanen
M. Emma
J. Andersson
V. Jensen
V. Tatyana
N. Fernandez
T. Maria

Subject line: This can start either "Re:", "Fw:" or with nothing, continuing
with one of the following:

Merry Christmas!
Buon Natale!
Joyeux Noel!
Christmas pohlednice
Prettige Kerstdagen!
Weihnachen card.
Christmas - Kertki!
Christmas - Atviruka!
Christmas postikorti!
Christmas Postkort!
Christmas Vykort!
Christmas Kort!
ecard.ru
Feliz Navidad!
boldog karacsony...

Message body: This is in plain text and html format. Both consist either of
two words or spaces, followed by a smiley and the sender name from the
subject line. In the html the words or spaces are separated by "...."
strings and an lewd animated GIF file of two smileys and the line starts and
ends in asterisks. The html text ends in a string containing a domain name
followed by the text "Picture Size: 11 KB, Mail +OK".
The words used in the text are from the following, or using non-Roman
characters:

Happy Hollydays!
Buon Natale!
Joyeux Noel!
Prettige Kerstdagen!
Frohliche Wiehnachten!
Wesolych Swiat!
Naujieji Metai!
Iloista Joulua!
God Jul!
Glaedelig Jul!
Feliz Navidad
Kellemes Unnepeket!

Attached filename: This starts "link." or nothing, followed by one name from
the following list:

postcard.
cartoline.
ecarte.
phlednice.
kerstdagen.
weihnachten.
kartki.
atviruka.
postikorti.
postkort.
vykort.
ekort.
card.
navidad.
karacsony.

This is then followed by "christmas." or nothing, then by "index." or
nothing.

The attachment then has one of the following fake extensions followed by 4
random digits:

.php
.htm
.jpg
.gif

The attachment has one of the following actual extensions:

.cmd
.bat
.pif
.com
.zip

If the attachment is a ZIP file then the worm inside it has a filename of
one of the following:

postcard.
wishcard.
xmascard.
giftcard.

This is followed by either "id" or "php", four random digits and one of the
following extensions:

.cmd
.bat
.pif
.com

For example, the attached file may be a zip file named
atviruka.christmas.index.jpg6245.zip containing a copy of the virus named
wishcard.id8302.cmd

W32/Zafi-D creates entries in the registry, some related to file it drops
and some related to system information. The entries are all at
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Wxp4\ with some of the following values:

t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7, t8, t9, tA, tB, tC, tD, tE, tZ, rB, rC,
mA, mB, mC, ... , mX, mY, mZ
lA, lB, lC, ... , lX, lY, lZ

W32/Zafi-D displays an fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh"
and the text "Error in packed file!".

From; PC-magazin Germany
http://www.pc-magazin.de/praxis/sicherheit/cm/virenecke/show_sophos.php?id=78
0

Aliases;
Email-Worm.Win32.Zafi.d (AVP), Nocard.A@mm (Norman), W32.Erkez.D@mm
(Symantec), W32/Zafi-D (Sophos), WORM_ZAFI.D (Trend)

Mcaffe
http://us.mcafee.com/root/campaign.asp?cid=12942
Panda
http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/encyclopedia/overview.aspx?IdVirus=56161&sind=0
Secunia
http://secunia.com/virus_information/13874/
Sophos
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32zafid.html
Symantec
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.erkez.d@mm.html
Trend;
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?VName=WORM_ZAFI.D

 

---

---

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

• Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
• If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
• Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
• Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
• Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
• Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
• Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.

 

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.

1. Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
2. Update the virus definitions.
3. Restart the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode.
4. Run a full system scan and delete all the files detected as W32.Netsky.F@mm.
5. Delete the value that was added to the registry.
   

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. Disabling System Restore (Windows Me/XP) 1. Disabling System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:

• "How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore"
• "How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore"

---

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, re-enable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.Note:

---

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, "Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder,"Article ID: Q263455.

2. Updating the virus definitions 2. Updating the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:

• Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions: These virus definitions are posted to the LiveUpdate servers once each week (usually on Wednesdays), unless there is a major virus outbreak. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by LiveUpdate, refer to the Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate).
• Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted on U.S. business days (Monday through Friday). You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to the Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).
  
  The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are available: Read "How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater" for detailed instructions.

3. Restarting the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode 3. Restarting the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode

Shut down the computer and turn off the power. Wait for at least 30 seconds, and then restart the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode.

• For Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, or XP users, restart the computer in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, "How to start the computer in Safe Mode."
• For Windows NT 4 users, restart the computer in VGA mode.

4. Scanning for and deleting the infected files 4. Scanning for and deleting the infected files

1. Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.
   • For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document, "How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files."
   • For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document, "How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files."
2. Run a full system scan.
3. If any files are detected as infected with W32.Netsky.F@mm, click Delete.

5. Deleting the value from the registry 5. Deleting the value from the registry

---

WARNING:Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified keys only. Read the document, "How to make a backup of the Windows registry," for instructions.WARNING: How to make a backup of the Windows registry

---

1. Click Start, and then click Run. (The Run dialog box appears.)
   
2. Type regedit
   
   Then click OK. (The Registry Editor opens.)
   
   
3. Navigate to the key:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   
   
4. In the right pane, delete the value:
   
   "Zone Labs Client Ex"="%windir%\svchost.exe -antivirus service"
   
   
5. Exit the Registry Editor.

---

See Also:

Computer Associates;
http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/virus.aspx?ID=38479

F-Prot; http://www.f-prot.com/virusinfo/descriptions/netsky_f.html

MacAfee;
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=101073

Sophos;
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32netskyf.html

---