Central Command's EVRT Warns of Babylonia, an Internet Worm Spreading Around the World with a Collection of Advanced Infection Technologies

Business Wire, Dec 8, 1999

MEDINA, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1999--

The Emergency Virus Response Team(TM)(EVRT(TM)) at Central Command is issuing a virus alert about a new advanced virus that is capable of spreading through the internet and updating itself with plug-ins. Win95.Babylonia is the first virus that can infect a computer, spread via the Internet as a worm, and update itself with new features as they are released.

This virus infects Windows 95 systems; Windows help files, sends itself as an e-mail attachment, and can update itself with plug-ins. Using advanced technologies, Babylonia can infect and install itself into many different applications within the computer. By infecting Windows 95 applications Babylonia spreads like a normal virus by replicating through a system using a resident copy hidden in the background. Additionally, by contaminating Windows help files the Babylonia virus can use them as infection carriers, which greatly reduces the chances that an antivirus scanner can remove all traces of this virus. Working as an Internet worm, it patches the wsock32.dll application, part of the DLL files required to connect to the Internet, and then sends copies of the virus out as e-mail attachments. Lastly, while an infected user is online it connects to a website in Japan and adds additional utilities to itself as plug-ins.

"This mixture of features makes this virus one of the more advanced we have seen for sometime," said Keith Peer, President of Central Command Inc. "This virus includes technology ideas from the Chernobyl a.k.a.Win95.CIH virus with it's resident capabilities under Windows 95, I-Worm.Happy being able to patch the wsock32.dll file for spreading as an e-mail attachment, and WinHLP.Demo to infect Windows Help files."

More information about Babylonia can be read at http://www.avp.com

AntiViral Toolkit Pro has been updated to protect, detect and remove this virus from infected system. A fully functional time limited evaluation is available for download at http://www.avp.com.

About Central Command: Central Command Inc. is a privately held international company with headquarters in Medina, Ohio, USA. Founded in 1990 the company specializes in anti-virus protection products and focuses on serving the industrial market place, government, financial, educational institutions and service industries. Central Command Inc. may be found at http://www.avp.com.

About Kaspersky Lab: Kaspersky Lab is a fast-growing international company with offices in Moscow, Russia and Cambridge, UK. Started the business in 1992 it has concentrated in development of world-leading anti-virus technologies and software. Kaspersky Lab is a vendor of a world-known award-winning anti-virus product AntiViral Toolkit Pro (AVP). Kaspersky Lab can be found at http://www.avp.ru