W32.Plage.Worm | 
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W32.Plage.Worm is a memory resident worm discovered on Jan 13, 2000. The worm replies on MAPI32 and propagates by replying to unread email with the following message body:
I'll try to reply as soon as possible.
Take a look to the attachment and send me your opinion!
> Get your FREE P2000 now! <
The attachment has a file size of 102,400 bytes and will have one of the following filenames: pics.exe, images.exe, joke.exe, PsPGame.exe, news_doc.exe, hamster.exe, tamagotxi.exe, searchURL.exe, SETUP.EXE, Card.EXE, billgt.exe, midsong.exe, s3msong.exe, docs.exe, humor.exe, or fun.exe
When the attachment is executed it will display the following dialog box:
Next, it will display the following fake error message to fool the user in to believing the file is corrupted:
The worm will copy itself into the Windows directory under the file name INETD.EXE. Also, the worm will modify the WIN.INI file's run line to load itself into memory as INETD.EXE under Windows 95/98 and will modify the registry to load itself under Windows NT. Under Windows 95/98, the worm task is not visible on the task bar since it runs as a service.
When the day of the week is Wednesday and the time is between 12:00AM and 2:00AM, the worm will prepare a dialog box with an animated bitmap and text, and tries to display it.
Bitmap:
Text:
Fight against the plage of inhumanity.
This is Plage 2000 coded by Bumblebee/29a._Plage 2000
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 (for example, all Windows-based computers should have the current Service Pack installed.). Additionally, please apply any security updates that are mentioned in this writeup, in trusted Security Bulletins, or on vendor Web sites.
- 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.
If you believe you have been infected, please download the latest virus definitions via LiveUpdate or from the Symantec Security Response Web site.
- Click here for instructions on using LiveUpdate to retrieve virus definitions.
- Click here to manually download and install virus definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site.
Write-up by: Motoaki Yamamura and Peter Szor
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