[dba-Tech] Beastie Boys CD installs virus

Apologies for the cross post, I just couldn't decide which group would
benefit more from seeing this :-)
 
Jon
 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/23/beastie_boy_cd_virus/
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/23/beastie_boy_cd_virus/> 
 
By Thomas C  <mailto:thomas.greene at theregister.co.uk> Greene
Published Wednesday 23rd June 2004 11:18 GMT

A new Beastie Boys' CD called "To the Five Boroughs" (Capitol Records), is
raising hackles around the Web for reputedly infecting computers with a
virus.

According to a recent
<http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/366502/2004-06-17/2004-06-23/1>
thread at BugTraq, an executable file is automatically and silently
installed on the user's machine when the CD is loaded. The file is said to
be a driver that prevents users from ripping the CD (and perhaps others),
and attacks both Windows boxen and Macs.

The infected CD is being distributed worldwide except in the USA and UK,
which prevents us from giving a firsthand report. However, according to
hearsay, we gather that the Windows version exploits the 'autorun' option,
and that the Mac version affects the auto play option.

On Windows, when a CD is loaded, a text file called autorun.inf is read, and
any instructions within it are executed. In this case, the machine is
instructed to install some manner of DRM driver that prevents copying. We
haven't seen either the .inf file or any of the executables, so we can't say
how or at what level it accomplishes this - or if indeed it actually does
accomplish this.

But assuming that the unconfirmed reports are accurate, we have here a media
company infecting users' machines silently with a file that affects a
computer's functionality, without first obtaining informed consent: a likely
violation of pretty much every jurisdiction's anti-hacking laws. It's
possible to foresee criminal charges being brought at some point: after all,
having a good reason for spreading malware has never been much of a defence
in court. And a file that alters a computer's functioning without the
owner's informed consent is the very definition of malware. Because this
malware can be transferred from machine to machine on a removable disk, and
requires user interaction to spread, it is, quite simply, a computer virus.
(A worm, on the other hand, is distinguished by its ability to spread
without user interaction.)


CD virus protection


Let's look at the ways this autorun business can be defeated. It's quite
easy to disable autorun in Windows by holding down the Shift key when
loading a CD. Unfortunately, this has to be done each time the CD is played.
However, it's easy to insert the CD once with the Shift key depressed, and
then simply rip the tracks to the hard disk. You can then use the CD in
other devices, and listen to your corresponding MP3s or whatever on your
computer.

You can also disable the autorun "feature" on your Windows machine
permanently so that this and other CDs infected with viruses won't affect
you in the future.

To do this, go to the Start menu ==> Run, and type in the command regedit.
Your registry editor will launch. Navigate to the following key, and edit as
shown:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom and set Autorun
DWORD=0

It might be necessary to create the value, thus: Data Type: DWORD Value
Name: Autorun Value: 0

As usual, you must reboot your Windows box for the changes to take effect.


Disinfection


The above procedure assumes that you haven't previously installed the
suspected Capitol Records virus, or a similar one from another fine
entertainment conglomerate. But if you have, you will need to find and
uninstall the malware first. The autorun.inf file on the CD will likely
indicate the name of the relevant file(s), the locations where they're
installed, and any registry changes made.

Armed with that information, go to the Windows 'uninstall' utility:

Start menu ==> Settings ==> Control Panel ==> Add or Remove Programs ==>
Change/Remove.

Look for any program files referenced in the autorun.inf file and uninstall
them. If no related programs are listed, you will need to launch the Windows
Search Companion and search for any files named in the autorun.inf file and
delete them manually. Be sure to activate the options in the "more advanced
features" dialog allowing you to search the entire disk (search system
folders, search hidden folders, and search subfolders).

Now, a word of caution: if the Capitol Records virus has updated a library
file or driver, deleting it might affect your system's functioning, and you
might need to re-install Windows to put things right again. (Carefully log
the time needed to do this and include it in your criminal complaint.)
However, deleting a foreign executable file is safe, so long as it's not one
you actually need. So be careful about file name spellings so that you don't
accidentally delete an important file that's spelt similar to the one you
wish to be rid of. ®



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