Virus from a .GIF file?

[az]

So this is actually less harmful than other viruses, and more a proof of concept? Seems not very efficient to have a file infecting a JPEG file, and when the latter is executed, infecting yet another one JPEG file...

AZ

[VJ]

Actually, IE just identifies the file by its extension, and thus tries to open it.
Do some of you here still remeber the thread "I've hacked some user's harddisk" in this forum ? It pointed towards a website on which your own C-drive was shown (simple: url=file:\\c:\). In the location bar however, it appeared as a gif file. This site only worked with IE, as both Opera and Netscape report that they cannot load that particular gif-file (as it wasn't a gif file).
Perhaps it was something similar here ?


Jörg

[Gurm]

*ahem*

I stand by my original contention - if you don't ALREADY have ANOTHER virus (or virus component) on your system, viewing ANY image file is HARMLESS.

- Gurm

[Technoid]

I concede with Gurm!

I had a selfextracting Zip file where the exe part was infected with CIH, But it was posible to load the file in winzip without getting infected because the file was never executed....

[xortam]

Go back and read my original posts. Its not a hoax ... its as I described. The extractor component launches the code extracted from the infected JPEG file.

[Gurm]

Right, but you have to have the extractor first, which you won't get if you have a decent antivirus program.

- Gurm

[xortam]

You just can't come right out and admit that you were wrong, can you Gurm?
You insisted that what I described was a hoax and we should trust your word. I proved otherwise. Yes, this requires a separate launcher/extractor. Yes, an up to date anti-virus package will catch the extractor, just like most viruses.

Note also the concern expressed in the following paragraphs of the article:

What makes Perrun so remarkable, according to security experts, is that it is the first viral program with multiple parts and the ability to carry viral code from programs into data files. Until now, data files were relatively immune to infection. Not so anymore, say experts. ...

Vincent Gullotto, antivirus researcher for McAfee Security was quoted as saying that Perrun is indicative of a very destructive pattern in the development of viruses and that it could be a sign of things to come for the exchange of JPEG files.

[VJ]

Gurm:
I tend to agree with you, but it is possible in a html file to specify another file besides .gif, and IE will try to open it. It does not verify the type, it just considers it as a file it should open, and thus tries so. And in case it is a script, it will be executed (this problem might have been solved by patches).
There must be people here that remember that thread?


I won't comment on the jpg-files. It seems unlogical, but I'm not saying it is impossible.


Jörg