Classification

Category :

Malware

Type :

Virus

Aliases :

Avalanche

Summary

This virus stays resident in memory and infects all executed COM and EXE files. Virus is encrypted with a simple 8-bit key. Avalanche uses 386-specific instructions and will crash on a 286 or lower.

Avalanche is a stealth virus, hiding itself from infected files if it is resident in memory. Boot clean before disinfecting.

Avalanche contains the following text:

AVALANCHE/Germany '94...Metal Junkie greets Neurobasher

It will delete the following antivirus programs when they are executed: F-PROT, TBAV, SCAN, MSAV, CPAV, TBMEM, TBFILE, TBSCAN and TBDRIVER.

This virus was reported to be in the wild in USA in March 1996.

There is another 2818 byte variant.

Removal

Based on the settings of your F-Secure security product, it will either move the file to the quarantine where it cannot spread or cause harm, or remove it.

A False Positive is when a file is incorrectly detected as harmful, usually because its code or behavior resembles known harmful programs. A False Positive will usually be fixed in a subsequent database update without any action needed on your part. If you wish, you may also:

  • Check for the latest database updates

    First check if your F-Secure security program is using the latest updates, then try scanning the file again.

  • Submit a sample

    After checking, if you still believe the file is incorrectly detected, you can submit a sample of it for re-analysis.

    Note: If the file was moved to quarantine, you need to collect the file from quarantine before you can submit it.

  • Exclude a file from further scanning

    If you are certain that the file is safe and want to continue using it, you can exclude it from further scanning by the F-Secure security product.

    Note: You need administrative rights to change the settings.

Technical Details

N/A