This virus was first found in Iceland in June '89. It only infects files with names ending in .EXE. When an infected program is run, it will hide in memory by directly manipulating the Memory Control Blocks. Programs that watch out for any program "going TSR" will therefore not be able to catch it.
This virus will mark one cluster on the hard disk as bad, every time it infects a file, but it only infects one out of every 10 files executed.
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.
Variant:Saratoga
A minor variant of this virus was later found in Saratoga. It was 642 bytes long, and had a 50% chance of infecting programs as they were executed.
Variant:Icelandic-2
This modified version appeared in Iceland in July '89. It does not use INT 21 calls like the original, but instead makes direct JMPs into the operating systems. This means that many protection programs will be unable to catch it. This variant has no effects other than replicating.
Variant:December 24th
This virus was discovered in Iceland on Dec. 24th 1989. Several computers refused to run any programs at all on that date, but simply displayed the message "GleÅ’ileg j¢l" ("Merry Christmas" in Icelandic) instead. The virus is a variant of the Icelandic-2 virus, but with several minor corrections and modifications.