Pikachu
| Pikachu | |
|---|---|
| Type | Virus/Email Worm |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Date Discovered | 2000.06 |
| Place of Origin | |
| Source Language | Visual Basic 6.0 |
| Platform | MS Windows |
| File Type(s) | .exe |
| Infection Length | 32K bytes |
| Reported Costs | |
Pikachu, or Pokey, was a batch virus that was distributed in the year 2000 through Microsoft Outlook. The program was written in Visual Basic.
Behavior
The virus spread through emails with itself attached. The message goes as follows:
Subject:
Pikachu Pokemon.
Text:
Great Friend!
Pikachu from Pokemon Theme have some friendly
words to say.
Visit Pikachu at http:/www.pikachu.com
See you.
Upon executing the attached file, “PikachuPokemon.exe”, AutoExec.bat would be overwritten with instructions to wipe the operating system’s host drive. However, the code was poorly written and the file deletion could be easily halted. The user’s email would then be hijacked to send out the virus to as many recipients as possible. The program also displayed the following message to the user:
Origin
In the year 2000, the Pokémon franchise was becoming extremely popular with children. It’s likely that, upon seeing this, the creator of the worm saw kids as vulnerable targets. Children, not knowing better, would then execute the file and infect their computers.
Sources
Kaspersky, https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/Virus.BAT.Pikachu/