Ungame | |
---|---|
Type | File virus |
Creator | |
Date Discovered | 1992 |
Place of Origin | |
Source Language | |
Platform | DOS |
File Type(s) | .com, .exe |
Infection Length | 766 bytes |
Reported Costs |
Ungame is a DOS file virus appearing some time in 1992. A number of variants were produced in the early and mid-1990s. The original and its variants had variable payloads that included sound, video and displayed text.
Behavior
When the virus is executed, it becomes memory resident. It reserves 768 bytes at the top of free memory for itself, and hooks Int 21h and Int 18h. As each file is executed, it checks for the sting "Dr" at the end of the file to avoid infecting files more than once. It infects all files that are 3 and 61441 bytes long as they are executed.
The virus checks the video mode every 4,096 timer ticks and if the video mode is 4, 13, or 19. It has 8 possible payloads. Among these are a reboot, video and/or music, and the message "Come On, no.51, You Time is Up.".
Just before the "Dr" at the end of the file, the string "UnGame" can be found.
Variants
There are 7 members of the Ungame family, ranging in sizes from 544 to 1065. The original is 766 bytes long. The first variant was Ungame.770, which was almost totally similar to the original, and appeared in summer of 1993. There is little difference in functionality between them. In 1053 and 1056, the text strings "9 November" and "GamE-FuckingeR 1.0 (c) The Dniester Moldavian Republic" can be found.
Other facts
"Ungame" has also been used for the name of a software product as well as a game. Ungame, developed by DVD Software Inc., deletes games from corporate computers using file signatures, much like an antivirus program. Though the product was successful, with customers including Oregon State University and Amoco Oil, it does not appear to exist any longer. The Ungame is also the name of a game created by Rhea Kazich in 1972 when polyps found on her vocal cords caused her to be temporarily unable to speak.
Sources
F-Secure, Ungame.
F-PROT 2.06 Update Bulletin. 1992
The Virus Bulletin, August 1993. 1993.08
Greg Miller. LA Times, UnGame Is No Game. 1996.06.17