virus in the bios?

[mm]

My friend with a 6 year old DRLL and viruses is now being told that
she has a virus in her BIOS.

I've been reading a lot lately and I've never heard of it.

Possible?

How to get rid of it?

Flashing the BIOS, with the same version if no later version exists?

 

[Man-wai Chang]

Flashing the BIOS, with the same version if no later version exists?

This one will be interesting. I have seen BIOS update program that
refused to use an older version...

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.35.7
^ ^ 23:41:01 up 8 days 58 min 1 user load average: 0.00 0.00 0.00
ä¸å€Ÿè²¸! ä¸è©é¨™! ä¸æ´äº¤! ä¸æ‰“交! ä¸æ‰“劫! ä¸è‡ªæ®º! è«‹è€ƒæ…®ç¶œæ´ (CSSA):
http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa

 

[FromTheRafters]

My friend with a 6 year old DRLL and viruses is now being told that
she has a virus in her BIOS.

Not a virus, but it is *possible* for malware to make use of that
storage area.

I've been reading a lot lately and I've never heard of it.

Possible?

Yes, but highly unlikely.

How to get rid of it?

Flashing the BIOS, with the same version if no later version exists?

Yes, but it would be best to investigate before destroying evidence.
*If* the BIOS was infected, then *other* changes would also have to have
been made. What changes would depend on what malware used the BIOS for
storage.

 

[Buffalo]

My friend with a 6 year old DRLL and viruses is now being told that
she has a virus in her BIOS.

I've been reading a lot lately and I've never heard of it.

Possible?

How to get rid of it?

Flashing the BIOS, with the same version if no later version exists?

What program is reporting that there is a 'virus' in the BIOS?
Perhaps the reporting program is actually some malware itself.
Buffalo

 

[mm]

What program is reporting that there is a 'virus' in the BIOS?
Perhaps the reporting program is actually some malware itself.

I don't know what source this possibility comes from. I was working
on my ex girlfriend's computer, but another guy was too and he was
putting more effort in it. Eventually he lent her another computer
and took this onet home and was going to give it to someone who does
this for a living, or almost.

I waiver between thinking he knows quite a bit more than I do about
this stuff, and thinking he knows a lot less, and I haven't found a
single example that shows either.

So I thought it possible that this story was inconceivable, but I
guess he might be right. Especially since so far he only says there
might be one, I guess he's certainly right.

Thanks all.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "mm" <[email protected]>

| My friend with a 6 year old DRLL and viruses is now being told that
| she has a virus in her BIOS.

| I've been reading a lot lately and I've never heard of it.

| Possible?

| How to get rid of it?

| Flashing the BIOS, with the same version if no later version exists?

/* NOT ! */

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "mm" <[email protected]>

| On Thu, 7 Oct 2010 12:03:41 -0600, "Buffalo" <[email protected]>
| wrote:



| I don't know what source this possibility comes from. I was working
| on my ex girlfriend's computer, but another guy was too and he was
| putting more effort in it. Eventually he lent her another computer
| and took this onet home and was going to give it to someone who does
| this for a living, or almost.

| I waiver between thinking he knows quite a bit more than I do about
| this stuff, and thinking he knows a lot less, and I haven't found a
| single example that shows either.

| So I thought it possible that this story was inconceivable, but I
| guess he might be right. Especially since so far he only says there
| might be one, I guess he's certainly right.

Forget about "virus in BIOS". Pure red herring and FUD.

 

[gufus]

Hello, FromTheRafters!

You wrote on Thu, 7 Oct 2010 11:56:11 -0400:

|
| Not a virus, but it is *possible* for malware to make use of that
| storage area.
|

This subject again
|

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "gufus" <[email protected]>

| Hello, FromTheRafters!

| You wrote on Thu, 7 Oct 2010 11:56:11 -0400:


|| Not a virus, but it is *possible* for malware to make use of that
|| storage area.


| This subject again

This subject matter keeps rearing its ugly head.

Not unlike bad food eaten just before going to sleep.

 

[gufus]

Hello, David!

You wrote on Thu, 7 Oct 2010 17:19:00 -0400:

|
| Forget about "virus in BIOS". Pure red herring and FUD.
|

 

[gufus]

Hello, David!

You wrote on Fri, 8 Oct 2010 17:43:40 -0400:

|> This subject again
|
| This subject matter keeps rearing its ugly head.
|
| Not unlike bad food eaten just before going to sleep.
|
Owell.. better than past reading <grin>

 

[FromTheRafters]

Hello, FromTheRafters!

You wrote on Thu, 7 Oct 2010 11:56:11 -0400:


|
| Not a virus, but it is *possible* for malware to make use of that
| storage area.
|

This subject again

It won't be the last time either. That, and viruses that cause permanent
physical damage.

 

[gufus]

Hello, FromTheRafters!

You wrote on Fri, 8 Oct 2010 18:51:34 -0400:
|
| It won't be the last time either.

Yep.... etc etc...

 

[mm]

My friend with a 6 year old DRLL and viruses is now being told that
she has a virus in her BIOS.

Today I bumped into the guy who told my friend about the "virus in the
BIOS" and I got the story first-hand.

He thinks that some malware reflashed the BIOS. Have you ever heard
of that?

He thinks that it may have changed the BIOS to always call some
trouble-making url. Is that conceivable?

He did manage to get her computer working again, with all her old data
too. He took her computer to his house and kept it 7 or 10 days.

So if the BIOS is bad because of the earlier malware, how come the
computer is working.

He also installed a second harddrive, and disconnected the first one,
I guess because he thinks there are files he didn't actually copy over
to the new HD. He wants her to run on this new small HD to see if the
malware recurs, and if it doesn't, he plans to copy all the files from
this spare small HD to a new 500 gig HD. That makes sense, right?

Although I guess it's not a full test until he's copied all the old
files she wants to the HD she's using.

Thanks.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "mm" <[email protected]>


| Today I bumped into the guy who told my friend about the "virus in the
| BIOS" and I got the story first-hand.

| He thinks that some malware reflashed the BIOS. Have you ever heard
| of that?

| He thinks that it may have changed the BIOS to always call some
| trouble-making url. Is that conceivable?

| He did manage to get her computer working again, with all her old data
| too. He took her computer to his house and kept it 7 or 10 days.

| So if the BIOS is bad because of the earlier malware, how come the
| computer is working.

| He also installed a second harddrive, and disconnected the first one,
| I guess because he thinks there are files he didn't actually copy over
| to the new HD. He wants her to run on this new small HD to see if the
| malware recurs, and if it doesn't, he plans to copy all the files from
| this spare small HD to a new 500 gig HD. That makes sense, right?

| Although I guess it's not a full test until he's copied all the old
| files she wants to the HD she's using.

| Thanks.

It is pure FUD and speculation without knowledge nor fact.
In other words, bullsh!t.