BitDefender® has posted a removal tool for a new e-threat that combines the destructive behavior of a virus with the spreading mechanisms of a worm. Now called Zimuse, there are two known variants of this virus; variant A which activates after 40 days and B after 20 days.
Zimuse enters the victim’s computer disguised as a harmless IQ test or a self-extracting zip archive. Upon execution, the malware will attempt to spread through removable media and overwrite the MBR of all available drives.
The bogus IQ test may come from various sources such as emails, torrent sites, network shares or dc hubs.
BitDefender UK country manager, Nick Billington, warns: “As always, downloading or opening files from unsecure sites or ones with low security carries high risk for inadvertently downloading this virus.”
The incubation period between the moment of infection and activation of this virus makes this a particularly difficult challenge for anti-virus programs. A removal tool for Zimuse, developed by BitDefender, can be found at: http://www.zimuse.com/download/zimuse-removal-tool.exe
Computer users who are unsure if they’ve been infected by this virus can run a QuickScan. The scan, which takes less than 30 seconds, can be found on the BitDefender Zimuse website, or here, at http://quickscan.bitdefender.com/
Instructions for Zimuse Removal include:
1.Download the removal tool (.exe file – 201 KB)
2.Users running as a restricted capacity in Windows XP, right click the “zimuse-removal-tool.exe” program and choose “Run as Administrator” to be prompted to enter credentials for an admin account.
3.BitDefender recommends a system reboot after the disinfection is complete.
4.Those users without a permanent antivirus protection or if their current antivirus has failed, should consider the advanced protection tool provided by BitDefender.
