Jump to content

Natas (computer virus)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HamburgerRadio (talk | contribs) at 20:46, 10 December 2021 (remove "Malware" category. "DOS file viruses" and "Boot viruses" should be enough. (if something is in a subcategory, it doesn't need to be in a higher category)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Natas
Technical nameNatas
TypeComputer virus
OriginUnited States
AuthorsJames Gentile
Technical details
PlatformDOS

Natas (Satan spelled backwards) is a computer virus written by James Gentile, a then-18-year-old hacker from San Diego, California who went by the alias of "Little Loc" and later "Priest". The virus was made for a Mexican politician who wanted to win the Mexican elections by affecting all the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) computers with a floppy disk.[1]

Description

Natas is a memory-resident stealth virus and is highly polymorphic, that affects master boot records, boot sectors of diskettes, files .COM and also .exe programs.[2]

History

The virus first appeared in Mexico City in May 1992, spread by a consultant using infected floppy disks. The virus became widespread in Mexico and the southwest United States. The virus also made its way to the other side of the US, infecting computers at the United States Secret Service knocking their network offline for approximately three days. This led to an investigation of Priest and incorrect suspicion that the virus specifically targeted government computers.[citation needed]

Natas also infected computers in Canada, England, Russian Federation, Venezuela and Brazil.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Randal Satan Natas Difference". fasrtexas. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  2. ^ "Natas". F-Secure. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Natas_(computer_virus)&oldid=1059664162"