Spotlight On Malware: The Ari Virus.

The Ari Virus is a virus written for DOS which is quite annoying, mostly because it takes its sweet time writing a mini biography by typing out one letter at a time. It also plays consistent sound through the infected computer's speakers. It only works half of the time that the command is launched. So like other viruses of that era of computing, the virus cannot do much unless you run it. I have the entire message reproduced below if you would like to read it, but it is quite a long one. So if you do not want to read it and you decide to just skip to the bottom, I will understand. And the info in this message is from the 90's, so it is likely not correct anymore and I imagine that the person it references is dead by now. Not sure on that, but it is probable.

"Real Name: John A. Buchanan
Alias: Page, Jimmy Page, Aristotle.
Home Phone: (804) 595-2672
Work Phone: (804) 857-6000
BBS Phone: Black Axis, (804) 599-4152
Address: 502 Hammond Street
City/State: Newport News, Virginia
Employer: Information Technology Solutions
Work Loc: 2551 East Elthoma
InMode: Unstable, Insecure
ExMode: Egoist
Motivation: Power (or the appearance thereof)
Intelligence: Average (below average for the computer underground)"

At this point, the message tells you to press any key to continue.

"Details:
John A. Buchanan, better known as Aristotle (or ARiSToTLE), is a member of the ever-degrading Virus eXchange (VX) underground. Not a programer of any degree himself, he has relied on his mouth to gain a name in the scene. Aristotle runs a BBS system dedicated to exchanging viruses, and claims to be a member of NuKE, an elite underground group with a partial focus in viruses. NuKE, however, seems to view him as a pest-at best.

For an occasional power-trip, Aristotle has been known to post real information, including name, phone, etc. of virus writers to attempt to scare them. he has allegedly given the same information to law-enforcement agencies on several occasions, and seems to have been the cause of several people's arrests. This is the only way, it seems, that he can feel like he has any power. he is also commonly inciting flame wars (arguments on a very base level) for a similar purpose."

That's it for the Ari DOS Virus. Thank You for reading. As always, I invite readers to comment below with any comments or questions.