Engineering:MEMZ
 A computer infected with the MEMZ virus, depicted is one of the malware's key payloads, a 'screen tunnelling' effect. | |
| Common name |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Trojan horse |
| Author(s) | Leurak |
| Operating system(s) affected | WindowsXP
WindowsVista Windows7 Windows8 Windows10 Windows11 Linux (via WineHQ ) macOs (via WineHQ ) |
MEMZ (pronounced: memes) is a malware computer virus in the form of a trojan horse made for Microsoft Windows.[1][2][3][4][5] The name of the virus refers to its purpose as a humorous virus intended to replicate the effects of early computer viruses.
Origin
MEMZ was originally created by Leurak for YouTuber danooct1's Viewer-Made Malware series.[4] It was later featured by Joel Johansson, alias Vargskelethor, a member of the live-streaming group Vinesauce on his series Windows Destruction, who demonstrated the trojan in action against a Windows 10 virtual machine[6] after being provided with a copy by danooct1.
Actions
The virus gained notoriety for its unique and complex payloads, which automatically activate after each other, some with delay. Examples of payloads include randomly moving the cursor slightly, opening up satirical Google searches under Google.co.ck such as "how to remove a virus" and "how to get money" on the user's web browser, reversing text, and opening various random Microsoft Windows programs (such as the calculator or command prompt). True to the program's name, many parts of the virus are based on Internet memes; for example, the virus overwrites the boot sector with an animation of Nyan Cat.[1][2][3][4][5] Leurak also created a safer version of MEMZ called MEMZ-Clean. The clean version allows the non-destructive payloads to be safely tested and gives the user full control about which payloads are active.[7]
VineMEMZ variant
A variant of MEMZ, dubbed "VineMEMZ", was coded by Leurak as a gift to Johansson after the livestream featuring the original MEMZ gained significant traction. This version of MEMZ is similar to the original, but features many references to Vinesauce, especially Johansson's other game streams, such as the bootleg game 7 Grand Dad and the adware program BonziBuddy. This variant has also been released to the public.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 White, Daniel (July 8, 2016). "Viewer-Made Malware 8 - MEMZ (Win32) (flashing lights warning)". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-jdSgjtUPk.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dean, Madeleine (August 26, 2016). "MEMZ virus: what is it and how it affects Windows PC?". Windows Report. https://windowsreport.com/memz-virus-windows-pc/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oberhaus, Daniel (July 9, 2016). "Watch This Malware Turn a Computer into a Digital Hellscape". Motherboard. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/yp3nm7/watch-this-malware-turn-a-computer-into-a-digital-hellscape.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Maiberg, Emaneul (July 30, 2016). "Preserving the Ancient Art of Getting Pwned". Motherboard. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/aekjjk/preserving-the-ancient-art-of-getting-pwned.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kushman. "Hãy xem cách Malware biến máy tính của bạn thành một địa ngục số kinh hoàng như thế nào" (in vi). GenK. http://genk.vn/hay-xem-malware-nay-bien-may-tinh-cua-ban-thanh-mot-dia-nguc-so-kinh-hoang-nhu-the-nao-20160713173349324.chn.
- ↑ Leurak (2016-07-24), [Vinesauce Joel tries out the MEMZ Trojan (with chat)], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtLY94ZAsAQ, retrieved 2019-06-26
- ↑ "MEMZ 4.0 - The clean version (including download)" (in en-US). 2017-06-01. http://www.kcprotrade.com/2017/05/31/memz-4-0-the-clean-version-including-download/.
- ↑ danooct1. "VineMEMZ (Win32)". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZtfLY4DkY.
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