The Zero Bug Virus (1536 Virus) is a computer virus which infects .COM files. The virus is loaded into memory by executing an infected program and then affects the computer's runtime operation and corrupts program or overlay files. The virus's main objective is to infect the copy of COMMAND.COM indicated by the environment variable COMSPEC. If COMSPEC doesn't point to anything, the Zero Bug virus will install itself memory resident using INT 21h. After the virus has either infected COMMAND.COM or become memory resident, it will infect all COM files that are accessed, including those accessed by actions such as COPY or XCOPY. Any COM file created on an infected system will also be infected. If the currently loaded COMMAND.COM is infected, the virus will hook into the timer interrupt 1Ch, and after a certain amount of time has past, a smiley face character (ASCII 01) will appear and eat all the zeros it can find on the screen. Research Zero Bug Virus
 
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert