# 064 - MS-DOS Malware Chose Me

- Show: [Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast)
- Published: 2023-05-21
- Length: 1h 08m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me
- Listen: https://unnamedre.com/episode/64

## Summary

Nika (ic3qu33n), a security consultant at Leviathan Security Group, discusses her reverse engineering of 16-bit MS-DOS malware, a project inspired by Mikko Hypponen’s Malware Museum. She explains how she uses tools like Rizin, Cutter, QEMU, and Bochs to analyze and recreate viruses from authors like Spanska and Dark Angel, focusing on their use of graphical payloads and polymorphic engines. Nika highlights the creative and political motivations of 1980s virus writers, noting that their techniques laid the groundwork for modern boot kits and UEFI malware.

## Chapters

- [0:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=29) Introduction and Guest Background
- [7:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=420) The Origin of the MS-DOS Malware Project
- [11:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=716) Analysis Tools and Virtualization Setup
- [19:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=1175) Boot Kits, Polymorphism, and AV Evasion
- [24:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=1454) Virus Writers as Artists: Spanska and Dark Angel
- [46:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=2762) Recreating Malware: Graphics, Sprites, and Code
- [55:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=3318) Historical Context: Creeper, Reaper, and Soviet Computers
- [1:03:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me#t=3827) Closing: RECON Talk and Resources

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Leviathan Security Group (company)
- IDA (tool)
- Rizin (tool)
- Cutter (tool)
- QEMU (tool)
- Bochs (tool)
- MASM32 (tool)
- NASM (tool)
- FreeDOS (other)
- VX Underground (other)
- Bitsavers.org (other)
- Spanska (other)
- Dark Angel (other)
- Tequila (product)
- Creeper (product)
- Elk Cloner (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [111: Potty Train Your Tamagotchi (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-07-19-111-potty-train-your-tamagotchi-repeat) (Embedded.fm)
- [259: Calculators Changed My Life](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-09-07-259-calculators-changed-my-life) (Embedded.fm)
- [An Interview with Dmitry Nedospasov](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-06-17-an-interview-with-dmitry-nedospasov) (The Amp Hour)
- [334: Bag of Heuristics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-06-11-334-bag-of-heuristics) (Embedded.fm)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-01-07-the-spark-gap-episode-24) (The Spark Gap)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-05-21-064-ms-dos-malware-chose-me. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast.