Suho Son, Junghyun Yi, Moonseong Kim, Journal of Internet Computing and Services, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 57-63, Oct. 2025
10.7472/jksii.2025.26.5.57, Full Text:  HTML
Keywords: Classic computer virus, Boot virus, File virus, Infection mechanism, MBR manipulation, PE structure

Abstract

This paper presents an education-centered study designed to structurally analyze the infection mechanisms of classical computer viruses—particularly boot and file viruses—which represented major security threats from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Boot viruses infect systems by modifying the Master Boot Record (MBR) and boot sector during the system startup process, whereas file viruses manipulate the execution flow of programs through various infection techniques based on the internal structure of Windows Portable Executable (PE) files. The proposed hands-on exercises are conducted in an isolated virtual environment, utilizing the C programming language to directly manipulate MBR and PE files through low-level system operations. This approach enables learners to gain an in-depth understanding of the fundamental behaviors of malware infections. The study provides a practical foundation for information security education focused on classical malware and can be further extended to future comparative studies on modern malware analysis and defense approaches.

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