Portrait of the Artist as a Young VX-er - This Painting Is an MBR Bootkit

Explore the intersection of MS-DOS era malware techniques and artistic creation in this captivating conference talk. Delve into the fundamentals of MS-DOS architecture and examine notable bootkits from the 1980s and 1990s, including Brain, Stoned, and Ping-Pong. Learn how these early malware samples combined technical complexity with dazzling graphical displays. Discover how the speaker reverse-engineered the infamous Michaelangelo bootkit and repurposed its MBR infection techniques to create a polymorphic art engine. Investigate the evolution of bootkit techniques from MS-DOS to modern UEFI-targeting malware, and consider their potential applications in exploit writing and IoT systems. Gain insights into the creative aspects of virus writing and the lessons that can be learned from studying vintage malware. Enjoy a visual feast of assembly language programming tricks, core wars, and vintage exploits as you explore the artistic potential of malware creation.