DGLInfo: New Virus Concern for Win98

Win98 Virus Concern
New email virus alert!

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New Virus Concern for Win98
by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

Microsoft's newest PC operating system, Windows 98, will go on sale in about a month. Sounds great, and everyone's eagerly anticipating it's arrival on retail shelves, but some computer users won't appreciate one new aspect of the software -- the ability get infected by a software virus by reading email.

Changes to the way Win95 handles incoming email gives small programs called applets, written in the Java language, access to the innards of a PC.

It's possible to send an email message that saves an applet right onto the recipient's hard drive. The applet can then be activated the next time the computer is booted.

Microsoft estimates that 140 million people worldwide use Windows 95 or Windows NT, and many of these are expected to upgrade to Windows 98. The company has also sold 20 million licenses for Outlook, which is able to send and receive email.

The problem centers on a Windows 98 file called SCRRUN.DLL, which enables the system to run Java applets found in email messages.

Microsoft can eliminate this vulnerability simply by removing the file from Windows 98, but this would mean that its ``active desktop,'' which allows Internet sites to be accessed by clicking on desktop icons, for example, would not function as advertised.

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updated April 27, 1998
http://dgl.com/dglinfo/1998/dg980427.html