a article in local paper from the Associated press
SEATTLE -- A flaw in three popular e-mail programs made by Netscape and
Microsoft gives hackers the ability to send viruses that could crash
computers or mangle data, computer experts say.
No such attacks have been reported , experts fear millions of computer
users will need to upgrade their software to keep their systems safe.
"This is something that goes right to the soft chewy inside of your
computer," computer consultant Russ Cooper of Lindsey,Ontario, told The San
Diego Union Tribune.
The flaw allows any outsider to send booby trapped messages that could
erase a computers hard drive or even steal information.
Most E- Mail attacks involve attachments that are harmless unless the
user runs the attached program.
The new flaw , however can not be so easily avoided. In some cases,simply
trying to delete e-mail activates the attack.
The attacks can not be guarded against with " firewalls" or
anti-virual software, two widley used security methods.
Finnish researchers discovered the problem last month . So far tests have
shown a presence in three programs widely used
to read electronic mail: Microsoft Corp's Outlook Express and Outlook 98
and Netscape Communication's Current Web browser.