[ Thanks to davec
for this link. ]
“An Auckland software developer who found a security flaw in
Microsoft’s e-mail software that he believes could secretly unleash
a “hell virus” says files on his discovery have been stolen from
his computer. Phil Saleh, creative director of Arabesque Multimedia
– who has a back-up of his find – discovered the flaw in
Microsoft’s Outlook Express program while designing Java script
software that automatically activates computer functions.”
“We discovered we could write a program that will activate any
type of executable file on a computer through e-mail,” says Mr
Saleh. “Which means if we have your e-mail address we can control
your computer – or attach a virus which could automatically send
itself to every name in your address book without you even being
aware of it.”
“Using what I have found out, I could make a virus much
worse than the ‘I love you’ bug because you wouldn’t have the
option of deleting the e-mail carrying the virus before it infected
your computer – it would activate automatically whether you read
the message or not.” Mr Saleh alerted Microsoft’s Security
Response Centre in Redmond, Washington, but it said it could not
find any “security vulnerability.””