Future Windows component could spur old-school viruses
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
A planned component for Microsoft 's next version of Windows is causing consternation among antivirus experts, who say that the new module, a scripting platform called Microsoft Shell, could give birth to a whole new generation of viruses and remotely exploitable attacks.
Microsoft Shell, code-named "Monad," is still in development and is planned for release with the next version of Windows, known as "Longhorn." Monad will allow developers or administrators to configure Windows systems using text commands or scripts containing multiple commands. But the flexibility of the new platform and its support for remote execution of commands could spawn a whole new generation of "script viruses," like the "Melissa" script virus of 1999, e-mail worms and remote attacks, said Eric Chien, a Symantec researcher.