<b>AutoStart worm is real and potentially serious

Regarding the report of a new virus posted here on May 2: Dr. Solomon Software has confirmed the accuracy of the report. They call the "virus" the AutoStart 9805 worm and describe it as a "serious new Macintosh threat." They now have a Virex update that detects and removes this worm. [As of this writing, the web page still refers to a 05_01_98 update. However, if you download the update you will get the newer 05_02_98 update, which is the one that has the fix for this worm (thanks, Ken Carolus).]

Dr. Solomon sent us more details about the worm and how it works. We have posted this as a MacFixIt Extra.

Uptown Solutions Ltd. has also posted a utility for dealing with this virus - called Eradicator. However, people are having difficulty getting this file; the download stalls. It is also an unusually large file (over 2 Mb) for what should be a simple utility. I have not yet downloaded it myself, so I cannot offer more details as yet. I would suggest caution here.