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Reports of Windows Me bug already rolling in
September 13, 2000
Microsoft has acknowledged and fixed a problem that could let attackers crash some Windows 98 or Windows Me computers from afar.
The vulnerability let an attacker crash a computer running Microsoft's WebTV software simply by sending it a certain type of information over the Internet. The problem affected only computers on which the WebTV software had been installed and was running.
The WebTV software, not to be confused with the special-purpose hardware that goes by the same name, lets a person watch television on a computer.
Bug hunter Andrew Griffiths notified Microsoft of the attack in August and publicly announced it in September, but Microsoft refused to acknowledge whether it was in fact a problem until Wednesday. Microsoft now has come around to Griffiths' point of view.
Microsoft released separate patches for Windows 98 and Windows Me.
