-----Original Message-----
My son uses windows xp and zone alarm free firewall
He uses spybot and spywareBlaster regularly and is
completely up to date with the definitions
Recently 'run a dll as an app' appeared on the list of
programs allowed to access the internet as shown on
the program control information of zone alarm. The file name is rundll32.exe
There was no request from zone alarm to allow it access or not.
He does not know why this appeared.
As this seems to be a legitimate DLL within windows ..my questions are :
Is it usual for a DLL to require internet access? If so why?
Is it possible to tell which application requires this action?
Should it be allowed access?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
.
Rundll.exe
Rundll32.exe
(Microsoft)
Microsoft's "Run a DLL as an App". A DLL is a Dynamic
Link Library. In layman and [very] simplistic terms a
DLL is a portion of a software program which is only used
by the main program as and when specific features of the
software are used by the end user (for instance the PRINT
function in your wordprocessor). The main advantage is
that, using this technique, programmers can develop
software which does not end up gobbling up memory through
the whole program loading in one go, but which instead
only uses enough memory for the core functions of the
program, with specific features, implemented in separate
DLL files, only loaded as and when the end-user decides
to use them (ie. The Print DLL will only be loaded into
memory when the end-user clicks on PRINT). Another
advantage is that the software developers can also have
common features which they have implemented across a
range of their programs, implemented just the one time as
a shared DLL which is used by all that developer's
programs. RUNDLL and RUNDLL32 are the Microsoft Windows
programs that need to be used to load DLLs into memory so
that they can be used by specific programs or by Windows.
Recommendation :
RUNDLL and RUNDLL32 do not normally appear in the Task
List in Windows. In our experience they tend to appear
only when you are already having problems of some sort
with your PC, or a particular DLL is either misbehaving,
is buggy, or is having problems, such as a Control Panel
applet hanging for example. If you see RUNDLL or
RUNDLL32 in your Task List persistently then you
should be [slightly] worried (see below the other entry
for RUNDLL32) - make sure you have good and up‑to‑date
antivirus software, boot into Safe Mode, and run a full
virus scan on your PC. If you do not have a virus and
see either in your Task List, simply leave it alone. We
are not sure as to the other times when the real RUNDLL
or RUNDLL32 can sometimes suddenly appear in the Task
List, but you should leave them alone in most cases
provided, again, that you know you do not have a virus.
Rundll32
(2)
Rundll32.exe
(???)
You have one of the W32.Miroot.Worm /
W32/Legemer.Worm / W32.HLLW.Sanker viruses (or another
virus).
