Related Resources • Kriz Description • Virus Encyclopedia • Glossary of terms

From Other Guides • Atelier Marie codes • Game Strategies • Game System reviews

Elsewhere on the Web • Kool Kizz Website • Sophos

As technology advances, the line between movies, video games, and computers continues to blur. In November, the Powerpuff Girls "Meet The Beat Alls" DVD was found to be infected with the Funlove virus. It now appears that the SEGA Dreamcast game, Atelier Marie, features a PC screensaver infected with the Kriz virus.

"Kriz is capable of rendering a computer useless," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "It executes its payload on December 25th, which will mean a pretty miserable Christmas for anyone receiving this in their stocking. Although the Dreamcast itself is left unscathed anyone loading the screensaver onto their PC will be in for an unpleasant surprise. It's almost unbelievable that a year after this virus was first seen it is still doing the rounds."

DVD and game developers with PC abilities would do well to remember Graham's earlier advice during the Powerpuff DVD incident, "I think this incident highlights how careful you need to be if you hire a third party to produce your CDs/DVDs/floppies. They need to be as squeaky clean as you are on the virus front - or they could be damaging your company's name. One sensible course of action would be to do a cryptographical checksum on the contents of the CD/DVD/whatever before you send it to the duplication plant.. and then check that against what begins to come out."

While the Dreamcast game was distributed almost exclusively in Japan and Kool Kiz, the game's developer, has recalled the game and issued an apology, the penchant for importing Japanese games makes it likely that others in the Western gaming community may have been affected. Those purchasing DVD's or video games with PC files on them, would do well to scan with updated antivirus software before playing the DVD or the files on a PC.