KERNEL32.DLL and KERNEL32.EXE are two completely different and unrelated files. The DLL is a required part of the Windows operating system. The EXE is part of a virus.
Windows Kernel - KERNEL32.DLL
Kernel32.dll is the critical part of the Windows operating system core.
Kernel32.dll handles memory management, input/output operations, interrupts and many other functions. This file is required and should not be removed.
If you experience major errors you may frequently see the name of this DLL in the error message. It doesn't necessary mean KERNEL32.DLL caused the program fault. It could be some other program has some time kind of bug which causes Windows to crash in this module.
Since Kernel32.DLL handles memory management it will detect when programs use memory not in their space and that will often cause the program crash.
Here are some fixes for common errors involving KERNEL32.DLL:
Kernel32 & Krnl386 - Errors
Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Windows 98 (Q190517)
"Invalid Page Fault in Kernel32.dll" with Happy99.exe Virus (Q221486)
Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Windows 95 (Q164519)
Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Windows 98 (Q190517)
Microsoft.com
Virus Alert – KERNEL32.EXE
KERNEL32.EXE is an example of a bad file using a name that makes it sound legitimate. In this case, the name is similar to KERNEL32.DLL, a valid Windows file. Unfortunately, if you have this file on your system, you may have one of the following viruses. Use the links below to get more information and clean up instructions for each virus.
W32.Badtrans.B@mm - http://securityresponse1.symantec.com/sarc/sarc.nsf/html/w32.badtrans.b@mm.html
W32.Entangle.Worm - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.entangle.worm.html
W95.Babylonia - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w95.babylonia.html
Backdoor.Delf.B - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.delf.b.html
W32.Tendoolf - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.tendoolf.html
W32.HLLW.Nopadex - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.hllw.nopadex.html
Trojan.PSW.Gip - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.psw.gip.html
W32.Nolor@mm - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.nolor@mm.html
W32.HLLW.Nautic - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.hllw.nautic.html
Backdoor.Upfudoor - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.upfudoor.html
W32.Fusic@mm - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.fusic@mm.html/
W32.HLLW.Kickin.A@mm - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.hllw.kickin.a@mm.html
Backdoor.OptixPro.12 - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.optixpro.12.html
Backdoor.OptixPro.10 - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.optixpro.10.html
Backdoor.Sdbot.C - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.sdbot.c.html
Backdoor.actx - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.actx.html
Backdoor.Osirdoor - http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.osirdoor.html/
Virus
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