SECURITY
McAfee gaffe wreaks havoc
14-03-2006
by Ciara O'Brien
McAfee customers were left bewildered recently when their antivirus programme began attacking legitimate third-party applications as malware.
The problem was caused by an update that McAfee issued for its popular antivirus software, with hundreds of executables wrongly flagged as W95/CTX, low-risk Windows 95 malware.
The error was quickly realised, and a second update was sent out about five hours later. However, many users had already quarantined or deleted the "offending" files from their PCs, causing varying degrees of problems.
Although McAfee has published instructions and tools for restoring the quarantined files, there have been reports of serious damage to systems. And as yet, it is not clear if the deleted files can be recovered. However, McAfee has assured its customers that its experts are working around the clock to help those affected by the mess-up -- small consolation for users who may have deleted important applications.
Among the applications affected were Microsoft Excel, Flash, Google Toolbar and Adaptec drivers. McAfee published a list of programmes known to have conflicts with the update, containing about 330 names, but experts have speculated that the true figure is much greater. Operating systems across the board were affected by the mistake.
It is not the first time that updates to programmes have caused meltdowns for IT managers. Windows users recently found themselves having to restore their systems after a flawed patch was released. Some users were locked out of their PC, while others found their Windows Firewall could not start. Other applications were prevented from installing or running.
And antivirus firms aren't immune from gaffes either; in January, Symantec had to release a patch for its Norton SystemWorks antivirus suite after a rootkit-like program was found within the Norton Protect directory. A "rootkit" refers to a set of software tools that are typically used by a hacker to gain access to a computer system without the owner's knowledge.
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