Virus, anti-virus, and apologies

We users have already so many problems with viruses, trojan horses, adware, spyware, and all this malware around... we don't really need extra headaches because of anti-virus products.

According to CNET: "[Last Thursday]at 6 a.m. PDT Wednesday, the company [McAfee] released a faulty update to its antivirus software that hosed computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 3. The update, a DAT file, misidentified a key Windows file called svchost.exe as a virus, causing PCs to crash or keep rebooting. The problem affected customers worldwide, including chipmaker Intel, Rhode Island hospitals, Kentucky police, University of Michigan's medical school, and an Australian supermarket chain.

In response, McAfee staffers have been working around the clock to help customers get their systems back online, McPherson said. The company believes most impacted PCs are back up."

The story ended well, with patches and everything in the right place. Still, it is just another case of how challenging is for users to stay on top of their computer security.


For more info on malware and anti-virus software, read: https://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/encyclopedia/index/malware.html#msc.encyclopedia.malware

To read the whole story of McAfee's faulty update: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20003247-83.html?tag=rtcol;latest