AVG flags ZoneAlarm as malware

This post was updated at 3:30 p.m. PDT with comment Check Point.

Grisoft, makers of AVG antivirus, on Wednesday released a new update addressing a false positive in another security product.

On Tuesday, AVG users reported desktops warnings that their desktop was infected with something called Trojan Agent r.CX. Some files within zlsSetup_70_483_000_en[1].exe, a compressed file containing dormant set-up files for Check Point's ZoneAlarm, apparently set off the alarm. The ZoneAlarm user forum soon filled with concerned users.

Grisoft did not respond to a request for comment.

Laura Yecies, vice president and general manager of Check Point's ZoneAlarm consumer division said, "as soon as Check Point learned that AVG's recent antivirus update was mistakenly flagging a ZoneAlarm file as a virus, we contacted AVG and they issued an update within hours that corrected the problem. AVG users will automatically get the update that corrects the issue."

In July, Grisoft modified its free AVG 8 due to complaints about a proactive scanning of a Web site feature. The feature that had been enabled in the paid version of the product did not scale with the free release causing spikes in Web traffic.

[cyberDJ-2038765336053745013836]

ZoneAlarm 8 is a virus so AVG is right.

[n3td3v]

Is there anything against the law about flagging your competitor as malware? ZoneAlarm sucks, good on AVG, now flag Norton/Symantec as malware too. ;)

[andeyejah]

you suck you *** wank!

[SxSascha]

You win :D

[Bohica55]

RIGHT ON!!!! Those boy really do suck, add Kaspersky to the list though, after 20 years of working with computers, Kasper was the first program that I threw out after only 3 - 4 months. To be precise, IT BLEW chunkies and I wouldn't go back under any circumstances, such as a free lifetime usage.

[sythara]

Ther should not be a law, last thing we need is Gov't to get involved in computer security business.

[smacdermott]

We did accidentally tag CheckPoint?s Zone Alarm as a trojan. The detection was out for approximately 7.5 hours. As soon as we were notified of the issue, it was resolved and added to our whitelist. We were made aware of it around 3am and the issue was addressed and resolved within a few hours.

Please also note that the company name is AVG, not Grisoft.

Siobhan MacDermott
Head of Global Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

[andeyejah]

Avg is absolute rubbish i never in my life had so many false detections as i did with this so called anti virus.Luckily for me i didn't pay for it uninstalled after just 2 days get eset nod32 or kapersky by the way i used zone alarm for a while and it saved my butt a few times.

[Dalkorian]

Agree with ZA, no idea what planet you're coming from regarding AVG though. I can't remember the last false flag it's had, it's been bullet proof for years for me.

[SxSascha]

Next recommened goal: Make Avast as next Malware target :P

[GrandMecca]

Avast Is A Great Product. From The Mature Nature Of Your Comment Im Totally Positive That You've Tried, Tested, And Found That Avast Doesn't Work Right? LOL. Avast has saved me from a megaton of shiznit that would have fried my comp over and over again, and the cool thing is that it has done this with maybe 2 false positives over the past "YEAR"!

[ClydeOne]

You're Joking Right? Nuff' Said........

[compudoc318]

yeah, i dont use avast personally, but its a nice free product, works well on the computers ive used with it.

[Dalkorian]

I've used AVG on my machine for years and am struggling to remember the last time it falsely flagged something. I've had no complaints, except for the nagging little popup thingies spawning from the task bar - they're especially annoying when playing games (the only thing winblows is good for). But it does keep me protected.

[SxSascha]

Maybe the next goal: Internet Explorer has a Trojan :)

[compudoc318]

ok, now i know to ignore your ideas......

[ClydeOne]

I Can Maybe Agree With You There.

[Dalkorian]

That wouldn't be considered a false positive, it would be considered a bug fix.

[knottyboy]

Both of the systems on my network had this problem. But the issue was so new that I could find nothing that would have helped me understand what the conflict was. I uninstalled ZA to resolve the consistant nagging flags from AVG and installed Comodo instead. What a load of headache for a false positive. Sheesh!

[compudoc318]

just use the windows firewall

[Dalkorian]

The winblows firewall? Did you really suggest that? It's the first thing I turn off on any winblows installation, it's total and complete junk. Besides, trusting the people who made the swiss-cheese security in winblows to actually protect it is one of the funniest jokes I've ever heard.

[ClydeOne]

ZA Is OK. AVG Is Crap Because Of It's Constant Nagging! If They Scrap The Nagware, I Might Consider Using It Again.

[compudoc318]

i use avg, never nags, does auto update at boot, and thats it, what version are you using?

[compudoc318]

why is this news anyway, anyone in the computer security field knows that av and spyware apps are always red flagging each other, you just need to be smart enough to tell the diff and research if the app is rogue or real.

[sting7k]

Yet another reason why I have ditched AVG. I finally had to cave and get a paid anti-virus program. AVG just stopped being worth the constant headaches and random updating failures that would eventually require me to reinstall it once a week.

[smartalec44]

I've been using Avast for about a year. It has flagged a few viruses and since I have no means of comparison to any other software I guess its OK. But since I'm near maximum RAM, it continually updates 1-3 times daily slowing my computer and increases it 's cumulative file size daily. Why does it have to update so much. I realize I'm a guinea pig since its free and eventually when its totally refined there will be a charge for it.

[Crazyeddieprobe]

Serious computer geek here. I've used AVG for years, and have NEVER had problems with it. Those of you complaining about false positive flags and the like may either not know how to use it, or are not updating to the newest versions as they come out. I'd used both Norton and McAfee in the past and reluctantly paid for them, thinking I was at least getting something for my money. Norton left such a huge (and clumsy!) footprint in my hard drive that I was eventually forced (when I became totally disgusted with it's slow updates, even slower scans and odd quirks and got rid of it altogether) to totally wipe it and reinstall Windows itself. McAfee was better (barely) but I found that it wasn't always catching and stopping viruses before they went resident! I like AVG so much I MAY even upgrade to the PAY version soon...
Seriously, AVG Free is an EXCELLENT product. I recommend it to both novices and fellow geeks. It's simple and intuitive enough for the greenest newbie to stumble through the setups sucessfully, and has enough tweaks in the setups to satisfy the most demanding IT nerds. And, dang,...people...it's FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jonasthepro]

hey..norton 2009 antivirus isn't that bad .. fast scans and good detection rate .. =.=

[Pokemart900]

personally i think avast is *fine* but i like AVG 9.0 better with Spybot and Windows Defender and for those who say avg slows down your computer the new 9.0 has eliminated that problem and is now MUCH faster