Comments on: AVG update cripples some Windows XP systems

A false positive tags a Windows system file as malware, leaving some versions of Windows XP unable to reboot.

[paul.saulnier]

It's amazing that such a problem occur because people install anti-virus users use the software to specifically avoid this type of disruption caused by viruses.

[The_Decider]

Use an OS that isn't so damn vulnerable and this becomes a non-issue.

[oassaf]

and what operating system would that be? Its not Vista because apparently people think that its the worst thing since Hitler ( it actually is fine, unlike Hitler) or is it Mac? It couldnt be Mac though, because its only 'stable' since it has such a small usage base that it is no fun creating viruses for it.

I guess it must be the super popular Linux everyone is using these days.

[badmojo42]

so you are saying the virus software installed on your machine shouldn't have rights to all the files and folders of the OS? How is it supposed to scan and delete a potential virus? This could have happened to any OS. It is clearly all AVG's fault so don't put the blame on Microsoft.

[theantibush]

LOL!!!

'nuff said

[The_Decider]

Badmojo,

Huh?

I never said anything about access privileges.

My comment was entirely about using an OS that doesn't require AV software in the first place.

[The_Decider]

Badmojo,

Huh?

I never said anything about access privileges.

My comment was entirely about using an OS that doesn't require AV software in the first place.

edit:

It is Microsoft's fault for making such a crappy OS that running AV software is necessary. The better OS's have no use for AV software.

[Lerianis]

The_Decider, once again you are TOTALLY wrong. Those OS's only don't have viruses because it is NOT WORTH IT YET to make viruses for those systems. Let them get better than 20% marketshare..... you will see ********* of viruses for those systems.

[ralfthedog]

Can you imagine the hacker cred you would get for writing the first working virus for OS X?

[wolivere]

raift they do exist.

http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/osxleapa.html

[dawillie]

Opps here we go again extalling the virtues of Linux and Mac. I think it has to do with market share and the more popular, the more vulnerable. Look at what happens to P 2 P software. It is bug infested.

In any event the glitch was to do with AVG in some languages other than English.

[robertbasil]

Stated above by oassaf: "or is it Mac? It couldnt be Mac though, because its only 'stable' since it has such a small usage base that it is no fun creating viruses for it."

The reason you stated above is EXACTLY the reason why I switched to OSX almost 2 years ago. I don't care WHY it is stable, only that it IS stable. :)

[theantibush]

see my prev comment

[celticbrewer]

are you talking about stability or security? Because I thought OSX was one of the most insecure OSes out there- even behind windows. Stability wise, I'd go with Linux. Security wise, either Windows or Linux.

Just wait until more tech-less sheep are on OSX and then the virus/malware writers will spend some time targeting that demographic.

[hunkyboi69]

OS X ain't stable mate...if you actually want to do anything apart from look like a ponce with an 'alternative' operating system, it becomes very unstable.
Apart from the fact Apple manages to break part of the system with every update, and took 4 point updates with Leopard to get sodding SMB working properly with a Win 2k8 file server without having a Kernel Panic due to the smbfs.kext module...Oh yes, OS X is great and VERY stable, if you use it for web browsing only, it's pretty much useless for anything else.

Open your eyes.

And as for security...hahahaha, it's a joke, it's wide open and has more holes than an uber large colander.

And guess what....I'm typing this on a Mac.

[arosania]

*Sigh* Any OS is as stable as its user. I manage a 300+PCs network using either a Mac or a Win box. My personal preference is Mac, but I also run windows since v1.0. (Still have my copy... sometimes I create a VM just so I can run that).
Hunkyboi: I have the same SMB problem using Vista SP1 to access a win2k/2k3/2k8 server with loads of files. Moot point. Open YOUR eyes. Oh, and ANY OS has a lot of holes. Btw... *** is a ponce?
"Guess what... I'm typing this on a Mac" Yeah, sure. Whatever gets you through the night.

[pjhenry1216]

Then that reason is inherently faulty. If *everyone* followed that reasoning, it'd no longer be true.

[Dalkorian]

by celticbrewer November 11, 2008 12:54 PM PST
are you talking about stability or security? Because I thought OSX was one of the most insecure OSes out there- even behind windows

----------------------------------------------------------------

You couldn't be more wrong my friend. Keep in mind OSX is built on Darwin, a variation of OpenBSD. The market share argument is a red herring, OS 9 had viruses and it had a much smaller market share than OS X does, which has NO VIRUSES TO DATE.

There is NOTHING in the world more insecure than winblows, as evidenced by the NEED for A/V software.

As for the stability argument, I'm writing this on my work Mini, which hasn't had a single kernel panic in so long I don't remember. When did 10.5 come out again? (I conned my boss into a new Mini with 10.5 right when Leopard came out and unsurprisingly, 10.5.0 did suffer some kernel panics. Most were resolved with the 10.5.1 update though, the rest were fixed with 10.5.2. Now I'm running the latest and greatest, 10.5.5, and it's been rock stable forever).

[terminalblue]

yup...i got my desktop

[mssoot]

Who cares about the fan boy cr*p. The fact remains AVG made a major blunder. Dont they test this stuff before they put it out for exactly this reason. Id be a very concerned if I was running this.

[hunkyboi69]

Exactly. I stopped using AVG a while ago and refused to use it again after it labelled something a trojan which clearly wasn't. I don't think they know what they are doing. I mean, surely a bit of simple testing will make sure that things like that don't happen....

[The_Decider]

I would be concerned if I needed to run AV software.

Stop using software made by inept amateurs that need this nonsense to run somewhat safely.

[gabeheim]

Every AV can have false positives. Hash collisions are rare, but they do happen. Remember you can't uniquely identify an object with 64, 80, 128, or even thousands of bits in a hash when the object could have millions or billions of bits.

The antivirus on my office PC thought an autorun for portable apps on my flash drive was a virus. Obviously a hash collision. The antivirus maker could test for hash collisions with common files (apparently, they didn't test the international versions of windows), but for every system file, there's a billion private user-created files they can't test.

For info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_collision

[avatar45]

As has been said... Don't use AVG. I updated it once (free version) and it refused to do anything so switched back over to Avast! Problem solved...
and to all those saying that they don't want to run an OS that needs an AV well the ONLY reason it needs one wait till your fave OS becomes more widely known... Then we'll see if you need an AV to protect yourself ;)

[Dalkorian]

Yup, we'll see. Notice the lack or worry in my voice as I say that.

[Helle533]

You?re perfectly right! I used AVG and avast! simultaneously a few years ago. And guess what? AVG found viruses which weren?t any and avast! were always faster than AVG.
I picked to keep avast! That?s simply the best! I had no problems since.

[Software Tester]

Yup, Use Panda,Kaspersky or even McAfee. Enough Said.

[andrew5859]

By far, Panda Anti-Vurus is the best, I've been using it for the last 8yrs.and it doesn't slow down the OS like McAfee and Nortons does. On the other hand, AVG does have flaws in it that do need to be fixed. As I've read through a lot of these statements from everyone, it's quite clear that everyone has their own preference as to what OS's you use and anti virus. I have personally worked with McAfee and Nortons and they both have a tendency to slown down the OS quite considerably and only have updates, maybe once a week (if you're fortunate), Panda has updates every day and prtected my systen (Windows XP Pro w/SP3) for many years. If AVG is labeling the user32.dll as a trojan then that is caused from a too agressive anti virus program, because first of all it shouldn't be looking at any windows dll files in the first place, and yes, it should be further tested to make sure that the files being looked at or scaned aren't virus's or trojans and should scan from a known list of current virus's out there. I've run into quite a few of them on my PC's and laptop. Linux isn't pragmatic to this because it uses bunary code instead of the typical code used by Windows, which by the way is easier for hackers to crack or get into. Have a great day everyone.

[michealbird]

my personal preference is OpenBSD with WinXP running under wine. this way i get the security of BSD and the functionality and programs of Windows

[solitare_pax]

With all these viruses and anti-virus problems, I'm thinking about switching to the Amish OS.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

I get daily viruses on my Windows XP machines, but none on my Windows ME machine.

But my main computers are all Mac. No viruses, no malware. None.

Also, adding all of the computers together that're still out there, 22% is the actual total of Macs, which was reported on this very website two years ago. Find it, I have a life and don't care to.

[Lerianis]

I seriously doubt that you are getting viruses anywhere NEAR as often as you say you are, unless you are going to the 'bowels of the internet'. Heck, even if you are going there, you shouldn't be getting any viruses unless you are STUPID enough to still be running Windows XP, as you say you are.
Update to Vista: it closed a BOATLOAD of the holes with UAC that malware/spyware/viruses used to get into your system.

[nptausch]

You should actually do research before you tell people lies. Apple just reached 21% market share in April of 2008...but that was US market share. Not world market share. They are currently somewhere around 2.9% for WORLD market share.

And the only way you can be getting viruses daily on your machine is if you are seriously doing things you shouldn't be doing in the first place. Upgrade to Vista which fixes almost all security holes in XP.

Oh and heres the link to Apple's market share info.

http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/04/01/analyst-apples-us-consumer-market-share-now-21-percent/

[ahmalik]

AVG giving trouble to almost all SWs from NirSoft& a lot more SW.
Blocking every program.
It has lost my lot of downloads from reliable Sites

[Anthony koroma]

Hellow.
your product is goood
but i want u to send me a software named live satelite tv on my pc
thanks in advance.

[johnericanderson]

No Mac Viruses? Google "Macintosh Virus" Hmm...Only 466,000 pages of info.

And why do we need this?
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac, version 4.9, released on 26 September 2007, fully supports the new version of OS X, version 10.5. Customers who update automatically from Sophos will already be running this version. Support for OS X 10.5 is also available in the current version of Sophos Update Manager.

[GhostMale66]

I used to use AVG, but when it updated to version 8, it didn't seem as good as it used to be. At that time, I started using AVAST and have been extremely happy with it!

[emperordarius]

Ah, SFTU with those OS talking stuff. F... macs and linux, ok? That's not related to them so shut up-

About the issue, AVG already has a poor detection rate, if they continue continue delivering crappy software like this and ruining fantastic ones(AVG antispyware, for instance), they're going down.

[ScaryMonkey69]

LOL! Gotta love the Fanboi stuff! "My OS is better than yours!!". From what I've seen? Who Frickin' Cares!!! I still see NO proof that ANY OS is safe & totally 100% Bug Free.

I've run Linux, OSX, and Windows (but not Vista) and have yet to see any reason one is better than the other.

[cyclonica1980]

Hey if enough people started using macs GUESS WHAT there is going to be viruses on OSX too. No one makes viruses for mac because Mac still only controls 4% of the market. Why waste your time, AND if OSX is virus free than how come they make Norton Anti Virus for it???????? Answer that.

[night silence]

Agreed, Linux and Mac are away from the trouble because no one bothers to write a virus for them!

Arosana: My operating system is much more stable than myself. In fact my PC has no known viruses, I on the other hand............

[maulfest]

k.. Mac user here, and a tech for over 15 years.

All OS's are fine... i love my mac... but windows is never it's own problem.. the only problems with windows are A: defective/incompatible/poor hardware, and B: poorly written software. actually, windows does have one blunder i hate, and that's the registry.. other than that.. windoze is fine.

[thelemurking]

Don't forget the USERS! The biggest security whole is always going to be the idiot using the computer... doesn't matter what the OS is!

[vcotty]

All this for 1 mistake. 2 in all this years and complains from web pages cause they are being scanned. The truth is that I'm a certified IT Pro for a big company and in all my 8 years of experience AVG is the most secured AV software there is. They already have a fix, and this problem only was for some Non-English versions of the operating system. Some talk about Avast (and problem solved), yea, probably because Avast does not detect most of the threats out there (already happened to a colleague and I had to demonstrate the lack of effectiveness). This also happens with Norton, McAffe and a lot of other AV software out there. The only one good enough its Kaspersky but it has a big problem, machines must have high performance (good hardware) or they will become too slow to even work with them. I'm just being objective. My work requires for me to be updated in all security software and issues out there, my JOB depends on it, and till today, I haven't had any single reason to change to another AV software. (THIS ISSUE INCLUDED). And I'm still working for my company, and they are very happy with my job.

[The True Computer Genius]

VCOTTY, maybe you should be fired then. AVG ***********. I've been a certified IT pro since July, 1998. That's over 10 years ago. I've worked for many "big companies," including the government, much longer than that - I've never cared much for certifications until I was forced to get them. Yes, Kaspersky is great, from what I've read. I have a system that is currently DOWN thanks to AVG's failures. Yes, I used it for things the normal user might not, but regardless, AVG IS HORRIBLE. SO take your "8 years of experience" and shut up. Thanks! :)

[night silence]

Mr. certified IT Pro: sorry your evaluation of this situation is totally wrong! This is not a normal mistake we are talking about!!! It is a major windows file removal initiated by wrong decision of the type of software which we trust to protect our computers, not cause and create problems! Read the article again if don't understand how serious it is.