An incorrect update to Symantec's Norton security software on Wednesday blocked Internet access for some America Online users.
The issue affected AOL customers using recent editions of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, Symantec said in a statement sent via e-mail on Thursday. The culprit was an update to intrusion prevention software that is part of the security software, the company said.
"This update incorrectly detected traffic patterns used as part of the AOL connection as a potential risk," Symantec said in the statement. AOL has about 20 million Internet service subscribers.
As a result of the incorrect update, AOL dial-up customers lost their connection and AOL broadband users were unable to access AOL servers, Symantec said. The erroneous update was removed from Symantec's servers about seven hours after it was released, and a corrected version was posted, the company said.
The Norton problem is the second high-profile problem with security software within a week. Last Friday an error in McAfee's virus definition file caused the company's consumer and enterprise antivirus products to flag Microsoft's Excel, as well as other applications on users' PCs, as a virus called W95/CTX.
Norton users who are experiencing problems can contact Symantec customer service at 1-800-927-3991 at no cost or read more on the issue at the company's Web site. Symantec advises users who are unable to go online because of the issue to disable their Norton software, connect to the Internet and immediately download updated definition files.
I know this will get beat like a dead horse, but the force/power of Christ compels me to say it. Most traffic (not 100%) from AOL is probably considered malicious by most savvy computer users. Also, most (not all) AOL subscribers are detrimental to us non-AOL users whether they intend to be or not. Many AOL users are "newbies" to computers and/or the internet. They are the ones who get phished, download spyware, and unwittingly transmit viruses via email and the like. Much like the other repliers, I see the blocking of AOL traffic and its users as a good thing. Like that one reply said, heuristics have come a long way. Symantecs software was able to correctly identify AOL and its users as a security risk. :-p
That's why I recommend AVG. Norton has the highest detection rate of viruses and such according to many tests I've read in tech magazines. However, AVG does a pretty darn good job and has less problems for end users. Oh, and it's cheaper too----FREE.
It was time for me to upgrade my Norton's Antivirus so last week I purchased it from a local store (I will not do the automatic renewals online or download from online).
I installed it and everything was fine until I ran the first virus scan and it locked me out of the internet. Uninstalling Norton's Antivirus did not help I had to actually go back to a restore point.
After going thru this twice in an attempt to get it to work, I gave up and bought McAfee Antivirus just last night and now I am good to go with no problems.
To bad I did not hear of this problem with Norton's until today, would have saved me $35.00.
Forgot to mention.. I dont use AOL, I have a local ISP (hence the title of my post).
Anyway even though I removed Norton's entirely from my PC, my network card was hijacked by something Norton's did. I could not for the life of me figure out what it did to it. That is why I had to then do a system restore in order to get the internet back.
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Nothing but trouble.
a long time yet
It is something like, "Chocolate isn't that nice, and because of that, I never eat it!!!".
:)
I installed it and everything was fine until I ran the first virus scan and it locked me out of the internet. Uninstalling Norton's Antivirus did not help I had to actually go back to a restore point.
After going thru this twice in an attempt to get it to work, I gave up and bought McAfee Antivirus just last night and now I am good to go with no problems.
To bad I did not hear of this problem with Norton's until today, would have saved me $35.00.
Anyway even though I removed Norton's entirely from my PC, my network card was hijacked by something Norton's did. I could not for the life of me figure out what it did to it. That is why I had to then do a system restore in order to get the internet back.