The Highlander Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Microsoft Anti-Spyware Removes Norton Anti-Virus According to a story over at Washingtonpost.com, the latest definitions file for Microsoft's Anti-Spyware beta flags Symantec's Norton Antivirus products as a password-stealing trojan and prompts users to delete portions of the program. Users who follow the instructions hose their installation of Norton, requiring delicate Windows registry edits and a complete removal/reinstall of Norton. Microsoft's support forum is quickly filling up with complaints about this problem, many from businesses that have been pretty hard hit. This should be a cautionary tale about deploying beta products in production environments." Posted By Bink on February 12, 2006 at 8:28 AM Update: Looks like there may be other Antivirus Apps getting parts deleted, Make sure you have a Recovery snapshot or an image of your system before using this months def update version, or if you are unsure then use a freeware product like Spybot or anything other than this release. Be Warned it has happened before on the 19th Jan Here is also a post from Wednesday, January 19 12:00 AM ET Microsoft's AntiSpyware Tool Removes Internet Explorer Many Microsoft Windows users who downloaded the recently released AntiSpyware program from Microsoft, or had it installed through an automatic Windows update, woke up to a surprise. Unintentionally, the heuristics of the software detected Internet Explorer as spyware, and removed the program from their systems. Microsoft has pulled the program from its website until the problem can be corrected. Elias Weatherbee, a Microsoft representative, said the program was "only in beta" and that "a fix was forthcoming." "It shows how powerful our AntiSpyware program is," said Weatherbee. "Not only is it able to remove spyware from the system, but also the source of most spyware. Our competitors can't match that." Many computer users did not view this new "feature" positively. "I tried to check the weather this morning and all my little blue 'e' icons were missing. I couldn't get to the Internet at all. I guess I'll have to get a new computer," said Windows XP user Graham Newton. Users of alternative browsers were happy to see Internet Explorer gone. Thad Freeman of the Mozilla Users Group said, "I've been trying for years to get rid of Internet Explorer. I never imagined that Microsoft would do it for me. I'm ecstatic." Microsoft technical support was advising customers to reinstall Windows to regain Internet access and to disable automatic updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn98109 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Microsoft Anti-Spyware Removes Norton Anti-VirusAccording to a story over at Washingtonpost.com, the latest definitions file for Microsoft's Anti-Spyware beta flags Symantec's Norton Antivirus products as a password-stealing trojan and prompts users to delete portions of the program. Users who follow the instructions hose their installation of Norton, requiring delicate Windows registry edits and a complete removal/reinstall of Norton. Microsoft's support forum is quickly filling up with complaints about this problem, many from businesses that have been pretty hard hit. This should be a cautionary tale about deploying beta products in production environments." Posted By Bink on February 12, 2006 at 8:28 AM Thank you. I haven't tried the MS scan, but it was either down or busy, or I would've.. However, I have already removed and replaced Norton AV 2005 before it managed to fry my 400MHz processor. Presently have eTrust EZ AV 2005. Still, MS might not like that, either. Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sknis Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Leave it to MS to screw things up. The product was developed by "Giant" and it worked well. It does not screw up AVG (free edition) -- or at least I got no warning messages. Microsoft Anti-Spyware Removes Norton Anti-VirusAccording to a story over at Washingtonpost.com, the latest definitions file for Microsoft's Anti-Spyware beta flags Symantec's Norton Antivirus products as a password-stealing trojan and prompts users to delete portions of the program. Users who follow the instructions hose their installation of Norton, requiring delicate Windows registry edits and a complete removal/reinstall of Norton. Microsoft's support forum is quickly filling up with complaints about this problem, many from businesses that have been pretty hard hit. This should be a cautionary tale about deploying beta products in production environments." Posted By Bink on February 12, 2006 at 8:28 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerman Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Leave it to MS to screw things up. The product was developed by "Giant" and it worked well. It does not screw up AVG (free edition) -- or at least I got no warning messages. I'm pretty sure the installation of the IE7 beta automatically adds MS antispyware to your system so if that's the case, beware. I've not run into this problem yet but am interested in what MS says next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 I have Norton Internet Security 2005 and I will have to keep a close eye on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patty Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 I have Norton Internet Sec and I haven't had a problem yet, but I will keep an eye on it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDWAGON Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 I too am running Norton Internet Security 2005 and have not had any problems so far, but will definitely keep a watchful eye out for anything. Thanks for the info. Frank..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanrosenfeld Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 This was corrected within 24 hours with new signature update ( current is 5807) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Highlander Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 This was corrected within 24 hours with new signature update ( current is 5807) Hello Jeanrosenfield Even if they have fixed it, it seams to happened to often for my liking, even if it is a beta, my issue is that they force (a Beta) down the SUS or on line updates so limited knowledge users are forced to use the products ( they don't know any better) and then it causes this sort of mass screw up, They also do this to most corporates as well , and unlike my large platform here we turn this product off, most use it, and you can imagine the work involved every time the screw up on an update ect... Don't get me wrong, were i manage is a Microsoft house, but this product they issue should stay off the public sector until beta has been completed. All the views and thoughts here are mine only and don't represent any Users or the board here in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlpasley Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Don't get me wrong, were i manage is a Microsoft house, but this product they issue should stay off the public sector until beta has been completed.All the views and thoughts here are mine only and don't represent any Users or the board here in any way. I agree, but then where would they get the thousands of guinea pigs to test the software and mess up their computers so that they'll be clamouring for the newer version of Windows that will be free from errors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn98109 Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 I agree, but then where would they get the thousands of guinea pigs to test the software and mess up their computers so that they'll be clamouring for the newer version of Windows that will be free from errors? Wish I knew the rest of the song, but a bit of melody comes to mind - You lost your way the other day - Seeking the Melody Man ... Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlpasley Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 That was a sarcastic statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Highlander Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Update to the story.... Microsoft Fixes Flag That Says Symantec Software Is Spyware Some users got error messages wrongly saying that Symantec software was riddled with spyware and recommending users remove the 'faulty' packages. Symantec and Microsoft are now working together to help these customers. Feb 13, 2006 03:04 PM The preview of Microsoft's Windows AntiSpyware wrongly fingered two Symantec enterprise anti-virus products as password-stealing programs last week. If users followed Microsoft's recommendation and removed the offending Registry key, the Symantec software turned into so much digital junk. Microsoft has corrected the false flagging, it said Monday. Symantec, meanwhile, announced that it had crafted a free tool to repair damaged installations of its Symantec AntiVirus (SAV) Corporate Edition and Symantec Client Security (SCS). The problem stemmed from a Windows AntiSpyware Beta 1 update late Thursday, Feb. 9, dubbed "5805, which incorrectly identified a registry key for SAV and SCS as belonging to a password-stealing keylogger known as PWS.Bancos.a, which harks back to 2003. Microsoft's anti-spyware program prompted users to remove the misidentified registry key; if they did, SAV and SCS stopped working. "Once this issue was discovered, Microsoft quickly released a new signature set (5807) to remove this false positive," said a Microsoft spokesman Monday. "Both companies are working jointly together to identify the number of affected customers, which we believe to be very limited." Early Monday, Microsoft recommended that affected users call on Windows XP's System Restore to restore to a time before the keys were deleted, or reinstall the Symantec software. In a separate statement later Monday, Symantec said it had come up with an automated tool to repair affected systems. "This tool is available at no charge from Symantec Product Support Services," a Symantec spokesman said. Coincidentally, Microsoft and Symantec -- longtime partners -- last week took jabs at each other over the former's official entrance into the consumer security market. Symantec made a point, however, to stress that its consumer titles, including Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security, were not affected by the Microsoft mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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