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• Flawed AVG antivirus update
• Global Newsletter: Social Networking
• Sale: Second Hand PCs

Flawed AVG antivirus update cripples Windows XP PCs

November 11, 2008 (Computerworld) A flawed signature update to AVG Technologies' antivirus software over the weekend crippled some Windows XP PCs by mistakenly deleting a critical system file, the company has confirmed.

According to AVG, an update released late Saturday fingered the "user32.dll" file as a Trojan horse. As per the program's settings, the AVG software, shut the .dll away in quarantine, then deleted it. "A number of users who installed the update mistakenly received a warning that the Windows system file user32.dll product Version 5.1.2600.3099 was infected with a Trojan virus and were prompted to delete a file essential to the operation of Windows XP," a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Users of the newest AVG Antivirus 8.0 and its predecessor, AVG Antivirus 7.5, were affected. The AVG spokeswoman claimed that only users running Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish language versions of Windows XP were affected. Computerworld was unable to confirm that, however.

"If you have chosen 'heal' or 'quarantine,' your PC will no longer restart," said a panicked user named "pa3bar" in a message Sunday. "It shows a blue screen at start-up and tells you it cannot find winsvr, error c0000135. System recovery has no effect."

On its support site, AVG posted instructions that involved running Windows XP's Recovery Console, disabling several AVG services and restoring the user32.dll file by copying it from the operating system's install CD. For users unable to locate their installation disc, AVG offered a utility that fixed the problem; those users also needed to create a bootable CD or USB drive.

The utility work-around was for AVG Antivirus 8.0 only; a similar utility for AVG Antivirus 7.5 will be available "soon," according to a message posted by a support forum moderator today.

AVG released a follow-up signature update to correct the problem, but that solution only worked if the user had not turned off his PC, or rebooted it, after installing the buggy update and then deleting user32.dll.

Although AVG posted work-arounds on its support site, it did not publicize the problem on the front page of its Web site.

This wasn't the first time that AVG has been in the limelight. Last summer, the LinkScanner Search-Shield component of its antivirus software triggered a flood of bogus traffic to Web sites, angering site operators.

Nor is AVG the only security vendor to issue a damaging update. Only last September, a Trend Micro signature mistook several critical Windows XP and Vista system files for malware, blocking the PCs from booting.

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Global Newsletter
November 2008

MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Nexopia, Hi5, Skyrock and Friendster are common examples of online communities or ‘social networking’ websites. They enable you to build connections to people who share your interests and provide communication methods like instant messaging, message boards and status messages. 

This kind of electronic group communication is nothing new - in fact local computer bulletin board systems existed in the 1970s. However, today’s social networking sites have become another vital component of online life for many people, sometimes regarded as important as e-mail. This is due to many factors, including:

1) Their ease of access, as computers and high speed internet are now expected in most homes and businesses;

2) Their integration with other media components such as photos (which can often be uploaded directly from a compatible mobile phone camera) and videos (e.g. YouTube site video links);

3) Their ‘instant’ communication feeds, where you can see the new status messages of all of your friends on one screen.

These technology components have a universal appeal across a wide range of ages – whether you are sharing homework tips with your school friends, keeping in touch about overseas travel adventures or sharing stories about your children or grandchildren.

But unless you have everything set to ‘private’, beware what information you post that other people can view. Apart from obvious sensitive personal information (such as your address or phone number), other things that you say on your profile page can also get you into trouble. Many employers and prospective employers use the internet as a research tool, so don’t announce that you are looking for a new job if you don’t want that to be made public. Even if your boss can’t see your message, someone else may decide to give your boss a call and let them know. There have also been many examples where disciplinary action has been taken because someone has posted negative comments about a named customer, or has raved about their great day when they had called in sick.

There is a strong debate about whether access to these websites should be allowed ‘on work time’. People naturally want to communicate and build friendships, so banning these sites can be seen as tyrannical. In some industries such as recruitment, a social networking presence is encouraged, as it helps to build a pool of possible candidates. It’s also argued that team works together better (especially teams with members in multiple locations), if the members have an opportunity to learn about others likes, dislikes and interests outside of the workplace. However, work productivity is a concern for employers, so technology measures that restrict or monitor the usage of these sites can be helpful when combined with ‘acceptable usage’ guidelines. 

If you would like to learn more about the risks of social networking websites,
talk to Computer Troubleshooters ~ Avonside

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