Two weeks ago, users of AVG's virus scanner awoke to a nasty surprise: their supposed security software had been updated to identify the file named user32.dll as malicious. Those people most keen to protect their computer systems followed the instructions as directed and deleted the file - only to find that they were now stuck in an endless cycle of reboots.
User32.dll is a core Windows file; and not, as identified by AVG, a Trojan Horse named PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN. This is not the first time AVG has struggled with misidentifying Malware, nor is it the first time an Anti Virus company has recommended users remove core Windows files.
In December of last year, Anti Virus company Kaspersky Labs decided that a Virus existed within Windows Explorer, the graphical user interface for Windows itself. Thankfully, Kaspersky managed to catch the error before the damage was too widespread; though, I imagine the employees at the UK enterprise that was affected would tell a different story.
Even Microsoft is guilty of such casual coding. In 2007, Microsoft's OneCare, an Anti Virus product, when used with Internet Explorer 7, was flagging Google's Gmail as a Virus. Even Microsoft's own product weren't safe, with OneCare regularly quarantining or deleting all of the email in a user's inbox.
AV companies tout their wares as the silver bullet for personal protection. You know this isn't true. I know this isn't true. So, why doesn't everybody else?
It was bad enough that the generic, non-technical computer user didn't know that his Anti Virus software is only protecting him from a small percentage of modern threats. Now we also have to let them in on the secret that their "protection" might sometimes do more harm than good.
User32.dll is a core Windows file; and not, as identified by AVG, a Trojan Horse named PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN. This is not the first time AVG has struggled with misidentifying Malware, nor is it the first time an Anti Virus company has recommended users remove core Windows files.
In December of last year, Anti Virus company Kaspersky Labs decided that a Virus existed within Windows Explorer, the graphical user interface for Windows itself. Thankfully, Kaspersky managed to catch the error before the damage was too widespread; though, I imagine the employees at the UK enterprise that was affected would tell a different story.
Even Microsoft is guilty of such casual coding. In 2007, Microsoft's OneCare, an Anti Virus product, when used with Internet Explorer 7, was flagging Google's Gmail as a Virus. Even Microsoft's own product weren't safe, with OneCare regularly quarantining or deleting all of the email in a user's inbox.
AV companies tout their wares as the silver bullet for personal protection. You know this isn't true. I know this isn't true. So, why doesn't everybody else?
It was bad enough that the generic, non-technical computer user didn't know that his Anti Virus software is only protecting him from a small percentage of modern threats. Now we also have to let them in on the secret that their "protection" might sometimes do more harm than good.
