Topic: Microsoft Anti-Spyware Deleting Norton Anti-Virus

[Clive]

Washington Post

Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program is causing troubles for people who also use Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus software; apparently, a recent update to Microsoft's anti-spyware application flags Norton as a password-stealing program and prompts users to remove it.

According to several different support threads over at Microsoft's user groups forum, the latest definitions file from Microsoft "(version 5805, 5807) detects Symantec Antivirus files as PWS.Bancos.A (Password Stealer)."

When Microsoft Anti-Spyware users remove the flagged Norton file as prompted, Symantec's product gets corrupted and no longer protects the user's machine. The Norton user then has to go through the Windows registry and delete multiple entries (registry editing is always a dicey affair that can quickly hose a system if the user doesn't know what he or she is doing) so that the program can be completely removed and re-installed.

I put in calls to Microsoft and to Symantec on this issue, but am still waiting to hear back from both companies.

Microsoft said it is shipping updates that fix this problem, but judging from the growing number of other threads on this in that forum, this is shaping up to be a pretty big issue for companies that have deployed Microsoft's free anti-spyware product inside their networks. It's a good idea to keep in mind that Microsoft's Anti-Spyware product is in beta mode: The company's product page explicitly says that Microsoft Anti-Spyware should not be deployed in production systems. I'm not apologizing for Redmond in any way; it just seems like too many people ignore warnings about beta products.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/

[chorleydave]

.........it just seems like too many people ignore warnings about beta products.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/

But ALL Microshaft products are beta products.  Even that much loved operating system, Windows XP, is awaiting a multi-hundred-megabyte third service pack to complete it.  By the time that pack has been applied the combined size of the service packs will be about one and a half times the size of the original OS.  If anybody wants a finished Microshaft system, they need to install 98SE and Office 97 with Outlook 98!

Isn't this the same anti-spyware crap that had to be pulled when it was found to be deleting Internet Explorer?  My own view is that with so many alternative anti spyware products freely available, anybody who depends on Microshaft for their security deserves nothing but trouble.

[sam]

well said.