Saturday, March 9, 2013

Windows XP Users, Kicked Off The Web after Antivirus Update

This is a guest post by Taylor Miller.

Computer malwares and viruses may be something that you can’t avoid. It’s like being sick because you’re human and all you can do is prevent attacks beforehand even before it comes to you. That’s how antiviruses should work right? However, computer users were rattled when the supposedly helpful antivirus worked against them.

The issue sprouted after thousands of Windows XP users applied for a misfiring antivirus update, which they don’t know about, from Kaspersky lab and were blocked from accessing the internet during the week because of the said update.

The said attack seemed alarming but Windows Vista and Windows 7 users need not to be afraid since they are immune and unaffected with the said updates. However, the problem goes differently for consumers and business owners of Windows XP users since they are the most affected by the update.  Inconvenienced users quickly piled up and filled up Kaspersky’s support forums relating the same problem over and over. Complaints mirrored how frustrated and stressed users are over the update and in less than two days, system administrators from Kaspersky Lab have more than enough complaints to work about solving.

Both Windows XP users and Kaspersky’s system admins are affected by the snafu and has been inconvenienced with considerable reasons. Within two hours after the problem bobbed and bombarded users late on Monday this week, Kaspersky’s anti-virus firm in Russia published that if users are to disable the Web AV component of their antivirus software, the problem could be resolved. It was added that the Web AV component can be reapplied anyway once the installation of a revised set of virus definition files is done. However, this still posed a difficulty as the update may roll back more problems especially when it remains unsolved.

Not coming off well antivirus updates does seem normal and affects computer and antivirus users from time to time. However, you would see how inconvenient it is when such a problem happens; regular business operations are slowed down and worst delayed while regular users find it irritating especially for those who can’t get access to the web. Installing a revised set of virus definition files and looking for an answer online would be easy and straightforward, however if your access to the web is the one affected, accessing information and instructions may not be that easy.

Kaspersky Lab has officially apologized for the trouble their database update error have caused and made further the apology by saying that their system admins are already working to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Affected systems include the x86 computers or known as the Windows XP with installed products like Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8, Kaspersky Endpoint Security 10, Kasperksy Anti-Virus meant for Windows Workstations version 6.04 MP4, Kaspersky Pure 2.0 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and 2013. Thus, not all XP users have been affected but only those who sport the listed anti-virus program in their Windows XP PCs.

Antivirus firms have made good progress to assure users of a virus-free and malware-free experience with using their computers and even the web. Still, a bad update might still get through one’s system and cause difficulty to some. Nevertheless the issue actually lies when a lot of users are left with computers that won’t run or boot up properly to make the process work better. It can be most problematic for users because of personal reasons and problematic as well for system admins because they need to start identifying the problem by looking at core operating system components which might be the cause of the problem. Once the problem is determined, the components are carried off into quarantine then leaving the system not to function well. The antivirus update which attacked XP users are not as bad as it may seem but stressed out a lot of users anyway.

About the Author
Taylor Miller is a freelance writer and blogger laying out for tech news via online exposures. She is the author of the site: mobile spywhere you can get valuable information about spy software program on your cell phone.

Share/Bookmark