McAfee antivirus program goes berserk, freezes PCs

Originally posted by Xammu
As a McAfee user myself, this news is not very comforting. Should I use something else? Norton?

I gave you a star my friend, for being an example of successful marketing!

Of all the well known anti viruses, those two suckers are the worst ones! They are a hazard to your computer, however crazy that sounds. I should know, I use one all the time due to corporate rules.

Anyways, if you have a precious liberty to chose an anti virus product, don't chose those two. A FREE Microsoft anti virus is better than those two, not to mention commercial ones which I won't name here. The only and I repeat ONLY good thing about them two is a centralized control system for large scale corporations so end users have minimal control over their AV software.

Considering how those antiviruses are made and (not) maintained, it is obvious that sooner or later a catastrophe would occur. I also work as a software developer myself and I usually think of bunch of drunken lemurs bashing on a keyboard when I wonder how they wrote that software .

Originally posted by Xammu
As a McAfee user myself, this news is not very comforting. Should I use something else? Norton?

Yes, you should use something else..
No, not norton..

Ubuntu.

Windows XP users are affected, Windows 7 and Vista are fine.

Windows's svchost.exe, legit part of operating system has been marked as false positive and because McAfee deletes it or quarantines, system becomes unstable.

Recommended security apps by their effectiveness;
1. Comodo Internet Security 4 Free
2. Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
3. Norton Internet Security 2010 [does NOT slow your pc anymore]


Respect


[edit on 22-4-2010 by GakunGak]

Originally posted by MikeboydUS
I really think there may have been more to this than meets the eye.

I would like to know if any ATS members use McAfee and did they have any odd or bizarre behavior today from their PCs.

Its claimed that the file McAfee detected was part of Windows and that it was a harmelss file, but I am not so sure. Windows collects various data on its users and sends it back to Microsoft. Supposedly the data is anonymous, but I am pretty sure IP addresses are logged. Maybe McAfee picked up on some Echelon related Trojan.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 21/4/10 by MikeboydUS]

All free anti virus software has rendered my computer useless, i hav ehad to use windows restore several times in the last month as I attempted to update expired free anti virus software.
Why? they want our loot .
Here is a free tip, dont sign up to any free software anti virus offer, they will make it impossible for you to earse their core files and when you try and download another free antivirus your computer will crash.

if you want to download something...

try this..
www.ubuntu.com...

Originally posted by Ahmose
if you want to download something...

try this..
www.ubuntu.com...

I have something better:

www.sandboxie.com...

They use McAffee at work and we had no problems at all and we have Win XP installed on them.

Personally I would rather eat my own head than use McAffee or Norton.

I have been a very happy user of AVG Free for years and never had a single problem with it, as long as you keep the Virus Defs up to date, which is the same as any AV software really.

BTW, does anyone else think it's disgusting that Norton makes you pay a yearly subscription in order to keep updating the Virus Defs? How many times do they want you to pay for their over priced, crappy software?

[edit on 22-4-2010 by nik1halo]

This isn't the first time McAfee issued an update that wreaked havoc on their users systems. A year or so back they released an update that flagged all sorts of Office files as being/containing viruses.
.doc, .ppt, etc.

I just never understood why people spend good money for something to slow their systems down and provide mediocre protection at best.

Norton/McAfee were rather good progs back in, say, Win98 era, but they've since become more and more bloated, resource hungry crapware, imo.

Norton WAS crap before, now is very very strong suite, especially their 2010 and upcoming 2011....
However, virus definitions are old and unreliable technology, that's why many suites are using Behavior blockers and HIPS [Host Intrusion and Prevention System], like Kaspersky, Comodo, Avast, Avira, etc...
Some are adding Sandbox, like Comodo, Kaspersky and Avast....
People are testing them every day, youtube prevention tests....

Couple sites of interest:
www.remove-malware.com...
forums.comodo.com...
www.matousec.com...
Immunet is pretty good too!
www.immunet.com...

Whatever makes you happy, go for it, but remember, there is no 100%, because no matter how good or bad a program is, the ultimate decision making is to the user...

My laptop is an XP machine (7 hadn't been released yet, so i paid to downgrade to XP when i bought it last summer). But i had it built without virus protection. I didn't want McAfee to ever touch my system. I use Kaspersky and it is outstanding when in combination with smart browsing, and Mozilla firefox with NoScript installed.

On my other cpu i installed Ubuntu. I know nothing about Linux, but am sick of paying money in the Windows virus protection racket. My family can just learn to use Ubuntu and get over it. We all actually love it. It is a much, much better OS than Windows. And i don't have to worry about viruses, for the most part.

reply to post by MikeboydUS


It was a pretty big deal at my help desk. Some computers simply restarted after 60 seconds.
Other computers couldn't access the network and couldn't copy/paste.
The anti virus program was quarantining all the required stuff for the computer to operate

Originally posted by MegaCurious
reply to post by MikeboydUS

 

It was a pretty big deal at my help desk. Some computers simply restarted after 60 seconds.
Other computers couldn't access the network and couldn't copy/paste.
The anti virus program was quarantining all the required stuff for the computer to operate

It was svchost.exe, which initiated computer restart authority NT after 60 seconds, and also this file is used for networking....
Have a look here:
vil.nai.com...

reply to post by Romanian


I agree. I recommend Avira Anti-Virus myself. Free, easy to use, and it doesn't automatically install virus, spyware and trojans on your PC like Norton, McAfee, and the others do. I know all about Norton, because I have a friend who worked for the company.

I use PC Linux myself, easy to install and configure, as easy as Ubuntu, and many programs available in the repos. Comes with media codecs and players, is fast and stable. Here ya go:
pclinuxos.com...
PCL also has a friendly forum where help is available for the new user.
www.pclinuxos.com...

Yeah, PCLinux looks good, downloading and will test in VmWare Workstation

reply to post by Ahmose




Ubuntu is a far superior OS to Windows. I like it better than Mac's OS too (my son has a Macbook).

But before anyone decides on Ubuntu, make sure you do your homework first so you understand how to execute commands, how the OS is structured, and why it is so superior from a security perspective.

It also doesn't hurt to have a few links handy to give you command scripts to run in Terminal so you can force the updates to run rather than having to wait. As well, you will want to have an undersatnding of what kinds of tweaks you are looking for (like to increase boot speed, reduce Namoroka/Firefox scrolling and compatibility issues, etc).

In short, you will need to get your image and setup process planned out. Look before you leap. If you do your homework and do the "upgrade" to Linux, you will not regret it.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


definitely.

also..
Ubuntu is soo good now, that people never even have to use the terminal at all until they are comfy with it. lol

Ive installed it on 7 or so different pc's in the last 4-5 months. ..
and 3 of the users still have not touched the terminal,
and they are loving the OS. . lol
they can slide into the terminal when they are ready.

Ubuntu really is getting more amazing always.
Ill never go back to window$.....

ever. lol

for real, give it a look, read a little, and youll be set...
and youll actually like your PC again! lol

reply to post by Ahmose


I will have to keep a Windows laptop for compatibility issues with work that i do.

But for home use, i could not agree more.

The first time i found out i had another desktop i could use, i almost fell out of my chair.

There are lots of nice people out there that will help you by providing the commands for you to copy/paste into Terminal. Without it, i would never have figured it out.

reply to post by Ahmose


I use Linux for more than 7 years now,but i find Ubuntu the best when we talk about people used to Windows . I will definitely try other versions too,it is good to look around.

I fix computers for some extra money - and people are always impressed when I tell them about Linux , so half of my customers want to give it a try! I get a few calls on how to do that and that with Ubuntu, but most of the people are so happy (and proud) with Linux! .

You do not even need to install a thing if you just want to take a look - just burn a DVD with the "live version" and it is going to run directly from your DVD (ok, bit slower than the installed version!). I guess it is actually good to just play with the DVD version before you install it , so you make sure it works with your computer (videocards can have some issues if the model is bit odd ).

One lady actually gained money by switching to Ubuntu ! she used to have Microsoft Office - just used for typing and keeping documents , but she paid a lot for the software as it was not a home edition. She wanted to give it a go with Linux (because of the viruses on Windows too) , she liked it and now she got a spare Microsoft Office Business edition for sale ) on e-bay! She is using Open Office instead and several other project management applications she would not have the cash to buy under Windows.

So yep, give it a try and tell the others too





[edit on 23-4-2010 by Romanian]

moved my question to BTS





[edit on 23-4-2010 by LadySkadi]

reply to post by LadySkadi


hehe, this thread is shifting towards a Linux thread indeed.

1) What you can do is to install a so called "Virtual Machine" in your Windows 7.
I use Sun Virtual Box (www.virtualbox.org... ). This virtual machine is allowing you to create virtual computers inside your Windows, so you can try different operating systems. It works quite well if you do not use your computer for gaming

Then inside this virtual machine , you can try different versions and see what is best for you. Why i keep recommending Ubuntu is because it has this "Ubuntu Software Center" in your main menu. It simply means you can choose and install from thousands of free software just by connecting to this software center section.

2) You could just install a dual boot, quite a good idea if you want to still use Windows . Every time you start your laptop you will be prompted if you wish to go on Linux or Windows.

I used Ubuntu on fairly old laptops (latest Ubuntu linux on a 7-8 years old laptop) and i had no issue at all. I would keep Windows 7, it is the best version of Windows ever done however it does not guarantee the security of Linux..