Symantec antivirus software update crashes some PCs

A bug in an update of Symantec's anti-virus software caused some Windows PCs to crash late last week, making machines inoperable until they were serviced in an embarrassing episode that angered some customers.

"On July 11th, 2012 Symantec Security Response started receiving reports of customers experiencing blue screens after applying the July 11th revision 18 definitions," Orla Cox, of Symantec Security Response, wrote in a blog post. "Machines may continue to blue screen after they reboot. This problem only appears to occur on Windows XP machines."

"The root cause of the issue was an incompatibility due to a three-way interaction between some third-party software that implements a file system driver using kernel stack based file objects — typical of encryption drivers, the SONAR signature and the Windows XP Cache manager," Orla Cox added. "The SONAR signature update caused new file operations that create the conflict and led to the system crash."

"Although we are not providing compensation packages, we are working around the clock to provide information on remediation and technical support to help customers address this issue," Symantec spokesperson Ellen Hayes explained. "This includes reaching out to customers directly to offer technical assistance who have posted comments to our online community seeking help."

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