McAfee update is locking users out of their systems

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  1. Dark Nova Gamer
    Posts : 3,639
    Windows 7 Ultimate, OS X 10.7, Ubuntu 11.04
       New #1

    McAfee update is locking users out of their systems


    Neowin.net said:
    Wide spread reports are hitting the web that McAfee Antivirus update is causing major issues with end users PC’s. Reports are coming in that the “update to Dat 5958” is killing SVCHOST.exe.

    As reports are surfacing in our forums and across the web, the issue appears to be wide spread and u2_storm is saying that “We have received thousands of reports indicating some issues with McAfee DAT 5958 causing Windows XP SP3 clients to be locked out”. Currently the only possible solution may be to downgrade your client to downgrading to 5957 and restoring SVChost.exe.
    Read the full article here.
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  3. IggyAZ
    Posts : 846
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #2

    WOW! The latest is that McAfee will have a fix today 4/21/10
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  4. Dark Nova Gamer
    Posts : 3,639
    Windows 7 Ultimate, OS X 10.7, Ubuntu 11.04
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Cida said:
    Hmm, I recommend using: Avira, Malware Anti Bytes, and Online Armor.
    And I recommend using Microsoft Security Essentials, but that doesn't change much for the users of McAfee right now. :)
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  6. Corrine
    Posts : 2,303
    Windows 7 & Windows Vista Ultimate
       New #4

    Buggy McAfee Update


    Fortunate for Windows Vista & Windows 7 folks, this only affected Windows XP PCs:

    Early reports attributed the widespread problems to a routine McAfee update that caused computers with Microsoft's Service Pack 3 installed to incorrectly identify a legitimate operating system component as containing a virus.

    A McAfee representative confirmed the problem to CNET, and said the buggy update code had been removed from the company's servers and that a fixed version would be made available shortly.

    "McAfee is aware that a number of customers have incurred a false-positive error due to incorrect malware alerts on Wednesday, April 21. The problem occurs with the 5958 virus definition file (DAT) that was released on April 21" at 6 a.m. PT, the company said in a statement.
    Buggy McAfee update slams Windows XP PCs | Security - CNET News

    ICS reported that it was a false positive which identifies a regular Windows binary, "svchost.exe", as "W32/Wecorl.a", a virus.

    Recovery information at ICS: McAfee DAT 5958 Update Issues
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  7. Corrine
    Posts : 2,303
    Windows 7 & Windows Vista Ultimate
       New #5

    As I understand it, the bad update affected only Windows XP, SP3 PCs, not Windows Vista or Windows 7.

    McAfee released an updated DAT file, and an "EXTRA.DAT" file to fix the problem. An EXTRA.DAT file is a patch to just fix the bad signature. McAfee's support web sites currently respond slowly and are down at times, likely due to the increased load caused by this issue.
    More at ICS: McAfee DAT 5958 Update Issues

    McAfee Knowledgebase Article: https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/inde...ent&id=KB68780
    EXTRA.DAT file: W32/Wecorl.a | Virus Profile & Definition | McAfee Inc..
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  8. mhasanbulli
    Posts : 45
    Windows 7 (32-Bits)
       New #6

    What is happening to virus programs? Last month, it was BitDefender which caused BSOD on millions of machines. I personally was a fan of Norton but I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials. People should try it =)
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  10. thefabe
    Posts : 4,280
    Windows 7 ultimate 64 bit / XP Home sp3
       New #7

    Here's another article. Was just going to post this darn you DNG LOL. McAfee antivirus program goes berserk, freezes PCs - Yahoo! News
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  11. Dark Nova Gamer
    Posts : 3,639
    Windows 7 Ultimate, OS X 10.7, Ubuntu 11.04
    Thread Starter
       New #8

    thefabe said:
    Here's another article. Was just going to post this darn you DNG LOL. McAfee antivirus program goes berserk, freezes PCs - Yahoo! News
    I'm always on Neowin and refresh it every other minute so, I'm pretty quick with posting articles.
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  12. TOMPPA
    Posts : 33
    win7 ultimate 64bit , win7 home premium 32bit
       New #9

    LIFEHACKER HAD SOMTING TO
    How to Fix the McAfee Restart Debacle on Your Machines - Malware - Lifehacker
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  13. ccatlett1984
    Posts : 795
    windows 7 RTM x64
       New #10

    I work for a large local hospital, and we were hit by this screw up today. I am still working on a tool to automate the fix for our tech's at offsite locations.

    If the machine pulled down the bad dat file there are two methods for fixing it.

    If its domain connected, you can push a gpo to the machine to copy the extra.dat file that mcafee has distributed. Then if its not working (only a small percentage of machines) boot into winpe and copy the backup copy of svchost.exe to the system32 directory.

    If the machine is not domain joined the quickest solution is to boot directly to winpe and copy both files from it.
    Last edited by ccatlett1984; 21 Apr 2010 at 23:27.
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