McAfee Antivirus Tool Blocks Internet Access

Dom · Aug 8, 2003, 01:35 AM

Some Network Associates Inc. customers are up in arms over an update for one of the company's antivirus products that is preventing them from accessing the Internet.

The problem is caused by an update for McAfee VirusScan Professional 7.0, the company's flagship enterprise antivirus application. When update 7.03 is installed on some machines running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, it prevents the PCs from connecting to the Internet after the suggested reboot. The problem seems to be affecting customers who upgraded from 7.02 to 7.03.

McAfee has pulled the update from its download servers and is performing quality checks on it, according to information on the company's Web site, but has not provided customers with any instructions on how to fix affected machines.

"I am so angry with these people it's palpable. I write software and cannot believe they released a patch before thoroughly testing it," said Michael Shohoney, a VirusScan user who said his PC was down for more than six hours before he was able to restore the Internet connection.

A spokeswoman at NAI, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said she was unaware of the problem and would look into it.

Some users report that uninstalling the troublesome patch and reverting to the last known good version of VirusScan restores their Internet connectivity. However, others say this hasn't worked for them.

A McAfee technical support representative writing in the site's help forums said that the company believes the problem lies in a DLL that controls the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK), a feature that looks for malicious and "virus-like" behavior.

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Source: eWeek

JavaFox · Aug 8, 2003, 03:02 AM

That's one way to secure your PC...

Dyre Straits · Aug 8, 2003, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JavaFox
That's one way to secure your PC...

You said it!

Here's one possible method of restoring connectivity:

I use Outlook 2000. (Outlook Express 6 and other Outlook versions might have some of the same options.)

Open Outlook or OE6
Go to Tools and select Options.
Click the Other tab.
Click the Advanced Options button.
Click the Add-in Manager.

Uncheck anything with Virusxxxx in the line....especially the line with HAWK in it.

Vengeance · Aug 8, 2003, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JavaFox
That's one way to secure your PC...

Beat me too it

Aug 8, 2003, 01:35 AM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	McAfee Antivirus Tool Blocks Internet Access Some Network Associates Inc. customers are up in arms over an update for one of the company's antivirus products that is preventing them from accessing the Internet. The problem is caused by an update for McAfee VirusScan Professional 7.0, the company's flagship enterprise antivirus application. When update 7.03 is installed on some machines running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, it prevents the PCs from connecting to the Internet after the suggested reboot. The problem seems to be affecting customers who upgraded from 7.02 to 7.03. McAfee has pulled the update from its download servers and is performing quality checks on it, according to information on the company's Web site, but has not provided customers with any instructions on how to fix affected machines. "I am so angry with these people it's palpable. I write software and cannot believe they released a patch before thoroughly testing it," said Michael Shohoney, a VirusScan user who said his PC was down for more than six hours before he was able to restore the Internet connection. A spokeswoman at NAI, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said she was unaware of the problem and would look into it. Some users report that uninstalling the troublesome patch and reverting to the last known good version of VirusScan restores their Internet connectivity. However, others say this hasn't worked for them. A McAfee technical support representative writing in the site's help forums said that the company believes the problem lies in a DLL that controls the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK), a feature that looks for malicious and "virus-like" behavior. ____________________ Source: eWeek

Aug 8, 2003, 03:02 AM	#2
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	That's one way to secure your PC...