Bungled Antivirus Update Damages Windows XP PCs

Bungled Antivirus Update Damages Windows XP PCs

A defective AVG antivirus software crippled several computers embedded with Windows XP operating system.


Based on the alerts released by AVG Technologies, the flawed software identified the "user32.dll" file as a Trojan horse. Subsequently, the antivirus quarantines the file resulting to a crippled computer.



AVG verified the flaw on its support site. The company noted, "In case you are not able to run your Windows XP operating system after AVG 8.0 virus definition update, it may be caused by a false positive on a specific 'user32.dll' system file. The file was moved to the AVG Virus Vault and deleted. Therefore it is not possible to start Windows."



The security also posted instructions for the affected users and a utility is offered to patch the problem for those who do not have their installation disc. The utility is only available for AVG Antivirus 8.0 users. Another tool will be released for users who have the AVG Antivirus 7.5 version.