Webroot Antivirus Program Mistakenly IDs Windows as Threat, Creating Chaos
Popular Antivirus Program Mistakenly IDs Windows as
Threat, Creating Chaos
by ALEX JOHNSON TECH
APR 25 2017, 7:53 AM ET
An antivirus service used by tens of thousands of
businesses and millions of home users shut down an untold number of computers
around the world Monday after it mistakenly identified core parts of Microsoft
Windows as threats, the company confirmed.
Webroot Inc. of Broomfield, Colorado, didn't immediately
respond to a request for comment. But it confirmed on its support forum for
customers that it issued an updated detection rule that "identified false
positives" for critical Windows operating files Monday afternoon, resulting
in those files' being "quarantined" and inaccessible to Windows.
@SwiftOnSecurity, an anonymous but well-respected tech
security Twitter account, reported that it appeared that the rule somehow
allowed genuine "signed Microsoft files to be removed."
The rule was distributed and applied by Webroot systems
around the globe for about 13 minutes, the company said — long enough for
businesses, users and administrators to find their files unavailable. Webroot
reported serving about 30 million customers last year.
"The rule was removed and we are in the process of
rolling back all of the false positives that reside in the Webroot Threat
Intelligence platform," the company said.
To make matters worse, Webroot's own systems became
"overloaded" by a mammoth backlog of customers' requests to restore
affected files from its cloud servers, it said.
Follow
Webroot ✔ @Webroot
@DueMarauder We're working on a universal fix now. Follow
our Community thread to stay up-to-date: http://wbrt.io/lj2x .
3:35 PM - 24 Apr 2017
6 6 Retweets 2 2 likes
The glitch first manifested itself as customers
complained that Webroot was mistakenly flagging Facebook.com as a dangerous
identity-fishing site.
Follow
Billy Rountree
@TreeBilliam
I think Webroot is on to something @Snowden
4:59 PM - 24 Apr 2017
4 4 Retweets 4 4 likes
Follow
Sean Porcher
@SeanPorcher
@Webroot I'd love to connect with you on facebook
(actually no I wouldn't) but it won't let me - sorry. LOL LOL
4:50 PM - 24 Apr 2017
2 2 Retweets likes
The company said Monday night that it had resolved that
problem. But at 10:40 p.m. ET, Webroot said it was still working to resolve the
larger issue "and will keep you updated as soon as more information
becomes available."
15h
Keith Sieman
@KeithSieman
> Tfw @Webroot gives you a link to their @facebook
page on the very same screen that's blocking access to Facebook... 🙃
pic.twitter.com/6tued4BKu1
Follow
Webroot ✔ @Webroot
@KeithSieman @facebook A live fix has been released for
the Facebook issue and is propagating through to customers now. Learn more
here: http://wbrt.io/lj2x .
6:45 PM - 24 Apr 2017
W32.Trojan.Gen. False Positive Fix - April 24
Webroot has recently identified false positives for
multiple programs as W32.Trojan.Gen. If you have an endpoint with a file that
was quarantined or
community.webroot.com
2 2 Retweets 1 1 like
It said it had ruled out that it had been the target of
hackers.
Webroot's customers — including numerous so-called
managed service providers, or MSPs, which use Webroot to manage security for
multiple clients of their own — flooded social media to complain.
Follow
Torbjørn Remmen
@torbjornremmen
#Webroot is setting a new record in false positives..
Apparently flagging business applications and OS files in bulk. No QA on
signatures?
4:42 PM - 24 Apr 2017
3 3 Retweets 2 2 likes
18h
Webroot ✔ @Webroot
@DueMarauder We're working on a universal fix now. Follow
our Community thread to stay up-to-date: http://wbrt.io/lj2x .
Follow
Pat Moore
@DueMarauder
@Webroot Any update on a fix for MSP's? I've got well
over 1,000 devices affected by this.
4:41 PM - 24 Apr 2017
Retweets likes
19h
Webroot ✔ @Webroot
@jerrichculli Hi - how can I help you? ~LV
Follow
Josh Cullitan
@jerrichculli
@Webroot i work for a small software company,webroot has
targeted our exe and is removing it from pcs
is there anyway to do like a blanket exclusion
2:17 PM - 24 Apr 2017
1 1 Retweet 2 2 likes
Follow
Jordan Hall
@DivineOmega
.@Webroot has gone bonkers, flagging signed system
executables as malicious, and marking legitimate sites as phishing. 😬 #security #netsec
4:25 PM - 24 Apr 2017
2 2 Retweets likes
At least none of my customers use Webroot (oh please
don't let Bitdefender have dependencies...) https://t.co/Wk95OwJrEo
— Ben Weston (@psiphyr)
FIRST PUBLISHED APR 25 2017, 12:06 AM ET
It's good to see your valuable blog regarding Webroot antivirus and you have written well, keep updating with new webroot blog here...Thank you.....Webroot Phone Number
ReplyDeleteNice to read you blog post for the Webroot antivirus information and you have done pretty impressive work which is nice....webroot customer care | webroot customer care phone number
ReplyDeleteI have found your blog on the google while searching about the webroot antivirus program with complete information as i was looking for, you have done pretty work on this blog, thank youWebroot Helpline Number | Webroot Toll Free Number
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information and definetly keep this thing in my mind if I will buy webroot antivirus in future.
ReplyDeleteKaspersky Toll Free Number | Kaspersky Customer Care Number | Kaspersky Helpline Number | Kaspersky Technical Support Number | Kaspersky Customer Support Number | Kaspersky Helpline Number | Kaspersky Tech Support Number | Kaspersky Customer Support | Kaspersky Customer Service Number | Kaspersky Customer Care Service | Kaspersky Tech Support | Kaspersky Customer Care Service
With McAfee antivirus software user can protect his computer world from all kinds of internet based threats. your blog have helpful information about the McAfee antivirus which is really impressive to read it.....Keep doing well...Webroot Contact Number | Webroot Technical Support
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Such a valuable features and relevant information.
ReplyDeleteplease follow the link for Bellsouth support
Bellsouth Customer Service
Bellsouth Support
Bellsouth Customer care
Bellsouth Customer Service Number
Bellsouth Customer Service Phone Number
Bellsouth Customer ccare Number
Bellsouth Technical Support
Bellsouth Support Number
Contact Bellsouth Email Support
Bellsouth Customer Care Phone Number
Contact Bellsouth Customer Care
Bellsouth Email Customer Service
Webroot antivirus is one of the most rising antivirus programs, which has become well-known in no time. It is helpful to protect your PC, Laptop and mobile etc.
ReplyDeleteWebroot Antivirus Support Number
Quickbooks Payroll Support
Hi
ReplyDeleteI need to peruse your blog. There is a ton of good data on this blog, I adored understanding it and I figure individuals will get a great deal of help from this blog. Sam, I have composed this sort of blog, you will get an administration and Support from this as well. I trust you like this Facebook customer support blog, Users will get a great deal of data from this blog. I trust you get a great deal of Fully bolster and assistance from this blog.
Thank you for sharing this useful information.
ReplyDeletewebroot secureanywhere download with key code
"mcafee is an antivirus software providers that secure your computer for virus , worms ,trojens and other mailcious program .it provides full range of
ReplyDeletesecurity product like antivirus , firewall etc .you have to do mcafee antivirus download "
"Kaspersky Free is a completely free security solution that does not show any
ReplyDeletethird-party advertisements. Kaspersky Free also does not collect your personal data.
We value your privacy. Kaspersky Total Security is an overall good internet security suite. to click this link kaspersky antivirus"
Amazon is an American multinational technology company which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook. amazon .com
ReplyDeleteHey friend, it is very well written article, thank you for the valuable and useful information you provide in this post. Keep up the good work! FYI, Pet Care adda
ReplyDeleteCredit card processing, Klara and the Sun PDF Download ,my favourite movie essay