Update for Endpoint Protection 12.1 crashes Windows XP

Computer security firm Symantec has acknowledged that a programming bug in a recent anti-virus software update can cause some Windows PCs to crash and become inoperable. As Reuters reports, Symantec has yet to reveal how many PCs are affected by the bug, but it appears limited to PCs running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. The company is said to be working on a solution to the bug.

According to a post on the product page for Symantec's Endpoint Protection software, the bug stems from a compatibility issue between Endpoint, Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response (SONAR), and some third-party softwares. Computers running a particular combination of third-party software, Windows XP, and SONAR may, upon upgrading Endpoint, see blue screens indicating that their computer has crashed. Symantec attributes the incompatibility to the way that some software offerings handle kernel stack based file objects.

The bug affected customers running Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12.1, Endpoint Protection 12.1, and Endpoint Protection.cloud. Mac customers were unaffected, and those running Endpoint Protection 11 should not be affected. Symantec has removed the incompatible elements from its software, and the company is said to be working out compensation packages for customers adversely affected by the bug.

By Electronista Staff

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security, software, Symantec, Symantec Endpoint Protection