AVG antivirus update attacks Apple's iTunes
A database update from AVG over the weekend made the Windows antivirus software attack users' iTunes installations, mistakenly viewing the application's library files as a Trojan virus and placing them in quarantine.
After the update was released, numerous users began voicing their complaints on Apple's support forums and AVG's official forums. AVG responded by releasing a new database update that fixes the problem.
"Unfortunately, a recent virus database update resulted in iTunes being detected as a Trojan by AVG security products," the company wrote. "We can confirm that it was a false alarm. AVG immediately released a new virus database update (definition file 270.13.29/2260) that corrected this issue."
With the update, AVG would recognize iTunes DLL files in Windows as infected with the "Small.BOG" Trojan virus. After the files were quarantined, iTunes would not run.
One user on the AVG forums said they tried to reinstall iTunes, but AVG recognized all of the application's localization DLL files as threats. Others said their antivirus software saw an iTunes update as a virus.
AVG recommends that users having problems update their AVG software and check iTunes.
For those whose iTunes remains broken, AVG recommends the following steps:
Open the AVG user interface.
Choose "Virus Vault" option from the "History" menu.
Locate the iTunes file that was incorrectly removed and select it (one click).
Click on the "Restore" button.
AVG offers a free antivirus suite that the company says serves more than 80 million Windows users. The company also sells a premium application. The software runs on Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
After the update was released, numerous users began voicing their complaints on Apple's support forums and AVG's official forums. AVG responded by releasing a new database update that fixes the problem.
"Unfortunately, a recent virus database update resulted in iTunes being detected as a Trojan by AVG security products," the company wrote. "We can confirm that it was a false alarm. AVG immediately released a new virus database update (definition file 270.13.29/2260) that corrected this issue."
With the update, AVG would recognize iTunes DLL files in Windows as infected with the "Small.BOG" Trojan virus. After the files were quarantined, iTunes would not run.
One user on the AVG forums said they tried to reinstall iTunes, but AVG recognized all of the application's localization DLL files as threats. Others said their antivirus software saw an iTunes update as a virus.
AVG recommends that users having problems update their AVG software and check iTunes.
For those whose iTunes remains broken, AVG recommends the following steps:
Open the AVG user interface.
Choose "Virus Vault" option from the "History" menu.
Locate the iTunes file that was incorrectly removed and select it (one click).
Click on the "Restore" button.
AVG offers a free antivirus suite that the company says serves more than 80 million Windows users. The company also sells a premium application. The software runs on Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Comments
Another thing that doesn't happen on a Mac.
?mistakenly viewing the application's library files as a Trojan virus?
?With the update, AVG would recognize iTunes DLL files in Windows as infected with the "Small.BOG" Trojan virus
"Trojan virus" is an oxymoron. Trojans and viruses are two entirely different forms of malware.
I DREAD to think what would happen if AVG ever mistook our accounts database for a virus....
Any preferable anti-virus alternatives for those of us supporting Windows machines that contrary to their nature are expected to stay running and stable?
Isn't Windows grand? So well thought out, so sophisticated. Must make Bill Gates very proud.
Hehe, I doubt he even cares anymore. He stopped caring right after Vista. He all but admitted right on camera that he wanted nothing to do with it.
AVG is the standard app recommended by our external IT Support folks.
I DREAD to think what would happen if AVG ever mistook our accounts database for a virus....
Any preferable anti-virus alternatives for those of us supporting Windows machines that contrary to their nature are expected to stay running and stable?
I prefer Avast. It is faster, better, and less intrusive in my opinion. I literally just sold my Dell laptop this morning and am online buying a new MacBook Pro 13". I am so excited! My first Mac. No worries with AV anymore.
Don't get me wrong; there's a world of difference between OS X and Windows, but if you remember, everyone was after Apple to fix a Java vulnerability for quite a while and it just got fixed. There's a huge difference between being invulnerable and being low risk. See http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=99273
Another thing to keep in mind is how much an anti-virus can slow down your machine. I run VMWare Fusion on my machines, which comes with a free 12-month McAfee subscription. Immediately after installing it, performance went to 60% of pre-antivirus.
Yes, there are some fast, cheap Windows boxes out there, but by the time you've installed an anti-virus, you may only have half the performance you were promised.
If you want to see what I mean, download the FREE trial of VMWare Fusion, and a FREE trial of Windows 7. Do a performance test using something like PassMark (FREE for 20 days). Then install the McAfee free subscription included with the VMWare Fusion and re-run the performance test. Interesting, huh?
I suspect the problem is that, when you have an anti-virus installed, the processor has to do pattern matching against every byte you read off/write to the disk. That's a LOT of wasted CPU. Think of the effect that has on the processor's caches or, worse, what happens if you have an anti-virus that's not properly multi-threaded! No wonder OS X seems snappy (and will be moreso with Snow Leopard).
Hate to tell you this, but OS X *does* have vulnerabilities too, just not as many.
Don't get me wrong; there's a world of difference between OS X and Windows, but if you remember, everyone was after Apple to fix a Java vulnerability for quite a while and it just got fixed. There's a huge difference between being invulnerable and being low risk. See http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=99273
Another thing to keep in mind is how much an anti-virus can slow down your machine. I run VMWare Fusion on my machines, which comes with a free 12-month McAfee subscription. Immediately after installing it, performance went to 60% of pre-antivirus.
Yes, there are some fast, cheap Windows boxes out there, but by the time you've installed an anti-virus, you may only have half the performance you were promised.
If you want to see what I mean, download the FREE trial of VMWare Fusion, and a FREE trial of Windows 7. Do a performance test using something like PassMark (FREE for 20 days). Then install the McAfee free subscription included with the VMWare Fusion and re-run the performance test. Interesting, huh?
I suspect the problem is that, when you have an anti-virus installed, the processor has to do pattern matching against every byte you read off/write to the disk. That's a LOT of wasted CPU. Think of the effect that has on the processor's caches or, worse, what happens if you have an anti-virus that's not properly multi-threaded! No wonder OS X seems snappy (and will be moreso with Snow Leopard).
The antivirus hit is just part of the story. Wanna see the other reason why PC's are so slow has to do with software architecture. Why is it that any software written for PC are so slow and cumbersome? It has to do with the modus operandi of software engineers who are used to working with PC's versus Macs. Want proof? Open Word for Mac and then open Pages. Pages seems to be running on a supercomputer compared to the slowness of Word for Mac. Everything executes several-fold faster. Try to really push it and Word for Mac crashes.
Everything written for the PC follows the same low quality, unreliable and stupid software design. It is not one thing, it is the total package.
Hate to tell you this, but OS X *does* have vulnerabilities too, just not as many.
Don't get me wrong; there's a world of difference between OS X and Windows, but if you remember, everyone was after Apple to fix a Java vulnerability for quite a while and it just got fixed. There's a huge difference between being invulnerable and being low risk. See http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=99273
Not to put too fine a point on it, but "Java Vulnerability" does not equal "OS X" vulnerability.
I prefer Avast. It is faster, better, and less intrusive in my opinion. I literally just sold my Dell laptop this morning and am online buying a new MacBook Pro 13". I am so excited! My first Mac. No worries with AV anymore.
What he said.
I have managed a couple Windows-based networks for schools and small businesses, and I always recommend Avast. It has a nearly flawless detection rate, it is updated at least once daily, and for home use it's completely free.
AVG, on the other hand, is a resource hogging beast that has a relatively poor detection rate, and is legendary for problems exactly like this.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Avast, and if I were to ever need AV for my Mac, you can be assured I'd get Avast for Mac.
This is NOTHING compared to the primary hassle of AVG (and other malware-prevention systems that Windows needs, including Microsoft's own). My main objection is how it bogs down Windows for several minutes every time I wake from sleep after enough days away--updating this, asking for conformation on that, grinding the hard drive, and popping up alerts and notifiers all over the place. I want to do a 3 minute test on Windows and it takes me 10 because of fighting off all the "security" software
iTunes should be flagged for what it is, a big bloated piece of junk on Windows. However on the Mac side, iTunes is speedy and works very well.
Are you kidding? I just looked at iTunes 8.1.1 on my Mac. It's 152MB. For essentially a media player. That seems quite bloated to me. VLC handles a lot more formats and is only 57MB. As for "speedy," iTunes still eats up a considerable chunk of CPU cycles. Just having it open (idle, no activity, no playback) takes 40% of my CPU on my converted netbook, according to Activity Monitor.
Mistakes happen. AVG is free, and the fact that they fixed it so quickly says they're an okay company. Would you rather deal with Symantec and Norton?
Are you kidding? I just looked at iTunes 8.1.1 on my Mac. It's 152MB. For essentially a media player. That seems quite bloated to me. VLC handles a lot more formats and is only 57MB. As for "speedy," iTunes still eats up a considerable chunk of CPU cycles. Just having it open (idle, no activity, no playback) takes 40% of my CPU on my converted netbook, according to Activity Monitor.
Essentially a media player???
iTunes is far more than a mere media player. And what on earth are you doing comparing VLC to iTunes???
Mistakes happen. AVG is free, and the fact that they fixed it so quickly says they're an okay company. Would you rather deal with Symantec and Norton?
Are you kidding? I just looked at iTunes 8.1.1 on my Mac. It's 152MB. For essentially a media player. That seems quite bloated to me. VLC handles a lot more formats and is only 57MB. As for "speedy," iTunes still eats up a considerable chunk of CPU cycles. Just having it open (idle, no activity, no playback) takes 40% of my CPU on my converted netbook, according to Activity Monitor.
VLC is just a player, that's it. iTunes isn't just a player. Does VLC have a podcast catalog and retrieval system? Does it index all your audio and video media? Does it offer anything like auto updating smart playlists? It also syncs photos, emails, contacts & calendar data with other programs if you want it to. It's one thing if you don't want or need those features, but to call iTunes just a media player compared to VLC, then that's just not an apt comparison.
iTunes shouldn't be taking 40% of your CPU just idling, that is bad, but I've never seen that. iTunes shouldn't be taking any CPU unless you're doing something with it.
The current version of iTunes is 8.2.1. It might help to do an update unless you have a Pre that you want to sync to it.
As for "speedy," iTunes still eats up a considerable chunk of CPU cycles. Just having it open (idle, no activity, no playback) takes 40% of my CPU on my converted netbook, according to Activity Monitor.
Something's wrong with your iTunes or OS. Both iTunes and iTunes helper use 0.0% CPU when idle (On OS X). By "converted netbook", I assume you mean it's a hackintosh.