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Symantec Fixing LiveUpdate Flaw

Norton AntiVirus automatic update service hits compatibility problem with certain configurations.

By Cameron Crouch, PCWorld   

On June 30, Symantec posted new definitions for Norton AntiVirus software. But when some customers received the automatic download through LiveUpdate, their systems stalled. Symantec says the problem only affected people running Windows 2000 on certain hardware configurations that turn out to be incompatible with the company's new scanning engine software.

Symantec has pulled the scanning engine to fix the bug, and expects to repost it by Tuesday morning. Insufficient testing was the fault, the company says.

Only Troubled a Few

"We found that people who had Windows 2000 under a special hardware configuration using Promise ATA ultra-66 hard drive experienced a slowdown or halt during boot sector scanning," says Vincent Weafer, director of Symantec's AntiVirus Research Center. "But most people wouldn't have this configuration."

The problem was one of compatibility between the ATA hard disk control and the scanning software, according to Symantec.

"We need to do more testing on these new hard drives," Weafer says. Now that Symantec has identified the source of problem, staff is field-testing engine fixes.

In the meantime, Symantec replaced the June 30 definitions with a safer version that doesn't use this type of scanning engine, Weafer says. "But it still protects users against all viruses," he adds.

System Stuck in Its Tracks

What if your LiveUpdate left you with a stalled system?

"Most people ended up either resetting their machine or turning the boot sector scanning off," Weafer says.

To help LiveUpdate users revive their sluggish systems, Symantec posted instructions on its support forum telling how to turn off the scanning engine. For instance, if you had Norton AntiVirus scheduled to scan on startup, you could go into Options and Scheduler and turn off the boot sector scan there, Weafer says.

Offered for several Symantec products including Norton AntiVirus, LiveUpdate is designed to make updates automatically and keep the process as seamless as possible. But, in the case of the June 30 definitions, it apparently backfired for some customers.

Symantec says the problem is not the fault of Windows 2000 but instead the result of a specific hardware/software configuration incompatible with the scanning engine.

Of course, if you have LiveUpdate, you will receive the new and improved definitions as soon as they're ready. Symantec also promises to post instructions on the Web if you want to do the update manually.

Either way shouldn't be difficult, Weafer says. That's more in the spirit of antivirus software, which is supposed to fix bugs--not create them.