14 DAY TRIAL // Symantec's Norton Antivirus incorrectly flagged some Windows XP files as dangerous, and caused serious problems to the computer. According to the reports, netapi32.dll and lsasrv.dll were identified as a backdoor trojan, causing bluescreen errors just after the Windows XP boot screen. The only solution to get rid of the problem was to use the restore function of the operating system or even try another backup application to revert your settings to the default configuration. Virus Bulletin reported that several computers with Simplified Chinese and Windows XP SP2 were affected by Norton Internet Security and Norton 360.
"Occasional false positives are inevitable in modern security software, with speedy response times and high levels of heuristics a requirement to keep up with the pace of malware development. When an FP hits important system files, the consequences can be very serious for users, and this should serve as a reminder to all that thorough backups, of whole systems as well as important data, are a vital component in the battle to keep computers running in the face of any assault, be it malicious or accidental," said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin according to an article published on the official page of the security company.
It seems that it all started from the latest update for the two products powered by Symantec, the security firm confirming the problem and sustaining the bugs were already fixed. Symantec added that tens of thousands of users were affected by the issue while the security company Rising gives a clear number of the victims: 7.000.
In the recent period, Symantec was often affected by security flaws although the main goal of the company is to keep the users' computers protected. However, it is still recommended to keep your antivirus solution up-to-date and install the latest virus definitions.