2.594.00 is not the magic number

Trend Micro forced to apologise to customers for faulty update file.

A red-faced Trend Micro has apologised to its customers for the release of a faulty update file that caused chaos for thousands of computer users worldwide.

Official Pattern Release 2.594.00, released in the morning of Saturday 23 April (Japanese time), caused 100% CPU usage, system slow down, and in some cases complete system failure on machines running Windows XP SP 2 and Windows 2003 Server.

Although Trend staff removed the file from the Active Update list just 90 minutes later, the company estimated that it had already been downloaded between 300,000 and 350,000 times and support staff are reported to have received in the region of 370,000 calls about the problem. The fault was blamed on insufficient testing of the pattern file in the rush to add detection of the Rbot family of worms.

To add to its woes, Trend’s share price took a knock, falling 4.7 per cent, and it is expected that the incident will have an adverse effect on the company’s second quarter results.

23 April 2005

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