McAfee offers payments to cover FP cleanup costs
Compensation for faulty update victims could set precedent.
Victims of the erroneous McAfee DAT update last month are being offered cash payments to cover costs incurred in
fixing the problem.
The issue emerged on 21 April, when users of McAfee's corporate solution VirusScan Enterprise found their
machines rendered inoperable after the common process svchost tripped a faulty detection algorithm. The problem
apparently only affected users of Windows XP SP3 using a scanning setting disabled by default, and the dodgy DAT
was recalled swiftly, but the error struck large numbers of users around the world.
In response to the predictable wave of anger and frustration, McAfee offered support and assistance, setting
up a dedicated support line and providing software via mail for those unable to access their machines at all to download
fixes. In an unusual step, the company has also promised to reimburse 'reasonable expenses' to those who have already
shelled out for professional help - a move which could set a precedent for security firms offering compensation to those
hit by such errors. A number of firms have in the past offered 'insurance' against malware sneaking past the protection
they offer, but the problem of damage caused by false positives is rarely addressed in this way.
An early report on the false positive issue can be found in The Register
here, with details of some of those affected
here. An open letter from
McAfee CEO David DeWalt, explaining some of the measures being taken to ensure no repeat incidents, is still
prominently linked on the McAfee homepage and can be found
here. The announcement of the assistance and
compensation plan is here, although no further
details seem to have emerged as yet.
04 May 2010
Tags:
compensation, false positive, legal, mcafee, virusscan.
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I've been programming, using, assembling, and repairing computers since the 1970's. My HP Pavilion zd8230us Windows XP SP3 Professional/Media Center Hybrid Hard Drive was rendered Permanently inoperative by this VIRUS and the solution took days to repair. Gigabytes of Irreplaceable data was lost since McAfee was set to auto-update and on access scan. I had to replace the Hard Drive for about $100. Even then the game wasn't over, because not realizing McAfee in this case WAS effectively the Virus, I installed it on the freshly prepared Hard Drive. In the mean time someone or something got into my Windows Live Email Contacts and fired off Thousands of randomly inappropriate junk mail of unknown origin, some containing graphic sexual material, links to virus's, drug dealer sites, etc. When I put a trouble ticket in to Windows Live Hot Mail their response was to close my Windows Live account. Well, I've trusted them not to lose my data, but when they shut it off I lost access to my Calendar, receipts for business purchases and personal purchases etc. Who's going to pay reparations for all that??
by Arthur in Maine ArtBran.Com, 15 May 2010, 15:55
