Symantec update killed biz PCs in three-way software prang

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/0...snafu/>

<quote>
Encryption, cache and antivirus in head-on crash

Symantec has apologised after an update to its security software
sparked repeated crashes on enterprise Windows XP machines.

The antivirus giant withdrew the misfiring definition update, issued
on 11 July, hours after problems first appeared, releasing a revised
update the next day. No new issues have been reported since this
signature rollback was applied.

Subsequent analysis has revealed that a three-way clash between
third-party encryption drivers, Symantec's own security software and
the Windows XP Cache manager resulted in the infamous Blue Screen of
Death (BSOD) on vulnerable machines, as this advisory explains:

The root cause of the issue was an incompatibility due to a
three-way interaction between some third-party software that
implements a file system driver using kernel stack based file
objects – typical of encryption drivers, the SONAR signature and
the Windows XP Cache manager. The SONAR signature update caused
new file operations that create the conflict and led to the system
crash.
</quote>

Let me get this straight. People buy an inherently insecure OS. They
must then purchase 3rd party SW in the [vain] hope it will protect
their 'investment' only to find that this 3rd party SW crashes their
systems. Where is the logic in all this? Billions, if not trillions,
has been spent cleaning up the mess that is Windows. Yet Windows still
has a strangle hold on desktop PC's? Whoever coined the phrase
'Windows makes you stupid' was right on the mark.

A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate
because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he
can understand.
-Bertrand Russell