Barney's Blog

Blog archive

Anti-Virus Actually Pro-Virus?

There is a found flaw in many anti-virus tools that actually provides a perfect entrée for hackers to spread, you guessed it, viruses!

The flaw was found by security concern Matousec, with whom Microsoft is now working with to close the hole. The exposure comes through "hooking," where anti-virus vendors modify the Windows kernel to tie in more tightly.

Access the kernel is the Holy Grail for hackers, and apparently software from Symantec, Trend Micros, McAfee and Sophos all allow this to happen.Some security firms are downplaying the concerns, claiming these attacks are so difficult to pull off as to be a non-issue.

What do you think? Are security firms doing all they can to protect you? Send your answer to my real hopefully unattacked e-mail address of dbarney@redmondmag.

Posted by Doug Barney on May 21, 2010


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.