Readers' Corner We all know that Macs don't get PC viruses. But they can and sometimes do get Mac viruses. Hence this terse request from Dewix in El Reg forums. Mother-in-law has managed to get malware on her Mac. Anyone recommend a no fuss AV? Somewhat sparse on the details, Dewix. Reg readers can you help? Recommendations here. Thank- …

A misfiring antivirus update from Kaspersky Lab "effectively levelled several networks" last months including systems at Britain's NHS, The Register has learned. A Kaspersky update released on 25 October falsely classified a Windows system file, specifically tcpip.sys, as malign and quarantined it. The procedure left Windows …

Sysadmin blog For a sysadmin, fighting malware feels like an uphill battle that you are never going to win. Security software vendors are in a constant catch-up game, trying to create definitions to protect their customers from the latest round of malware. Sysadmins have the tough job of using their various security software and devices, …

Antivirus software wild man John McAfee has joined Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, Fidel Castro, and poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in receiving a premature obituary. Internet rumours that surfaced on Tuesday falsely claimed the self-described “eccentric millionaire” and entrepreneur had died at the Palms Casino Resort in …

A new cross-platform security product that covers desktops, smartphones and tablets is likely to be a key area of development for desktop freebie virus-scanner firm AVG during 2013. AVG is best known for its free anti-virus scanner for Windows PCs, but over the years it has broadened its range to include more functional PC …

Updated Thousands of Windows XP users were blocked from accessing the internet this week after they applied a misfiring antivirus update from Kaspersky Lab. The issue affected both consumer and business versions of Windows XP. Vista or Windows 7 users were untouched by the snafu. Even so, Kaspersky's support forums quickly filled up …

A study released in December by US security outfit Imperva has tipped a bucket on the multi-billion-dollar anti-virus industry, claiming that initial detection rates are as low as five percent, and concluding that enterprise and consumer anti-virus spend “is not proportional to its effectiveness”. Working in conjunction with …

Avira has rolled out a patch that makes its popular freebie anti-virus software more compatible with Windows 8. Earlier this month the German firm admitted its products were not yet compatible with Windows 8 after users complained that attempting to run Avira's software on Microsoft's latest operating system results in the …

Update Freebie anti-virus firm Avira has admitted its security software is not compatible with either Windows 8 or Windows 12 Server. The German firm issued an advisory on Friday admitting its products would not be compatible with Windows 8 until the first quarter of 2013 after users complained that attempting to run Avira's software …

Sophos users woke up to mayhem on Thursday after the business-focussed antivirus firm released an update that classified itself and any other update utility as a virus. As a result enterprise PCs running the application went haywire, generating false positives reporting SSH/Updater-B malware. Sysadmins were bombarded with …

Malwarebytes, the anti-virus firm best known for its freebie scanner software, branched out into the enterprise with the launch of corporate products on Monday. Malwarebytes Enterprise Edition (MEE) is designed to catch malware that other anti-virus programs sometimes miss, including some strains of blended attacks (for …

Cybercrooks are attempting to obtain few bucks for a lame piece of Mac malware, dubbed NetWeird. NetWeird (AKA NetWeirdRC) has been offered for sale for the princely sum of $60 through underground cyber-crime forums, according to Mac security specialist Intego. The cross-platform malware potentially affects OS X (versions 10.6 …

FRISK, one of the early pioneers in anti-virus technology, has been acquired by Commtouch. Terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, were undisclosed. Icelandic-based FRISK developed the first versions of its flagship F-Prot anti-virus software in 1989, and claims it was the first firm to develop heuristic (generic) detection of …

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 …

Security software biz Avira has apologised after its antivirus suites went haywire and disabled customers' Windows machines. A service pack issued in Monday caused its ProActiv monitoring software to think vital operating system processes were riddled with malware and blocked them from running. Users of the affected products …

Infosec 2012 Bit9 is using the Infosec show as a launchpad for its move into Europe as part of its wider ambitions to displace traditional antivirus technologies from corporate desktops and data centres. The firm is marketing its brand of trust-based application control and whitelisting as a better way of tackling the growing malware …

Symantec has confirmed earlier versions of its anti-virus source code have leaked, following a security breach of what the company said was the network of a "third party entity" rather than their own. The admission follow claims by an Indian hacking group that it had accessed source code used in the company's flagship Norton …

A computer virus infection affecting the New Zealand Ambulance service last week forced dispatchers to resort to manual backup systems, according to local media reports. Unnamed malware left the communications network supporting the St John Ambulance service hobbled. Mobile data and paging services were worst affected by the …