Weiss Research joined many, many other companies across the country today in a weird kind of computer brain-freeze lock-down. All of our computers running Windows XP (including mine) inexplicably shut down.
We thought it was a virus. Later we found out the real reason: A buggy update from McAffee. As CNet explains …
McAfee’s popular antivirus software broke down on Wednesday, causing Windows XP computers to have networking problems or repeatedly reboot.
By midday Wednesday, reports began to indicate just how widespread and damaging the McAfee update was.
The University of Michigan’s medical school reported that 8,000 of its 25,000 computers crashed. Police in Lexington, Ky., resorted to hand-writing reports, and turned off their patrol car terminals as a precaution. Some jails cancelled visitation.
Early reports attributed the widespread problems to a routine McAfee update that caused computers with Microsoft’s Service Pack 3 installed to incorrectly identify a legitimate operating system component as containing a virus.
Many of my co-workers were not able to work today. However, as you are probably aware, I am a prepper. Also if you read my book, you know that I cover the possibility of power outages and also that the internet could go out for periods of time. So yeah, I was prepared.
I carry a Sony notebook back and forth to work each day. I opened that up on my desk, connected to the Internet, and was able to work the whole day. And that’s a good thing, because I’m on deadline for my next Crisis Profit Hunter, which publishes on Friday. This month, I’m talking about forces moving gold and silver, as well as why you might want to start preparing for a long, hot and exciting (not in a good way) summer.
I feel bad for whoever at McAffee sent out the bad update. They’re probably getting fired. They have my sympathies. We all make mistakes. Most of our mistakes don’t bring down thousands of computers.
By the way, you can sign up for Crisis Profit Hunter in time to get Friday’s issue via email. The subscription price is just $89 for one year. Be prepared for the next crisis. Subscribe to Crisis Profit Hunter now!
Update: The McAfee-caused crisis was global, and the number of computers that crashed numbered “possibly in the millions.”
Update 2: The problem is only going to get worse. As you can read on PCWorld …
Mel Morris, chief executive at Prevx, told SC Magazine that false positives like the one plaguing McAfee will continue to escalate over time, as malware makers aim to mimic core operating system components.
Ashar Aziz, founder and CEO of network security firm FireEye, told USA Today that the signature-based approach to virus scanning, which identifies malicious files based on hash marks or algorithms, is “broken.” He said that anti-virus software can’t keep up with the tens of thousands of threats generated every day.
My question: are you prepared for the day when your computer network or even your access to the Internet shuts down and you aren’t able to get it back for a protracted period of time? I talk about how to prepare for that eventuality in my book, too.
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