Another false alarm in AVG antivirus program [Update]

The AVG antivirus program has once again identified a trojan – that isn't one. Recently the program mistakenly wanted to delete a Windows system library, this time, updating the virus signatures resulted in Adobe Flash being identified as a malware sample. AVG concluded that the install_flash_player.exe file was the PSW.Generic6.AQPD trojan and requested its deletion. Both the freeware and the full versions of AVG 7.5 and 8 were affected.

The vendor has not made an official statement about the false alarm so far, but a Free AVG Forum moderator advised that the problem has been solved. Only last week, AVG unsettled users by reporting that the Windows user32.dll system file contained the PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN malware. Those who complied with the deletion request subsequently could no longer start their Windows systems. The free version AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0 is in widespread use.

Update

AVG have made an official statement saying "AVG Technologies has immediately acted on a situation in which a limited number of consumers using AVG’s free software experienced a false-positive warning when downloading the latest Flash player update". AVG also say it issued "a replacement update within three hours of the original update and users are reporting no further problems. The company continues to institute new and increasingly rigorous quality-assurance standards to ensure that any potential vulnerabilities in future product updates are identified and eliminated before they can impact users."

(djwm)