McAfee released a virus signature that incorrectly identified a core Windows Operating System file as malicious code on Wednesday, April 21st. When McAfee’s products incorrectly detect SVCHOST.EXE as malware, the file may be deleted from the computer or quarantined, but without access to this critical operating system file, Windows fails to load properly and becomes unstable. The result is a large scale shutdown of PCs running McAfee Antivirus. Once the latest virus definitions are installed, any PCs running Windows XP SP3, once powered off/rebooted, will continue rebooting in an endless cycle.
If you are running Windows XP SP3, have a McAfee security solution installed, and have not rebooted since you last updated your virus definitions, DON’T REBOOT. Click on the following link for instructions on how to remedy your system:
If you are a small-medium sized business, and have a server/network, click on this link for the remedy. This will allow you to use an Altiris Deployment Solution to remotely fix systems that have not been rebooted:
McAfee Virus Definition Defect (Corporate)
For networked systems that have already been rebooted:
