McAfee security programs may expose data

[Human Torch]

McAfee security programs may expose data
Affects Internet Security Suite, SpamKiller, Privacy Service, Virus Scan Plus

Updated: 2 hours, 51 minutes ago

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14133965/

SAN FRANCISCO - Consumer versions of McAfee Inc.'s leading software for securing PCs is susceptible to a flaw that can expose passwords and other sensitive information stored on personal computers, researchers said Monday.

The vulnerability affects many of McAfee's most popular consumer products, including its Internet Security Suite, SpamKiller, Privacy Service and Virus Scan Plus titles, said Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer at eEye Digital Security Inc., a competing maker of security products.

McAfee spokeswoman Siobhan MacDermott confirmed the vulnerability and said software engineers were testing a fix. She said officials expected to release the patch Wednesday using a feature that automatically updates McAfee products over the Internet. The flaw does not affect 2007 versions of McAfee products, which were released Saturday, she said. Maiffret said he has found a way to connect to PCs running the flawed McAfee products over the Internet and make them run code of his choosing. The flaw, if exploited, would make it possible for a criminal to track bank account numbers, and access, modify and delete sensitive files and do other damage on machines running the McAfee products, he said.

The reported flaw came on the same day that McAfee posted an item on its Web site taking a swipe at Microsoft Corp., whose products increasingly compete with the offerings of McAfee, Symantec Corp. and other security companies. It warned that code had been released that exploited flaws in a feature used to automate certain administrative tasks in Microsoft's Windows operating system.

[truebrit71]

1. ..and I was just thinking of switching to McAfee....guess not...

...

[cspanlovr]

2. Shit! That's what I use. What do most people use?

[Human Torch]

4. McAfee or Symantec, plus a few alternatives...

AVG offers a free version of its AntiVirus program. I have a few tech friends who think it's a good program:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

I personally use Norton AntiVirus. They had their own security problem a short while back. It's all a roll of the dice...this kind of thing can happen to anyone.

:patriot:

[Mist]

3. Well, sh#t! I've always found McAfee to run more smoothly on my

computer than Norton. Norton seems to confuse the hell out of my computer...