Security firm retreats from Windows 'Black Screen' claims |
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Security firm retreats from Windows 'Black Screen' claims
In a blog post this afternoon, the Prevx security firm backed down from its previous assertion that Microsoft's latest batch of monthly security updates put millions of Windows PCs at risk of a "black screen of death" -- saying that the glitch, when it shows up, appears to be caused by malware or other problems.
Although the black screen appears to still be a problem in some cases, the statement by Prevx is significant because it would mean that people who downloaded and installed the November updates don't have to worry about those patches causing the problem. It's important for Windows users to regularly apply available patches to keep their systems secure, and the publicity about the glitch risked discouraging people from doing that.
"Having narrowed down a specific trigger for this condition we've done quite a bit of testing and re-testing on the recent Windows patches including KB976098 and KB915597 as referred to in our previous blog," wrote Jacques Erasmus of Prevx in the post. "Since more specifically narrowing down the cause we have been able to exonerate these patches from being a contributory factor."
The company apologized to Microsoft and added, "We have always strongly recommended keeping Windows and all other software up-to-date to reduce the window for exploitation by new threats."
Microsoft earlier disagreed with Prevx's previous assertion about the security updates causing the problem.
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