Bullguard offers repair costs to customers affected by corrupted update

 

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Posted on 24 Mar 2010 at 14:59

A 20th of March update to 64-bit versions of the BitDefender and Bullguard anti-virus packages inadvertently quarantined vital system files, devastating the systems of many users.

Our readers were among those affected, one of whom noted that Bullguard had "not been overly helpful with customers experiencing more severe difficulties, which require for example a full system reinstallation".

His experience with Bullguard's beleaguered and over-stretched support team has involved a two day wait for contact that was supposed to come within two hours.

However, just as this story was about to go online, the same reader forwarded us a letter he'd just received from Bullguard, offering to "repair the damage caused by the signature update, at Bullguard's expense". Similar letters should be reaching those of the 8,800 customers affected by the update whose problems have not already been resolved by other means.

A statement on Bullguard's forums says that "we are truly sorry for what happened and we will do our best to help and compensate you". Users looking for a refund of their product are are advised to contact payment@bullguard.com.

Meanwhile, BitDefender, the company that supplies the AV engine used by Bullguard, has issued a similar apology containing links and information to help users fix their systems and has published a recovery guide. According to the statement, BitDefender "want you to be assured that this incident was an isolated one and that we will work with each of you to solve your problems."

According to comments in BitDefender's forums, the company is currently offering a mere six month's free subscription to compensate affected users - if you wish to discuss this with them, you should contact bitsy@bitdefender.com.

Malware can potentially render your PC unusable, destroying vital system files or making it impossible to control, even in safe mode. That's part of the reason why we use anti-virus software. When the anti-virus software itself takes out your system, as one of our readers points out, "surely this defeats the purpose in subscribing to such software".

There's always the potential for mistakes, even in the most vigilant company; this is by no means a unique incident. However, in an industry that's built around protection and trust, any failure on this scale can have a major impact on a company's reputation, particularly with existing customers. Fortunately, with its offer to pick up the costs for customers whose PCs have been rendered unusable, Bullguard has definitely made steps in the right direction.

We contacted both BitDefender and Bullguard for comment. A Bullguard representative sent us a copy of a the standard letter that has been sent to the company's customers, which includes a short timeline of when the update was released and removed from distribution and the following brief comment:

"BullGuard utilizes software from BitDefender, and it is from them that we receive signature updates. To make sure that BullGuard users are always updated with the latest signatures – and therefore receive the ultimate protection - we release these updates immediately. We have so far relied on BitDefender’s testing procedures of the signature updates, as BitDefender is a reputable name in the security industry and until now, we have never had cause to question their testing procedures."

Alan Wild of BitDefender told us that "the circumstances of each affected user are different. Most of our users had no actual damages. A few users have talked to our support team about certain inconveniences that warrant redress from us. Our support personnel are well equipped to address each user's particular situation. Where customers have specific concerns, we openly invite them to contact us for direct one-to-one human support regarding their individual issues.

"The actual spread of the issues caused by the false positive update is far smaller than people probably expect or have been lead to believe. We pride ourselves in our customer support and our top priority is to solve our customer problems. We have been working around the clock to address these customers and assist them with their needs, and we are continuing to work on the situation to ensure we cover all eventualities for all our users."

BitDefender customers are invited to use contact forms for home and business users.

Author: Kat Orphanides