Webroot antivirus bug locks users out of Windows 8

Bug plagues users throughout December but appears to have been solved by both vendors

Webroot has played down a bug in its antivirus software which saw some users locked out of new Windows 8 machines in December.

Webroot antivirus software "mistakenly removed core Windows 8 OS registry entries required for Microsoft account sign in", according to a Microsoft post on a user support forum.

Microsoft declined to comment when questioned by ChannelWeb, but on a forum post advised Windows 8 users to update their Webroot antivirus software immediately if they were experiencing problems.

Webroot claims the impact was "extremely minimal" and said that it released the updated and fixed 8.0.2.79 software version within 48 hours of the problem being recorded, despite queries on the forum running throughout December.

Webroot claimed in a statement that slow adoption of Windows 8 was part of the reason why so few users were affected.

Some users defended Webroot and accused Microsoft of trying to point the finger of blame away from themselves.

Forum user DJ52 said: "I see on some of these postings that Microsoft is blaming Webroot for the login problems. I have always been very satisfied with that antivirus program.

"I really hope Microsoft is not just playing the blame game. Please, Microsoft, admit your mistakes and fix this problem before it spreads to hundreds more computers."

A Microsoft representative on the forum denied that the vendor was passing the buck, and claimed to be "working with the software manufacturer to find and fix the issue, but [is] in no way blaming anybody."

The problem, which appears to have been solved now, reflects failings in Webroot's legacy products, according to a former Webroot employee who wished to remain anonymous.

He said: "Webroot has been trying to move away from its legacy products for a while now and this helps illustrate why. It would not be surprising if many other issues come up for users moving to Windows 8 using older versions of any Windows-based products that are not the vendor's latest flavours."