Well, it would appear that way to according AVG, the virus scanner. An update released for AVG contained an incorrect virus signature, result? AVG decided that user32.dll contained the Trojan Horses PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN! Quicker than you can say ‘Oh dear, my computer if f**ked’ AVG recommended that you delete the offending file. That’s where your problems start. Deleting the file has two effects - system fails to stop booting or goes into a continuous reboot loop cycle. At the moment, only Windows XP seems to be affected.

Users of AVG 7.5 and AVG 8.0 have been affected by this somewhat erroneous update; revised signatures have been published which will resolve the minor issue!

If you have removed user32.dll you can quite easily repair your PC; boot from their original Windows CD and choose the repair option. Alternatively, you can use another CD to boot from and restore the file from C:\Windows\System32\dllcache.

AVG, who have around 80 million users worldwide, haven’t published an official reason for this PR disaster just yet but there is an FAQ no. 1574 which covers a “False positive user32.dll”. Inside the article you’ll find help on restoring Windows through WRC.

AVG is hugely popular due to the availability of the free version of their Anti Virus scanner. Some people may well grumble about their machine being trashed but don’t expect a mass exodus especially as the software is free.

AVG’s popularity stems mainly from the free version they offer for home users; if you’re looking for an alternative free virus scanner for Windows I highly recommend Avast!. ClamWin is another alternative; it’s a Windows port of the popular Linux scanner ClamAV.

Popularity: 52% [?]