PixInsightLE v101 downloaded file contains backdoor virus?

[Scott]

The PixInsightLE version 1.0.1 which I downloaded on Nov 16, 2005 was flagged today by my AVG Anti Virus program as containing a virus with the following description:  "Trojan Horse Backdoor.generic.vss"

The download file name is:  PixInsightLE32_1_0_1_setup.exe.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone with an explanation regarding this reported virus, and specifically what "backdoor" software has been installed on my PC?  

Can someone please verify that the file for the newly released version is virus free?

Thanks

Scott

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Scott,

I have verified the three binary installation files that can be downloaded from our web server, and our virus detection software does not find any viruses or threats in them.

Currently we have a registered copy of Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2005 installed on each of our working systems running Windows. Each installation is permanently kept up-to-date by downloading all available updates daily from authenticated Symantec servers.

The three installation files that I've just downloaded and verified are:

PixInsightLE32_1_0_1_setup.exe
PixInsightLE32_1_0_1_o_setup.exe
PixInsightLE32_1_0_2_143.exe

I have updated my Norton Internet Security installation online just before performing the test.

I don't know why Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus is telling you that our files are infected. This is very strange. Actually, the virus reported doesn't seem to correspond to an existing viral signature. "Backdoor.generic.vss" seems more like a generic match detected by a heuristic algorithm.

Today virus detection softwares use heuristic recognition algorithms to detect generic viral patterns, along with known virus signatures. This has the intrinsic risk that "false" (or more precisely, apparent) patterns may be detected into files that are actually free of viruses.

You may rest assured that PixInsight, as downloaded from our server, will not install any kind of trojan horse or virus on your system. Why would we be interested in doing such thing? We are professional software developers.

Thank you for informing us about this. I'll try to contact Grisoft to find out more on this issue. I'll let you know as soon as I have more specific information.

Regards,
Juan

[Scott]

First, my thanks to Juan for his quick and thorough followup.  And his commitment to providing secure software to his users.

I've done a complete uninstall, virus + spyware scans, downloaded Build 141 and Build 143, virus scans, and re-installed.  No problems have been encountered.  

Not sure why my AVG anit-virus program flagged the Build 141 file, but I've not detected any future problems and definitely plan to continuing using PixInsight.

My thanks again to Juan and his team for making PixInsight available.

Scott

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Scott,

I'm happy to know that the problem has finally gone away. I also have no idea why this was happening, but what counts is that is doesn't happen anymore :-)

Thank you for informing us about a potential virus problem. Being always on the alert is the best way to ensure that our software is absolutely virus-free and fully secure.

Regards,
Juan