German security firm Avira yesterday issued a service pack for its antivirus software that crippled an unknown number of Windows machines, with one customer calling the gaffe "catastrophic" to his company.



From Computerworld:

"Following the release of Service Pack 0 (SP0) for Avira Version 2012, the ProActiv feature blocked legitimate Windows applications on customers' PCs," Avira acknowledged on its support site. "We deeply regret any difficulties this has caused you."

Avira is the world's second-biggest antivirus maker, according to usage statistics.

  Avira antivirus upgrade wreaks 'catastrophic' havoc on Windows PCs