Microsoft Says Patch Isn't Cause Of Black Screen

Black screen issues are not widespread and may be caused by malware, Microsoft insists.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

December 1, 2009

2 Min Read
Dark Reading logo in a gray background | Dark Reading

Microsoft on Tuesday denied a claim that its November security patch is among the possible causes of the black screen problems affecting some Windows users.

On Friday, Prevx, a maker of antivirus software, attributed some of these black screen crashes to a recent Window operating system change that locked down Windows registry keys.

But Microsoft insists that's just wrong.

"Microsoft has investigated reports that its November security updates made changes to permissions in the registry that that are resulting in system issues for some customers," said Christopher Budd, Microsoft security response communications lead, in an e-mailed statement. "The company has found those reports to be inaccurate and our comprehensive investigation has shown that none of the recently released updates are related to the behavior described in the reports. While we were not contacted by the organization [that] originally made these reports, we have proactively contacted them with our findings."

Budd said that Prevx's claims do not match known issues documented in security bulletins or Knowledge Base articles.

A spokesperson for Prevx, which is based in the U.K., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Delving into the issue in greater detail in a blog post, Budd also disputes Prevx's claim that the black screen issue represents a widespread problem.

Prevx's Dave Kennerley in a blog post suggested that millions of computers running Windows have been having black screen problems.

Microsoft's Budd counters that his company's worldwide Customer Service and Support organization is "not seeing 'black screen' behavior as a broad customer issue."

He adds that seeing a black screen is a known symptom of certain malware families, such as Daonol.

Update: In a blog post published shortly after this story was filed, Prevx's Jacques Erasmus confirmed that Microsoft's patch was not to blame and apologized to Microsoft "for any inconvenience our blog may have caused."

The black screen problem appears to be linked to improper alteration of the Shell value in the Windows registry, as explained in the blog post.

Register now for Black Hat DC, the largest and the most import

About the Author

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights