Symantec: Users should disable pcAnywhere now

Stop using pcAnywhere.

The recommendation that users disable or delete the software is the takeaway from a surprise security advisory issued by Symantec late Tuesday, which warns customers to "only use pcAnywhere for business-critical purposes," and even then, only after configuring the software "in a way that minimizes potential risks."

Those risks stem from the theft of Symantec source code in 2006. The worry is that attackers, after studying the code, may have found a way to crack pcAnywhere's encryption, which would allow them to use the remote-access software to remotely access any PC on which it's active. That, in turn, might give attackers access to data stored on corporate networks.

Those revelations will no doubt lead to sharp questions for information security vendor Symantec, especially given the fact that five years' time elapsed between the source code theft, and Symantec publicly confirming the breach. Indeed, the data exposure only came to light after the hacking group Lords of Dharmaraja earlier this month posted to Pastebin what it said was part of the source code for Symantec's Norton Utilities (NU).

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