Symantec says that pcAnywhere is safe to use again, gives out free upgrades

Software company Symantec has had quite an interesting last few weeks. The company admitted that hacker group LulzSec had gotten its hands on the software’s source code and threatened to use the software to control machines for attacks on the web. Apparently the source code was stolen six years ago, but that fact wasn’t known until a few weeks ago.

As soon as Symantec verified that the source code had been stolen, it told users to stop using the desktop machine controlling software immediately.

A security patch was introduced on the 23rd, with the company saying that all versions, even old ones, were potentially affected by this security breach. At one point, the company told its users to only use pcAnywhere for “business-critical purposes”.

To keep the peace with its customer base, whom I assume are pretty nervous to use the software again, the company is offering free upgrades to its latest version, pcAnywhere 12.5, for free. All customers, no matter what version of the software they have, are eligible for the free upgrade.

Along with pcAnywhere, the source code to Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition, Norton Internet Security, Norton Utilities and Norton GoBack were also stolen, but security patches have been distributed to avert any type of crisis situation with users of those titles.

When the source code breach was made known, hacker group Anonymous took responsibility for it, even though that is not the case.

Be sure to download the latest security update for pcAnywhere and contact Symantec at this email address about your free upgrade or any other questions that you might have.