Malware spoils MS patch

Applying one of Microsoft's latest security updates can cause Windows XP machines to crash with the infamous blue screen of death. The software giant says malware on the affected machines can be the reason.

Updating systems with the MS10-015 bulletin, which addresses "important" vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel, can cause machines to lock up when restarted before falling into a never-ending reboot loop. The problem is far from isolated, though it's fortunately not commonplace either.

Microsoft reacted to the issue in its Security Response Center (MSRC) blog. According to the company's blog post, their investigation so far has revealed that malware on the system can cause the problematic behavior. However, they cannot yet rule out other potential causes at this time and are still investigating.

Microsoft encouraged customers to follow their "Protect Your PC" best practices and always have up-to-date antivirus software. The problem can be difficult to solve once a computer is in an un-bootable state, so the company also encouraged impacted customers to contact Microsoft support.

Sources: Microsoft, The Register.