Some users choose to remove Viber from their devices

Dec 18, 2014 15:44 GMT  ·  By

A clash between Viber and ESET was started on Twitter on Wednesday when the messaging service company called out the antivirus vendor for flagging their desktop product as a threat upon downloading it.

Viber took it to the twitterspace to draw attention to the fact that NOD32 Antivirus produced by ESET erroneously labeled Viber software for Windows as a potentially unwanted program (PUP), reporting behavior similar to a certain type of toolbar.

Viber hits, ESET responds

With the utmost confidence in their code and most definitely believing that the alarm was actually a false positive, Viber used the hashtag #esetsucks to make the matter known to its users and suggesting them to get a better antivirus. “Buggy software keeps reporting a ‘threat’ in Viber #esetsucks,” reads the end of the tweet.

In an unexpected comeback for Viber, ESET analyzed the action of their product and reached the conclusion that the alert was not an error. To prove it, they posted a picture on Twitter showing that the messaging software actually performs silent downloads and sends statistics to Viber.

The tweet accompanying the image countered the hashtag from Viber with #esetDOESNTsuck.

It is pretty clear that Viber does not add a toolbar to the system during the installation procedure. However, when checking a file, antivirus products often rely on behavioral analysis and point to a generic signature.

NOD32 is not the only antivirus product that flags the desktop version of Viber as a potentially unwanted application. Clam AntiVirus and Dr. Web also mark it as a similar threat.

Most other antivirus products do not show an alert for the setup file

However, running a scan on Virus Total shows a green checkmark for the setup file from all other antivirus products. This goes to show that Viber does not have malicious intentions and maybe the statistics they gather are necessary for further development of the product; on the other hand, more users have voted it down.

ESET’s answer on Twitter remained without a reply from Viber, but upon seeing the evidence, some fans of the antivirus decided to uninstall the messaging app not only from their desktop computers but across all devices. User response for Viber’s tweet showed similar reaction.

Instead of making the matter public, Viber could have privately contacted the antivirus maker to learn why the product was marked as a potential risk.

This way, they could have had a chance to explain the part of the code causing the alert and avoid the backlash of some of the customers.  

Viber flagged as PUP (4 Images)

ESET flags Viber desktop version as a PUP
Viber thinks the NOD32 alert is erroneousESET replies to Viber with code showing silent activity of the applicaiton
+1more