About the mysterious executable file "Pifts.exe", the official notice board of Norton Internet Security becomes stormy

From around 9:00 am on March 10, 2009, Japan time, among people using Norton Internet Security all over the world "PIFTS.exeA warning of a meaning (PIFTS.exe is trying to connect to the DNS server, etc.) appears suddenly on the monitor, saying "Unfamiliar file is trying to communicate", even if you search for something at first It is as if it is not caught, so I do not know, overseas Norton's official bulletin board (so-called forum) is threading the question "What is Pifts.exe?" Continuing to keep threads of questions one after another, they are also deleted one after another, "Norton is trying to hide the truth!" "What is this file is !?" The bulletin board became rough and rough, it became messed up I will.

Details are as below.
Probably the earliest report on this case is this message on Twitter.

Twitter / Steve Nixon: Pifts.exe - anyone know wh ...

"Anyone knows about Pifts.exe? Norton installed on a girlfriend's laptop blocked the communication of this executable file, but no information comes up when searching on Google I 'm muttering about things like that.Reports also begin to be reported on overseas blogsSettlement.

Furthermore, in Japan as well, around 11:37 am, the following question is raised in the MSN consultation box.

MSN consultation box security warning

When I started up my computer today, Norton warned me that PIFTS.exe is about to connect to the DNS server.

Even if it examines it on the net, I do not know at all whether it is okay not to catch one case and allow connection.

Could you tell me what kind of person you know?

Also, similar questions will start to appear on 2channel's Norton thread.

【Norton】 Norton Internet Security Ver.160

642: Mr. Nanashi @ stomach full. : 2009/03/10 (Tue) 12: 07: 11
What is PIFTS.exe?

From around this time around the same time, similar questions will start to appear in various manpower reply sites here and there.

What is / are pifts.exe? - Yahoo! Answers(Around 10:00 am on March 10 in Japan time)

Anyone know what PIFTS.exe is? - Yahoo! Answers(Around 10:00 on March 10 in Japan time)

And from this time up to the present time writing the article, the head office Norton Internet Security official bulletin board is in a mysterious situation that why all questions on "PIFTS.exe" are deleted. The more it disappeared, the more anger the user got angry, the thread was torn apart, and it caused an excessive deletion, and it went into a state where I could not understand anything anymore.

Norton Internet Security - Norton AntiVirus - Norton Community


It seems that it has entered the complete neglect whether it finally gave up deletion now. It seems that it probably switched to the direction to erase all at once on a regular basis. Such a storm is so rough that the story does not go forward, people wanting to know about 'PIFTS.exe' in the official bulletin board of ZoneAlarm famous as firewall software for some reason to relocate.

PIFTS.exe - Off-Topic - ZoneAlarm User Forum


Although this topic itself was originally a place with a different category, ZoneAlarm side grasps the story of the thing, moves it by topic to the appropriate category, and is getting awesomeness now.

As it turns out, it looks like a file about updating Norton, but why so far it is a mystery that I do not understand well how Norton deletes the description of "PIFTS.exe". I understand that "something is going on" probably whether I made a mistake in updating, something bad things happened, or a setting error, but I do not know what is going on It is in a state, it seems that the panic is ongoing.

Moreover, sites that try to install spyware on top of the search result piggybacked by this fuss and propagation links to malicious covered sites are proliferating, further spurting the confusion of people who want to know the truth It is in a state of wearing.

In order to calm the situation, it is only a matter of expecting something officially released from Norton.

· Next report
Finally the identity of "PIFTS.exe" finally found out, Symantec, the developer of Norton, apologized on the official bulletin board - GIGAZINE