What is a 'stack overflow'? I keep getting stack overflow warnings after installing new 2006 version of Norton Internet Security. I had no such problems before. Should I go back to my 2005 problem-free version of Norton?
I've now received a couple of reports of stack overflow problems after people have upgraded to Norton Internet Security 2006. Here's what I know so far.
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One reader ran into this problem after upgrading Norton Internet Security to the 2006 version. After a lot of effort and patience on his part, apparently Symantec admitted there was an issue, and advised him to revert to the 2005 version until the issue was addressed.
Unfortunately, I've been unable to confirm any of this independently - I don't doubt my reader at all, but I do like to independently corroborate if at all possible. Unfortunately I've found nothing on the Symantec website. Yet.
I'm hopeful that it will eventually be addressed there. Keep track of the comments to this article as readers report in, and I'll also update it as soon as I find out anything.
As to your original question, "what's a stack overflow?" - well, for a simple phrase, it's a fairly deeply technical answer. It has to do with how the computer itself manages data, and how the programs running on it utilize it.
Conceptually, a stack is just that ... a stack of information. You can put things on the stack, and take things off of the stack. It sounds kinda useless, but you'll have to trust me that it's fundamental and incredibly useful on microprocessors.
Each program running has it's own stack somewhere in the computer's memory. But because there's so much else going on in memory, each stack is only allocated so much room. Hopefully each program will a) allocate enough room to begin with, and b) not have a bug that would cause it to keep putting things onto the stack without taking them off. If you put too much on the stack ... it overflows. What happens when you overflow a stack varies based on how the software is written.
What causes a stack overflow? Again, it varies a lot. It all depends on how the software in question was written. Ultimately, any stack overflow that you see is a bug, somewhere.
Related:
Ask Leo! - Do I need a firewall, and if so, what kind?
Stack data structure defined in Wikipedia.
Article C2489 - December 14, 2005
i keep having stack overflow 4140. it will not let me open a.i.m. unless i shut down and reboot whole comp. whats with this 4140? thanks
Posted by: frank at December 1, 2007 10:45 AMMy CEO is getting "Stack Overflow on line 78" when he opens or refreshes the main page of the USA Today website. Unfortunately, I cannot duplicate the error on any other machine, including his laptop. All of our desktops use the same applications. Any idea's on where to start looking would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Mike
Posted by: Michael Ingram at January 30, 2008 9:37 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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My first guess would be spyware or other malware. Make sure
to run up-to-date anti-spyware and anti-virus scans.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at February 2, 2008 11:40 AM6buBy92r9jJkQafR+dOORyI=
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We are having the same problem on the USA Today page but our error is line 94. Bizarre. If I discover anything, I'll come back and post what I found.
Posted by: Melanie Aldridge at July 31, 2008 10:37 PMit keeps popping out overflow at line:255 what do i do???
Posted by: Bob at August 3, 2008 9:46 PMhow do i delete stack overflow from my computer and what is it// regards i bamber mrs
Posted by: inabamber at November 12, 2008 12:16 PMThank you for an easy to understand "definition"of this "stack overflow"situation,though for some reason i think i'm getting it "in error."
Posted by: salome at November 25, 2008 9:28 PMNorton Internet Security, or any other program Norton offers is bogware. Get rid of it if you want a smooth operating machine.
Posted by: Mark Bohannon at March 7, 2009 2:32 PMWhen on Explorer 7.0, I keep getting stack overflow @ 0. I click ok, it goes off. It then pops up again randomly days later. Am I supposed to do something to fix this? Thanks.
Posted by: Sue McMahon at March 8, 2009 9:34 AMI'm having a similar problem. I'm getting a "Stack overflow on line: 96" message, but only when on Facebook. What can I do to correct this? Thanks.
Posted by: Sarah at March 18, 2009 8:02 AM