AV softwares protection racket.

[CougTek]

I think it is a good read : http://www.vnunet.com/News/1137161

AV vendors are unaware of the latest virus until they are contacted by a cheated, disgruntled customer who has fallen foul of this email pest.

This customer is the nominated sacrificial lamb, the accepted loss. He is obliged to send the offending virus to his AV vendor for analysis and the development of a signature for the benefit of more fortunate customers.

It is then down to diligent IT staff to download the signature and update their software in order to stave off the latest viral threat from their technical assets.

So one customer's IT network will lie in tatters for the greater good of the customer base.

Interesting.

 

[blakerwry]

well what do you expect them to do? ask the virus maker for full information before releasing the virus?

 

[blakerwry]

The article does have some truth to it, however balming the AV companies and using the word "racket" is just absurd.

It goes to show that the most effective Anti virus tool is a good POLICY that is well enforced.

Personally, I (1)don't run executable files from unknown sources, (2) I don't open email attachments (infact I have my mail server filter out any executable attached file such as .com, .bat, .vbs, .scr, and I think I attach a warning to the file if it's a .exe). (3) I use Mozilla email and webmail. (4) I don't allow vulnerabilities in my computers that might allow unknown people to upload files to my computer.

I haven't seen a virus on my pc's in the past 6 years... and I don't think that any of my PC's have actually ever been infected(the virus was on a floppy disk i got from a teacher at school).

I broke number 4 about a year ago and accidentally left a temporary windows share open and did not have the machine behind my firewall. Someone trashed the system.. I am not sure if it was a virus or something otherwise, but the machine was unable to be rebooted(winNT 4 server).

 

[iGary]

There has been the occasional conspiracy groupthink over the past 10 years or so that at least some of the viruses that have been unleased on the computing world were created by none other than an anti-virus company. Of course, said ant-virus company had "protection before anyone else!"