Anti-virus Software

Just as I suspected.

Nothing is safe. These people have no conscience. They'd screw their own mother out of a buck. But, there are plenty of strangers out there to screw first.

Good luck.

you are on the money how ever you are under attack

50x a day x 7

what I do is buy a copy of norton ghost

then a wipe out my hard drive

blow away the partition

split it in two

disconnect from the internet

install the operating system

install ghost

make a copy 00win

then proced to install hardware if need be

ghost it nameing it 01win-hdw

then install my programs

when I am done I ghost that

from that day on I keep my data on the second partion

backing up daily

and if my computer shows or slows

I restore my ghost back up

of c: drive

gets rid of all the bs

I don't think that companies actually do it to sell there stuff...I think it's the staff...think about it...If I work at a company creating anti-virus software or new novel ways to 'detect' virus' (or is it virusi???), i am actually developing the virus! What stops me from going home and inventing one so malicious that only "I" can resolve within a certain time frame? Then I look like the hero for the company and I get to keep my job! Job retention is what i call it.

"What prevents a company from purposely infecting someone's computer ?"

Business ethics I suppose....if there is still some left !

"Business ethics" is an oxymoron. And non-existent today.

So cynical!

http://ethisphere.com/wme2010/

I found it interesting that many of the names on the list match my perception of the corporation given whatever gestalt I've managed to form about the company.

My answer for TFA: There are plenty of mischievous or malicious people in the world to beat any inside-jobbers to the punch when it comes to mucking things up. I truly believe that everyone employed at any of the reputable anti-virus companies is performing their duties legally at all times, with very rare exceptions.

Their success is linked exclusively to their reputation. Their reputation is based as much on proper behavior as it is on competence.

OTOH, because of the sanctity of their reputation, if or when an evil-doer is discovered at Symantec (as just one example), I have no doubt that they are squished and removed as quickly and quietly as possible.

Cynical? Yes. What's wrong with that?

I figured OTOH to be "on the other hand", but what's TFA?

Cynics provide vital services. If there's not a cynic in a group or discussion I'm involved in, I'm usually willing to step up.

TFA = The First Article AIUI (as I understand it).

Funny that you should ask, my daughter has just that going on right now. Some "smooth operator" has placed just such a virus on line and is selling the program to "fix" it, also on line. For the small price of $65 (US) he will remove the "virus" I hope to see him in prison soon.

I've posted this before in similar threads... check out sandboxie. It (and similar programs) are a first line of defense, even before anti-virus software. Both kinds of protection are needed, but a sandboxed browser will limit your exposure to malware via the internet -- which is where most people get infected these days.

http://www.sandboxie.com/