Anti-Anti-Virus Software

[_RR]

MPSV is Microsoft public security virus - it's available on most news servers.

Thanks, I'll look.

It may be a sincere post, but I doubt it. I sincerely hope nobody is as stupid
as the OP sounds. You absolutely should NOT connect to the internet without a
good layered security, including antivirus.

If he's serious, he's the best case in favour of licensing internet usage, that
I have seen this year. His ISP should be contacted, and he should be
quarantined. He's a bot member in the making, and to not object to his assinine
attitude is irresponsible. If he's simply trolling, and some clueless and naive
person should take him seriously, that would be equally as unacceptable.

So he's playing the part of John Hurt in the Alien. Hurt won't be
poking at any more alien pods.

Seriously, I wish the legal system would aggressively change the
current situation. Until there are significant penalties, viruses
will proliferate and there's no practical way to guard against every
single one.

AntiVirus has become an industry unto itself, like > 640K managers
were 10 years ago. At this point, I don't see antivirus software
alone overcoming it. It's playing constant defense.

 

[Jonathan Wolfson]

OK, I'll install a freeware AV that was recommended in the thread, if
it is true that my attitude affects other people. I certainly do not
want to harm others. My point was that I have never had a virus even
though I never had AV software. I download lots of things from the
internet and from LimeWire, and I simply do not open suspicious
software or Spam. How else can I possibly get a virus? Whatever, if it
makes you all feel happier and more secure, I will install AV software-
I don't want people angry at me. When I was making a memorial
presentation for a friend who passed away, it was a solemn time, and
Norton AV update reminder kept making loud nolises and interrupting my
effort, every twenty seconds. Can't you understand how I feel that is
more intrusive than a virus can be?

 

[Les Herrman]

As far as I know, and I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong, Norton
does not have a way to shut off it's constant reminders.

Open it
Options
Miscellaneous
Uncheck "Alert me if my virus defenitions are out of date"

 

[Kerry Brown]

Thanks, I'll look.


So he's playing the part of John Hurt in the Alien. Hurt won't be
poking at any more alien pods.

Seriously, I wish the legal system would aggressively change the
current situation. Until there are significant penalties, viruses
will proliferate and there's no practical way to guard against every
single one.

AntiVirus has become an industry unto itself, like > 640K managers
were 10 years ago. At this point, I don't see antivirus software
alone overcoming it. It's playing constant defense.

In one sense the OP is right. The antivirus companies can't react until they
see a new virus. How fast they react and how the update gets to the end user
is the key at this point. An antivirus app is one part of the defense. End
user education is the first line.

Kerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

OK, I'll install a freeware AV that was recommended in the thread, if
it is true that my attitude affects other people. I certainly do not
want to harm others. My point was that I have never had a virus even
though I never had AV software. I download lots of things from the
internet and from LimeWire, and I simply do not open suspicious
software or Spam. How else can I possibly get a virus? Whatever, if it
makes you all feel happier and more secure, I will install AV software-
I don't want people angry at me. When I was making a memorial
presentation for a friend who passed away, it was a solemn time, and
Norton AV update reminder kept making loud nolises and interrupting my
effort, every twenty seconds. Can't you understand how I feel that is
more intrusive than a virus can be?

Yes we understand that was a problem. It is not normal for NAV to do this.
Something was setup wrong. If you don't test for the presence of something
how do you know it doesn't exist? Downloading from limewire is a sure way to
get a virus. Many criminals setup servers for p2p with the explicit purpose
of taking over computers for criminal activity. I see at least two or three
computers a month with malware contracted from p2p sharing. Most of them
with a root kit installed.

I still think is a troll trying to extend the thread but just in case I've
answered.

Kerry

 

[Jonathan Wolfson]

I guess because I am an educated user, I need no AV protection. I guess
I imagine the masses to be educated users as well. It is frankly
difficult to imagine people uneducated, since proper computer usage
seems very intuitive- simply do not open things that look unfamiliar.
What else is there?

 

[Jonathan Wolfson]

Maybe it was McAfee that had the twenty second update reminder, and my
friend and I could not figure out, in the span of an hour or so, how to
remove that message, so the only thing to do was to uninstall it.

 

[Lou]

Thanks, I'll look.


So he's playing the part of John Hurt in the Alien. Hurt won't be
poking at any more alien pods.

Seriously, I wish the legal system would aggressively change the
current situation. Until there are significant penalties, viruses
will proliferate and there's no practical way to guard against every
single one.

AntiVirus has become an industry unto itself, like > 640K managers
were 10 years ago. At this point, I don't see antivirus software
alone overcoming it. It's playing constant defense.

Antivirus is an industry because thuggery on the Internet is big business.
There's money there - and the bad guys are all over it.

The bad guys have the advantage - plenty of clueless advertising firms are
willing to pay them to provide an advertising advantage for their products.
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&e=3&u=/ap/20050624/ap_on_hi_te/spyware_s_advertisers>

And the bad guys own lawyers - lots of them.
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13144805>
<http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12962998>

But you're right - antivirus software won't stop the problem. Neither will
having an airbag in your car prevent you from having an accident. But an airbag
may save your life - and antivirus software, along with other components in a
layered defense, may keep your computer from providing yet another bot to the
botnets of the world.

 

[Lil' Dave]

| Jonathan Wolfson wrote:
| > Again, what about pc's that only one person uses? Intrusive AV
| > software should be installed only on PC's that are going to be
| > shared. Companies should sell personal PC's as well as public-used
| > PC's as a distinct category, and only the latter should be equipped
| > to a massive extent with AV software.
| >
|
| LOL! Any PC that is on the net without AV is a likely shared
computer,
| it is just the owner is unaware that it is being shared.

I have a tendency towards a proper education on the use of a computer
than AV software. I do use an online scan every once in a while. I
have
never had a virus or spyware. _EDUCATION_ The OP did state that
the AV was calling home, many of them do.

The description given, "every 20 seconds", is what the MS Security Center
may ask if it has doubts of the AVs virus definitions. NAV update itself
defaults to 4 hours generally speaking.

I read all the replies down to yours so far. No one seems to be aware of
that. Or, wants to fess up as its an MS Security Center prompt, not NAV
update prompting every 20 seconds or so.

Lots of NAV haters and MS lovers here.

 

[Lou]

OK, I'll install a freeware AV that was recommended in the thread, if
it is true that my attitude affects other people. I certainly do not
want to harm others. My point was that I have never had a virus even
though I never had AV software. I download lots of things from the
internet and from LimeWire, and I simply do not open suspicious
software or Spam. How else can I possibly get a virus? Whatever, if it
makes you all feel happier and more secure, I will install AV software-
I don't want people angry at me. When I was making a memorial
presentation for a friend who passed away, it was a solemn time, and
Norton AV update reminder kept making loud nolises and interrupting my
effort, every twenty seconds. Can't you understand how I feel that is
more intrusive than a virus can be?

Yes, we do understand how annoying obtrusive software reminders can be. I doubt
anybody here hasn't experienced something that frustrated us beyond belief, and
temporarily un installing software is a frequent diagnostic step.

Just don't confuse temporary diagnostic procedures with permanent solutions.

And for the record, I hate the whiny tricks that McAfee and Norton use. But you
need to fix the problem, not just eliminate the symptoms.

 

[Plato]

How come that has never happened to me? I do not run AV software. Also,

If you never run antivirus software than you have NO idea if you are
infected or not.

I am not a corporation. So why do AV programs get pre-installed on user
systems? And can't computer makes make them a lot less intrusive and

Because they want their customers to at least use the systems for a
month or so before they call tech support.

 

[_RR]

I guess because I am an educated user, I need no AV protection. I guess
I imagine the masses to be educated users as well. It is frankly
difficult to imagine people uneducated, since proper computer usage
seems very intuitive- simply do not open things that look unfamiliar.
What else is there?

There was apparently a hole in IE that allowed spyware to load when
the user simply *passed their cursor over* an area on the screen. No
clicks required. This has been fixed long ago, but that's the type of
thing that no one can be expected to know about or guard against.

There will always be holes in any operating system (I don't go for
hype about Macs or Linux...if there was money in it, their security
holes would be well exploited).

The fact that there are lawyers working in defense of slimeware says
it all; there are legal loopholes that give them leverage. They
should be closed and violators should be actively pursued. That would
not prevent all trojan/spyware development, but it should at least
take it to the point where it's not as leucrative.

I saw an announcement from download.com that they will no longer post
programs that incorporate spyware. The surprise is that this implies
that they knowingly did this in the past. Makes you wonder...