Windows 7: do anti-virus companies create viruses?

I was sitting next to my computer and i got a question in my mind
" DO ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS CREATE VIRUSES?"
to get their software sold...??

That question has been pondered since the beginning of AV software. I would not be in the least supprised if they did, and made it so that only their software removed it.

E.G. Symantec making Virus that McAfee cannot fix

I've been joking about this for years.
I do recall that back in the early 90's Symantec was hiring people that where writing stuff some considered "bad" Im going to have to do a search now lol. Guess they took a page off of the US government if you cant beat them hire them.

Mate, i honestly wouldn't be surprised, its business, thats what they do, try to get the largest advantage over all competitors.

It must be true. If I were a car mechanic, at nights I would go for a walk and with a hammer to crash some car.

I would be very surprised. If this was happening, I think someone would blow the whistle or blackmail the company big time.

On the other hand, I do think most AV software gives false alerts to "possible" viruses so you think their software is working away.

Welcome to the world of conspiracy... They know...

The simple answer to this is yes

For a long time it was a major selling point for anti-virus products to recognize the signature of more viruses than their competitors.

The achieve this it was common practice for internal engineers to create variations of actual viruses, which could then be added to the list of viruses known to the software.

This was a valid process to a point as it was quite possible that the original virus could be mutated in the world outside the lab

This led to claims that a AV suite protected against many thousands of different infections but with a much lower number of those "In the Wild"

With the move to heuristics in the industry where the actual activity of the virus is looked for rather than a key piece of code this is done a lot less today.

MYTH CONFIRMED

Thanks for shedding some light on a question I have been asking myself for quite some time.

A lot of bogus security software and fake spyware removers are on the Internet.

These are actually 'hijackers'. Some contain rootkits some are DNS changers, some are backdoor Trojans that steal passwords and personal (critical indentification) information.

If you don't know if one of these programs is legit, it's best to ask someone about it before running a scan and getting caught with it taking over your computer.