do anti-virus companies create viruses?

[Kaustubh]

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...??

 

[Orbital Shark]

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

 

[DarkXeno]

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.

 

[The Sly Assassin]

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

 

[Robert Cartman]

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.

 

[patrickt]

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.

 

[Quill]

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

 

[Barman58]

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.

 

[Mark]

MYTH CONFIRMED

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

 

[Jacee]

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.

 

[Kaustubh]

thanks for ur replies my friends keep replying and keep helping me out....

 

[Charles Kane]

It would be great if posters could title their posts with something everyone can find and understand:
"I have a question"
"please help me'
etc are pretty meaningless down the track.

In this case its easy really:
"do anti-virus companies create viruses?"

Lot more people would look I think and get value from the question and answers!

 

[banderz777]

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...??

Damn I always wonder myself about that, I would only think that.

 

[pestbest]

There are Rogue Security Products that claim to do this or that but totally fail or they give false positives or just locate some program that isn't even in your hard disk.

Also, some Security Products, Rogue or otherwise, like to state that other programs have incompatibilities and make you uninstall them to improve their own market share. Therefore, they are humble pieces of crap. One product is Kaspersky Internet Security which states incompatibilities with Spybot S&D. When Spybot asked Kaspersky to prove that there was really one, Kaspersky failed.

And yes, I have to agree. I don't really think people are mad psychos who want to burn down other's computers. But again, there are such people. And since there is an abundance of viruses, Security companies don't really need to make viruses. But again, they may. Who cares.

But I want to bring myself clear to this point, have any of you ever thought that rival Operating System Manufacturers such as Apple may create such malicious software. I'm not proving anything here but I just want you all to know that you must always be aware of things happening around you.

QFT: Your best friend may be your worst enemy.
Translation: Your friendly anti-virus maker may be your virus hacker with ill intentions, bad breath and clear stupidity trying to outsmart it's own product but obviously failing cause it can't defeat itself.

 

[Lee]

. . .is Oliver Stone in the house.

 

[grouchpunk08]

I would say that norton is a virus in itself. It doesn't actually harm your computer, but when you try to uninstall it, it doesn't completely remove itself from your computer. And along with Clean access, a program that some colleges use to mantain their networks, it can cause your computer to not be able to access the internet at all. In fact, at the tech desk I work at at Radford University, we have a special tool we use to completely remove norton from customers computers, as norton stops you from being able to use clean access to log on to the network. And there have been reports of norton messing with the ability to play games online....

 

[LFB]

IMO virus and antivirus solution ares worthless...

Just like in the real world... you don't have any vaccine for the new ones...

so, wen u catch one the damages are inevitable... in your body and in your PC...

 

[hiflyr]

I don't care who writes the viruses, or spyware. I just don't want them on my Windows boxes. Good antivirus software is available for free, so I can't think of a good reason not to use it.

 

[Dinesh]

IMO virus and antivirus solution ares worthless...

Just like in the real world... you don't have any vaccine for the new ones...

so, wen u catch one the damages are inevitable... in your body and in your PC...

yeah its true but AV companies releases updates after a new virus is hit.

 

[pestbest]

If you really want to protect yourself, Use Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall. That's all you really need. You can even turn off your UAC. I highly recommend using Firefox together with NoScript, AdBlockPlus and Web of Trust. This is enough to ensure a safe internet experience and never getting viruses from the internet. Of course you may choose alternatives to Windows Firewall and MSE such as Sygate Personal Firewall, Malwarebytes and Spybot. Be on the safe side. When you have resources you need, it is a waste not to use them.