A.) They definitely doB.) It needs to be looked at
C.) Probably not
D.) They definitely don't
The first thought that comes to my mind about malware, Viruses ....etc, is where do they come from? Some would say it is a stupid idea that an antivirus company would actually make a virus. We say "well if that was happening the company's would have gotten caught by now" and/or "If company does get caught it would destroy the company" . Which may or may not be true, but these company's are definitely smarter then we may think. As you can see I picked "B", i think that these antivirus company's need to be looked at just a little bit closer.
My first logic is profit. Its a basic concept of, if I am a antivirus company and i want to keep my customers coming back for more, the user has to believe that there is a threat. For example, I have a PC(any kind of computer) and i don't have any type of antivirus software and i never get a virus. Then where is the need to pay someone a monthly subscription. There is free antivirus software out there, so whats the benefit of using an antivirus company's software that has a monthly subscription. Perhaps these company's can magically find special viruses that the free software can not find, which makes me wonder how do they get the inside track on these so called new virus, spyware.
Its also known that some antivirus company's hire ex-hacker virus creators...etc to help develop antivirus software, which sounds good, but these are the same people that at one point in time was malicious and now they are cleansed and helping antivirus company's to stop people formerly like themselves. Maybe these same people are working for them so that they can have the inside track on what the antivirus company's are doing, and now they can find ways around the antivirus company's method of virus protection. So lets add it up, you get to work for the people you've been fighting against, you actually get paid for it, and you still have fun being malicious. I think we would all be naive to say this can never happen.
All in all, i don't think that they actually write the viruses themselves, but i do think they turn a blind eye in certain situation that may benefit them down the road. We are entering a world where 90-95% of all information will likely be on a computer, website, cloud...etc and eventually the only way to get this information so that you can do harm to people will be through some type of virus software. So issues like this one and related to this one will only grow over time as we transition to a more digital world.
Works Cited
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001013.htm
It's an interesting concept to think that companies making anti-virus software are also the ones creating the viruses that our computers need protecting against. I also have wondered about when the software scans my computer and tells me '30 some-odd potential threats have been found and eliminated'. My first response is always 'Well, I'm glad I had my anti-virus software program to sniff out those threats and keep my computer safe for me!'... but then I wonder, what exactly WERE those 'threats?' How are they defined? Were they really threats at all? And then my thought process continues to spiral down until I'm left wondering if my software program ever actually even did anything at all, or if it's just saying it is. A better understanding of the technology behind this would certainly help either put some of those thoughts to rest, or validate my fears.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, a good friend of mine who was always really good when it came to computers, mentioned the exact same scenario. He didn’t push the topic, but he always liked to bring up things that made people think. Probably because of his comment, I have always distrusted antivirus programs a little, but I suppose the thought of the threat that could happen if I did not have one, especially if it was a computer that had sensitive information on it, won and I opted for the antivirus program anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have also wondered if the antivirus manufactures’ are producing and introducing viruses on the market. I believe that it is a strong possibility that this happens more than we know. I hope if an antivirus company is doing this and are caught in the act that there would be huge punishment. The public has the right to feel secure on the internet and protected from the greed of others.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if anti-virus companies were the ones responsible for creating types of malware. The internet brings a lot of freedom for anyone to look up whatever information they want. With that freedom also comes a lot of potential threats. Anti-virus companies act like any other business, in the sense that whenever there is an opportunity to increase profits, they'll go straight for it.
ReplyDeleteI actually have just the basic coverage of AVG on my laptop that is free and I have never had any trouble out of viruses or threats (knock on wood). Therefore, it would be kind of hard for me to fork out another monthly bill or buy/download a software when what I have works completely fine. I would certainly say that it is possible that antivirus companies are capable of implanting viruses in computers or fake viruses. At the same time, they pop up and say "your virus has been removed". How is the virus removed? Do they go in and just hit the delete button when they find the code or do they have to create another virus to counteract the one originally in the computer? Just curious, I have no clue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everyone that posted a comment, reading through everything it seems like I'm not totally crazy for thinking that company's may do this. I didn't think about what Dana said. That they may not even take anything off of your computer. Its not hard to write a program to say you have something on your computer and that this software removed it, just to keep you coming back for more. I don't know exactly what goes on when they delete/remove a virus, but my guess is that, the anti-virus software searches you computer for certain objects with certain properties and remove them. Sometime it says its been deleted, sometime it says its been quarantined and sometime it says its been removed. Who knows whats going on? lol
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ReplyDeletehe Thinking in this blog is very thought provoking and can be related to a wide range of companies who profit by things being wrong, or not stable per say. The Drug company don't get pay for finding a Vaccine, but an anti-biotic to treat a disease when it comes back again; or Prison being built because it is a business and people need to be incarcerated to keep profits up, so lobbyist pass strong sentences for petit misdemeanor offenses. With that Trend of thought, why wouldn't a software protection Sidime
ReplyDeleteVirus companies manufacturing Virus wouldn't surprise me a bit. Most people won't believe that until a whistle blower come out with the story. The same goes for drugs companies making medecine to treat an illness everything it comes out, by keeping it dormant, Because what profit is there in finding the true cure of it? I am giving this theory a lot of weight.
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