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Antivirus Makers Struggle to Adapt

nytimes.com

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Re: Antivirus Makers Struggle to Adapt

#6

Post by enraged_camel »

lucian303 wrote: post #2

No shit. This isn't news, it's a well known fact.

Not sure why you are being downvoted, as anyone who deals with computers will be well aware that anti-virus software exists mostly as security theater. It can be useful against certain types of viruses, especially those who are widespread, but it is a very dangerous thing in and of itself because it states that the user's system is "protected," causing most people to gain a false sense of security and drop their guard.

Re: Antivirus Makers Struggle to Adapt

#7

Post by lucian303 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #6
lucian303 wrote: post #2

No shit. This isn't news, it's a well known fact.

Not sure why you are being downvoted, as anyone who deals with computers will be well aware that anti-virus software exists mostly as security theater. It can be useful against certain types of viruses, especially those who are widespread, but it is a very dangerous thing in and of itself because it states that the user's system is "protected," causing most people to gain a false sense of security and drop their guar…

People don't like to face the truth.

No worries, downvoting, upvoting, I couldn't give a shit one way or the other. It's just a silly number.

Re: Antivirus Makers Struggle to Adapt

#8

Post by enraged_camel »

macspoofing wrote: post #5
talleyrand wrote: post #3

I thought antivirus software existed merely to deal with flaws in Windows...

You're being facetious, correct?

On the one hand, he must be facetious. Viruses existed long before Windows as an operating system was even conceptualized. Therefore it is ridiculous to claim that anti-virus software exists because of Windows alone.

On the other hand, it is true that anti-virus software became a lot more popular as Windows gained market-share. The reason is simple: as we all know, for a long time Microsoft did not take security very seriously. They essentially followed what seems to be Adobe's current philosophy, which is "release first, secure later." Remember that it was only relatively recently that they started to rigorously plug holes on a very short turnaround (mostly weekly if not shorter). So it is not difficult to conceive of a perspective where anti-virus software existed (and still does) mostly to overcome some of the shortcomings of the OS.

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