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Symantec Hopes To Deliver Anti-Virus Online
daria42 writes "Symantec today said it will slowly move towards supplying its consumer applications online as services." From the article: "Sykes also said there was the possibility that tiny pieces of an application or a single virus scan could be resold by organisations such as online banks, which may choose to ensure their customers are not infected with a virus or spyware before they log on to their account ... This could be paid for by the customer using their credit card or by adding it to their mobile phone bill by sending a text message, said Sykes, who warned that banks could decide not to provide access to anyone with an infected computer."
What happens when a virus or spyware cripples your ability to launch the service via the web? What happens when you want to boot into a safe, standalone environment (no web access) and scan?
Why would you even try to force a user to use and infected IE to fix itself. Sounds like a loosing battle to me.....
A friend will come and bail you out of jail, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "damn that was fun!"
And what if I want to scan my machine using other, free AV solutions? And what if I am on (gulp) Linux, or a Mac? Punished for the actions of the majority? Tch-oh.
meanwhile, huge numbers of people save the annual $40 cost of antivirus software or whatever and put that money toward a Macintosh.
the viruses scan you!
Help! I've fallen in a karma hole and I can't get up!
So, uh... what about those of us that run just linux? Will banks assume we're clean, or will they just lock us out because Symantec's stuff returns an error? That's a pretty big concern.
Thankfully I've already moved away from Symantec products. There are some situations where offering software as online services is not necessarily the best idea. I would put critical system utilities in that category.
What if I don't want to pay my bank for a stupid virus service. My bank should be a BANK. What, is Norton going to help me save money in a high interest bearing account now? Businesses should stick to what they do, so they do it best, instead of trying to be "user friendly".
Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.
McAfee's been doing this for years and when I was doing tech support, I frequently recommended my customers use Trend Micro HouseCall, a free online virus scan, whenever their current virus scanner wasn't working or wasn't installed.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Why would you scan a Mac for viruses? To my knowledge, there are some trojan horses, but there aren't any OSX viruses. Now, Mac OS9 and earlier is a different story (there were viruses aplenty) but the old OS was quite different it its design.
Macs can pass Windows viruses on to other Windows machines if a virus-laden attachment is forwarded from a Mac to a Windows box. But that's their problem.
Just because the antivirus scanner doesn't find anything doesn't nessesarily need to mean that there are none.
Every time I see a pop-up advertisement that says:
"YOUR COMPUTER COULD BE INFECTED WITH SPYWARE - CLICK HERE"
It sends up huge red flags for me, and I always shut them down without clicking. I've seen so many of them (wanting to optimize my Windows, etc.) that I'm now gun shy of any such remote scanning application.
I'll be thinking long and hard about letting anything scan my system through my firewall.
Steve
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
Maybe I'm a bit jaded at having been in the computer support industry for too long, but with the proliferation of nasties these days that disrupt internet connectivity in one form or another, I'm skeptical as to whether this is going to actually work. Hell, a good percentage of infections these days, be they viruses or malware, require manual cleaning, often from safe mode or self contained non-volatile bootable media. Even Symantec overwhelmingly recommends booting to safe mode to clean infections in most of their AV DB articles.
Well not likley because someone is likely to scream discrimination of sorts. As in the real world everyone is *supposed* to be treated fairly even if you can't control yourself ('severely handicapped').
I would imagine that if anything comes of this idea, is that just a server side detection mechanisim that sells ads to vistors saying something similar to spam ads like your computer is infected blah blah blah. However if that ad came from my bank and I was aware that they had this kind of service i would be more inclined to investigate further.
If I were a credit institute/bank/whatever, I'd:
Step 1: Offer virus scanning for a charge
Step 2: Require my customers to be virus-free
Step 3: Since I can only be sure they are virus-free after they have been checked (With my scanner, since I can't be bothered to support other peoples solutions): PROFIT!
Add to this the legitimate question about other OSes and AV-solutions and you have a bona fide extortion scheme.
But then, I'm a computer scientist, so I don't do "online banking" anyway...
Who cares? Who even uses this crap? If you don't have an active virus-shield style app scanning all the time you're just asking to get infected these days. I can't count the number of times that AntiVir Personal Edition virus shield (free for individual home use) has saved me from a virus or trojan while browsing. If I had to rely on a web-based scanner I'd be infected FIRST before I knew about it later.
Knight37 - Once a Gamer, Always a Gamer
I must admit that I didn't read TFA but the summary suggests that banks could reject logins from infected computers. Clearly the scan result would have to be submitted to the bank server, or a client-side script could verify the negative scan result. This would be much cheaper than using server/agent solution that many corporations employ for corporate desktops and applications. Of course this would force viruses to spoof these results, thus negating any benefit until the information is cryptographically protected. Not a bad idea.
Why don't you just sell this to the banks and other online services so they can now offer it to their customers for free as being part of a featured advertisement. I can see a ton of people being inclined to choose the online banking service that offers free online anti-virus rather than the one without it. Plus, it can then be controlled and updated by people actually knowing what they're doing rather than leaving it in the hands of Joe Schmoe. It's a win win for everybody. Customers get more security and for free, banks get more security and more customers.
This model for killing viruses sounds very much like the code gamers are getting used to seeing.
Its down to trust.
Before you can come on MY website, you have to run MY code. If you run my code and it gives the wrong result, then your fucked.
Problems, OS dependence, other people have mentioned already, but another is security - what kind of permissions do I have to give to allow arbitary code to be run which can access the running list of applications and OS internals, how do I know the code being run is safe?
Would you really feel safe opening up so much of your machine for a general internet site?
We are moving away from internet explorer and the nightmare of activeX, lets not go back to it.
After thought, if the banks implimented this as a standalone application and it did this scan as part of its initial authentication (like the gaming world), I would be less bothered than expecting this kind of code to be run in a browser. strange isn't it.
liqbase
So, in order to access my bank account, I have to agree to let the bank install software on my computer that will examine all the files and programs running on my computer and report back to the bank. If I don't agree with their policy, I don't get to have a bank account? Whatever happend to unreasonable search an seasure laws?
Are they only going to scan active processes running? My virus scans take forever.
I can imagine trying to connect to my bank and waiting for the virus scan. I will getting bored and wander off. Then the bank would kick me off due to inactivity because it finished the scan while I wasn't looking.
"Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
So lets get this straight:
I log into my online banking site.
It downloads (perhaps w/o my permission) and ActiveX component that scans my system.
It says I'm ok, so I can log in.
Except what if I have ActiveX disabled?
What happens if I use a Mac/Linux/BSD?
What happens if my native language isn't English?
What happens if I'm not running WinXP2000Plus?
What happens if I am running IE version 5.5.0123456 with HotFix 7890?
This sounds like a "hey we need money, and our traditional channels aren't making enough, so lets create a ficticious need, and then offer a solution to it!" move.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
What interest is it of the banks to purchase such a product? Everything comes down to the bottom line, hows this going to help?
Just because some exec comes up with a snassy (new?) idea and starts talking it up doesn't mean it will find its home in the marketplace.
To me this sounds annoying, plain and simple. As a bank exec I'd really be scratching my head trying to figure out how my customers win (which makes me win).
Quack, quack.
Maybe it's time to start a letter writing campaign? Make your voice heard before this happens. Banks like you keeping your money there, if they start getting letters from members letting them know accounts will be closed before this becomes defacto for online banking it will carry more weight.
Any bank that tried this would loose my business that day. You do not blackmail me into running your code on my computer. Why should I trust your code, or even allow it on my machine? Why should I pay for the privilege of accessing my own money through the bank? And why would a bank care what I check my balance with anyway? I'm not uploading files to the bank, I'm sending HTTP requests over SSL to its web server. If I can somehow infect its servers from my computer, the bank has a HUGE problem (there is no reason why this should be possible.) Plus, I have my own virus scanning software, and no interest in purchasing theirs too. So try to pull that one, you loose a customer immediately.
Norton was decent when Peter Norton used to run the show. When he sold his company to Symantec, I have noticed the software turn into bloated crap. People seem to believe Norton is the best still, it used to be great in the mid-90s, but now it is garbage.
For anyone that buys Norton, I would try Nod32 instead, I think it is the best one out there if you're willing to spend money.
For those of you who prefer a free antivirus, I would try Antivir, it is much better than AVG.
Nice of Symantec to decide to catch up. TrendMicro's House Call site offers an free online virus scan that is able to detect and remove any virus that can be removed with their other products. It's an ActiveX control based scanner though so it's not cross platform, though the biggest need for this service is by far windows. Very useful site, has saved me a ton of headaches with remote users who have been infected by viruses that have taken down their local virus scanner (usually symantec) by killing it's process.
I would tell Symantec that their product must be able to run as advertised on additional hardware and software platforms. If poorly designed and implemented, there will be a huge detrimental impact to consumers who will get angry with their online banks, merchants, or even their ISP and could very well stick it to these companies and Symantec where it counts...the pocketbook.
The clumsy, bloated feel to the leading AV "solutions" always seem pretty much like spyware to me.
Long processes running at startup.
Little do-nothing-of-value icons in the task tray.
Pop-up windows artlessly trying to sell me a subscription renewal, and referring me to a web page with so many links and visual clutter than I don't even know which product thereon is MINE.
I do all the computing I can these days on my Powerbook, and try to restrict the types of computing on the XP box to those which reduce my risk to the utmost. When I even think of viruses, I run one of the vastly more considerately crafted second-tier players such as Grisoft -- ones that run on a "when you invoke them" basis, and don't sit there trying to secure the many vulnerabilities of day-to-day WIndows use.
There are so many threats these days that the best defense, I feel, has to center on avoiding the most attacked platform or your computing time is largely spent actively offsetting risk. Don't want to get wet? Come in out of the rain.
tone
tone
...to the rear! Now NAV can bone your PC over the Internet without having to do it the old fashioned way by installing it!
Oh joy. All we need is a BHO that leeches onto ports 25 and 110 in IE just waiting for an IE weakness to be exploited turning every open browser into an open relay, never mind is bogged down by system processes causing it to pause long enough to timeout connections to your mail server.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
show of hands, how many of you have seen Norton stop being enabled at startup for no apparent reason? How many of you have found a virus norton either A. cant remove, or B. cant find. Ever noticed how much memory it takes up even when you're not running a scan? How many friends and family do you know who have just let their protection expire because their subscription renewal service was too laborious to slog through?
They've got the cart several miles ahead of the horse, and its sad because way back in the day, Norton was truly a great product. Unfortunately it has become a Frankenstein's monster of bloated ineffectiveness, and it shows no hint of reversing the trend. I'll stick with http://www.nod32.com/ for now.
To err is human, to really foul up requires a computer
"This could be paid for by the customer"
Um I don't think so. How about the cost could be absorbed by the bank. Any bank that tried to pass this cost onto me would lose my custom. I already have antivirus protection on my PC... why the hell should I pay for it again?
If consumers get used to allowing their banks to execute code on their systems, then they become even more vulnerable to phishing scams... Phishing sites will have their own "virus checking" tools, just like the real banks, except these tools will install malware instead of trying to remove it..
Also virus checkers will be useless against more targetted attacks which are being seen more often nowadays, small attacks against customers of a particular organisation which don`t become widespread enough to get noticed by antivirus vendors..
And finally those of us not using windows systems or not using ie may get turned away since we're not able to run the virus checker (and most likely wouldn`t need to in any case).. I don`t think firefox provides a way to execute code with access to your local filesystem (for obvious security reasons) in the same way that activex does.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Anti Virus is a racket
By delivering security features such as virus scanning online, Sykes believes the footprint of its applications will no longer be an issue: "Once you move to the service situation then the footprint becomes almost irrelevant.
So by this reasoning, if we made the OS, word processors, spreadsheets all services, we could all go back to the orignal 64k PC's with 8088's running at 4mhz? I think I still have my Timex Sinclair with 16k at home, maybe I'll be able to put that to some use now.
--
Q
What happens to all this talent and product they are absorbing by sucking up all these small (and large)companies? Surely someone at symantec knew this was silly.
Why doesn't symantec sell any of @stakes products? What are those guys doing now?
Seems like a lot of things they acquire just stagnate or simply cease to exist alltogether.
I'm actually afraid that that might happen with the veritas purchase.
Don't get me wrong they are on the ball with a lot of stuff, but this kind of thing really gets you scratching your head.
... what did you expect, something profound?
Once Norton Utilies was good, Partition Magic was good, and NAV wasn't annoying. Now NAV significantly slows down performance, and for the personal edition, requires it revalidate itself over the internet all the time REQUIRING user input. So... I removed NAV from most of my computers; NAV is supposed to be seamless. And some of us STILL want to check for viruses offline.
Personally, I think this is an attempt by Symantec to grab an opportunity for advertising revenue.
And Symantec already has TOTALLY BOGUS REBATE OFFERS. I bought All of the above products (though NAV was an OEM bundle). When I upgraded every one of them with the promise of rebate, I got 3 rejection letters. First, they said they couldn't find my previous registration for PM or accept my s/n (though I religiously register, cause it was PQ, so they didn't move over support etc.) Next, they didn't allow my OEM as an "upgrade". The only reason I bought the software was because of the rebate; and the processing (3 months) meant that it was way too late to return. Not to mention that Symantec's PM handily corrupted every volume I merged.
Anyway... crapware... liars... don't buy the products...
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
A typical norton scan of my PC takes about 40mins. Does this mean I cant log into my online banking until the scan is finished and the results sent back. I could walk to my branch quicker than that!!
What about the poor people on dial up connections.
we can fix this weak gate guarding your fort, all we need to do is cut hole from this part of the wall and plaster it into place at the gate. I mean using an internet service to scan for a virus is just aking for problems. It can, will, and is probably as we speak being hacked and exploited to the whims of the black hat masses. If its not on your computer how can you trust it will not be used as the method of infection for some virus.
The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum. - O'Toole's Corollary
I don't trust Symantec's junkware. Their software is slow and bloated. The day my bank requires this will be the day I find a new bank.
I don't think they're trying to be user friendly. They're just not interested in fielding calls from customers who have suffered fraud because some spyware keystroke logger ripped off the customer's online banking ID, which was then used to transfer money to some crook. The bank is trying to protect itself, which then in turn helps the customer. Seems like a good idea to me.
Penny - plain text accounting
I bank with $sys$Sony, scan away
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Banks could make a version of Moz. (with custom interface even) that *only* connects to their system and breaks the web -- this would stop the trojans from snooping passwords, be free to users, be relatively small to use, and be an easy choice for people who are worried about viri on their machines.
I mean, last time i looked on my favourite torrent site, it was already there.
This sig used to be really funny...
I would have a problem if my bank wanted to run some software on my computer. But that is me, and I am sure alot of the /. crowd. However, the basic user may not care about viruses. If their software finds a virus/spyware app it should remove it free of charge, it also should point the person to somewhere to get a good reliable AV software. It is in the bank's interest to keep the computer virus free, since if your account is accessed and used fraudulently, they are going to replace the money in your account. Anything to prevent a several hundred dollar loss if it costs them $.05 it would be worth it to them.
Supplies!
Most people on a tight budget who are wising up are probably going towards AVG, Avast, and other free virus protection software for Windows anyway - is Norton Antivirus even useful anymore? (psst.. the answer is no)
Nice, now when I do my online banking, I'll have to use their virus scan. When I go pay my credit cards online, I'll have to use their virus scan. When I go pay... well, you get the point. Leave ensuring my computer is clean up to me and whatever software I choose to use.
Cheesy Movie Night
On that note I can see both sides of the issues. I can see the concern of those who use online banking but at the same time if your virus infected machine somehow infects the banks servers(shouldn't be an issue but you never know) or causes all of your money in your accounts wiped out, guess who has to spend valuable resources to clean up your mess?
I just spent 45 minutes trying to figure out all the different things Norton AV put on my computer, then disabling them, and later uninstalling the thing altogether, why would I want to go through all that hassle again with my online banking?
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
So, lemme get this part straight. I have to pay my bank to do all of the above which I have moral/sercurity problems with, or else I can't use their system?! What a joke! If my bank tried that I'd promptly find a new one.
Ok, so I focused a lot on the 'bank' aspect of this, which I probably shouldn't have, but it was the most obvious that came to mind. Same goes for an ISP, however, and they could screw you much worse. Imagine if you will, a world where you have to have your computer scanned daily in order to keep your internet connection. Or every time you attempt to logon to their network you had to do a "quick" five minute scan?
This whole idea is a joke, and I hope it never comes to pass as standard. I would much rather keep my computer protected myself, and am quite capable of that, then trust some unknown entity from the internet telling me to click here.
Want to find other gamers to play board and role playing game
Symantec Hopes this, Symantec Hopes that..
Symantec has been *hoping* to deliver something worthwhile ever since they stopped developing for DOS-mode.
Face it, the Norton Utilities used to be *great*. Now they suck! Norton Anti-Virus has never been spectactular. Norton Ghost.. Well, Norton Ghost is pretty good; at least the version I have; it still runs under DOS4GW with a non-MS GUI.
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
A good solution already exists to prevent keyloggers, etc. Actually some banks are rolling it out already - http://us.etrade.com/e/t/jumppage/viewjumppage?Pag eName=secureid_enter/.
Works with any device, costs $25 once (which could probably be lowered) and provides actual security.
There are going to be risks no matter what security products a bank provides to its customers. After a year and a half working as a malware analyst, I know well that a "Clean" Virus Scan will provide customers with nothing but a false sense of security. Sober for instance has currently has 20+ variants that are known. You can bet there are plenty of malware variants in the wild that have no signatures. What the banks need to do is provide their customers with adequate computer security and let the customer decide which products are best for them.
"The customer goes to an Internet banking site and that site has an end-point appliance that scans [their computer].
Uh, my computer is firewalled. How are they going to scan me? Certainly they're not suggesting that I install software off the internet, and then trust it to secure my system. Perhaps they missed the part about Trusted Computing Base in the CISSP review course.
It may say 'you have Sobig [or another infection]' and up will pop the anti-virus vendor's window that says 'do you want to fix this problem or buy a solution'," said Sykes.
This is EXACTLY the MO Spyware is using. Gee, hit a website, get a popup that says you're infected, click here to fix. yeah, I'll click that...
This could be paid for by the customer using their credit card or by adding it to their mobile phone bill by sending a text message, said Sykes,
ROTFLMAOPMP [Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off Peeing My Pants]. So now I have to PAY for the privilege of them compromising the integrity of my machine? And what's up with this billing my credit card in response to a text meesage? Text messaging is rock solid secure, right? No spoofing there, no siree!
who warned that banks could decide not to provide access to anyone with an infected computer.
One might comment that if the security of one's account is dependent on the integrity of one's PC, then there is a problem. One would be right. What's sad is that Symantec is trying to fix the wrong problem. We need online banking solutions that are secure even when accessed from Satan's computer. That's a much harder problem to solve
"If you don't use the service then you may not be able to log onto the Internet banking site," he added.
I use Linux. Is there a version available for my OS?
Additionally, never mind me trusting them, how do they trust me? Do you really think they can code something which cannot be cracked and spoofed? Do you really think that malware writers won't be able to write a wootkit that can mimick the communications between the AV agent and the backend? Come on.
There's still some smart @stake guys at Symantec. I'll bet they're getting more embarrassed by the day....
Some time ago, my windows has cought a virus that corrupt any program that you install, all antivirus that i test checked the installer and because it was corrupt refused to install. The only thing i can do was use a web antivirus that works over activex, like the panda activescan, i know that panda hasn't got one of the best antivirus but after use panda activescan i was able to install a real antivirus and solve the problem
PS: sorry for my english
Step 1: Hack Bank & have $rand clients told they are infected; Redirect to fake Norton Site.
Step 2: Take Credit information, infect client PC; churn disk for a while
Step 3: Make ~$5 per client suckered
Step 4: Rent out infected PCs for $$$$$$
No I am not bitter at all towards symantec as I earn a ton of cash trying to fix computers that users try to upgrade symantec on. Or just plain uninstall. I can only imagine what this new service is going to do for them
My advice, Symantec, fix your existing products before you unleash a new hell on all of us.
-rant finished-
CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
How would you define it?
Once your system is compromised, the ONLY way to return to _known_ clean is wipe and start from _known_ good.
When will these people GET IT THROUGH THEIR HEADS that the 'clean' 'wipe' 'quarantine' options are NOT sufficient.
Am I totally missing something? Have I been brainwashed? AFAIK, you NEED to keep your system clean, you shouldn't be cleaning up after malware. Never had any malware on my Unix-like boxes (Mac and Linux), and I never plan on having one.
A computer system is NOT like your body. There is no immune system that will clean up once the infection has been controlled. Rootkits CANNOT be safely removed. The analogies that these security companies make to biology do NOT make sense in the context of computing.
I understand filtering viruses at the firewall. I understand filtering viruses at the browser, or e-mail clients/gateways. I do NOT understand malware removal.
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
Pay no attention whatsoever to these empty words. Of course banks "could" deny access to spyware or virus infected computers, but he is just trying to push some fear on te average uninformed user in the hopes of selilng the services. no bank has announced such a measure and I doubt they will- they would alienate a mayority of their clients who are already accesing services from compromised computers. I don't know what the fuss is all about.
Instead of "Loading virus definitions" we will just see "Buffering virus definitions". Is it really worth so much work?
Right now they sell the core product and require a service subscription to receive updates. This will make the software modular, enabling them to charge more for the total product and in addition to the monthly revenue streams which companies are quickly becoming addicted to (notice how just about every company is trying to turn their "product" into a "service" requiring a monthly subscription).
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Little do-nothing-of-value icons in the task tray.
Not to single out your comment, but I've seen this often, as a complaint about many products. "Oh no, they put an icon in my task tray, I'm doomed!". I don't get it. The task tray is the place where all the uselesss crap goes, and it hides most of itself by default. Why is this even a concern? Anyone?
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Hasn't anyone ever got a false positive before? Won't this really hurt the truly innocent?
Look, really, it's my computer. Sometimes it's private (none of anyone else's business what it's doing); sometimes I want some help checking whether it in infected with a virus, bacterium, worm, amoeba, horse, elephant, or whatever. Sometimes it's doing something confidential between me and my employer; in which case the bank had better check with my employer if they want to do anything with the computer.
The issue is this: I know that they have determined that having a process running on my system is a good thing. For me, I have to wonder if this code is well written code that will not spin or leak memory, or is it going to cause problems like that chronically, for all the while my PC is booted up.
Unless I can think of a good benefit that necessitates having processes running, I try to avoid the possibility that undue consequences or malicious behavior is emanating from something visually embodied by that little tray icon. There is the additional aspect to consider that oftentimes the one whose interests are being served by that ever-running little stub are not mine but the entity that crafted it.
I guess I know some programs might be running and exposing me to the same problems without having a tray icon. But I complain about what I can see!
tone
tone
So, if i scan with Norton, I am virus free?? That means if everyone scanned with symantec/norton, there would be no viruses, if it were only true...most of the people I help with a real virus have no Norton anymore, the malware did away with that. When did a bank ever care about anything that did not make a profit?? Show me the profit!!! There is none; End///
I had to reinstall my XP installation when I upgraded to a larger hard drive. Since I hadn't been entirely satisfied with Norton's tools lately, and had discovered other, better tools like Diskkeeper and FreeAV, I left Norton's out of the equasion. The result? My system is running MUCH faster than before. Antivirus scans of incoming emails happen near-instantaneously. Applications load in a fraction of the time they did before. I'm not getting horrible lags when playing games. The difference was amazing.
There may be other explanations for the slowdown. I had a slower hard drive, and since it was much smaller, it was much fuller. I may have had another issue altogether causing the problem. I'm willing to consider all of that. In the end, though, I've found better tools, my computer runs faster, and I'm happier.
I've sworn by Norton's Utilities for a decade and a half. It's hard to say I'm not going to use the product anymore, but I'm wondering if I will. The only tool I used regularly from Norton's that I haven't replaced is the recycle bin protection. I figure that's okay, since I never actually used its protection. The only interaction I ever had with it was to clean it out before a speed disk. Now, I don't have that extra step, and Diskkeeper will defragment on a schedule, and even while I work.
Any suggestions for good, preferably free, system utilities in the Systemworks vein would be appreciated. I'd love to add some to my toolbox usb drive, to give to clients.
Visit Lockjaw's Lair. He won't bite.
The banks want to completely scan every file on my PC before they will allow me to do business with them (to make sure I am not carrying any data they consider to be detrimental).
No way. Let's substitute some other businesses and see how it sounds.
Sony BMG wants to completely scan every file on my PC before they will allow me to play one of their CD's (to make sure I don't have any copyright infringement apps). Well actually I guess the rootkit does this kind of stuff for them anyway.
Disney wants to completely scan every file on my PC before they will allow me to play a DVD on my PC (to make sure I am not a copyright infringer) - if they do find something it will be easy to send the evidence upstream and initiate a lawsuit automatically.
I remember back in my day we used to have the illusion of privacy, and we liked it! Have corporations just given up trying to pretend they care about our own rights as individuals now?
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
Can Symantec promise me that they will slow down my PC with a bloated online service like rtvscan like they do with their Norton program? Otherwise I'd never know it was working hard for me...
rearing its ugly head. Yep, getting gobs of cash EVERY month is a whole lot more attractive than simply getting it at point of sale.
Just say no!
Hadn't expected everyone to think this is so funny, but as they are, should point out that's my flatmate's joke originally...