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Can the Malware Industry be Trusted?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the surely-you-jest dept.

Joe Barr writes "Is the entire anti-virus / malware industry as rotten as it appears? I started digging into it as a result of the recent lame, unsubstantiated assertions of viral threats to Linux by Kaspersky Lab, but the practice doesn't seem to start or end with them. Who knows, maybe it's pandemic in that entire segment of the IT industry."

6 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. gee... by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An industry blowing problems up to be bigger than they seem in order to sell more product? Conspiracy!

    The only real crime here is that we've let ourselves be suckered by them for as long as we have.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  2. wtf? by kunwon1 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From TFA:
    Today, players like McAfee, Symantec, Norton, and dozens of other firms fight for a share of a market worth tens-of-billions of dollars a year.

    If this guy doesn't know that Symantec == Norton, I don't think I have any use for his opinions on malware companies.
    --
    Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
  3. people DO believe this stuff by yagu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Agree or disagree with the points of this article (I mostly agree), there is an elephant in the middle of the room everyone ignores.

    From the article (emphasis mine):

    Every year, US-Cert produces huge fireworks in the security trade press with their annual summary of misinformation about security flaws. The idiots in the press repeat the lie verbatim and the lie becomes real. What is the lie? That Unix/Linux is less secure than Windows. Granted, only the stupidest dolts in the universe -- and the trade press -- are going to buy that crap, but they put it out there anyway.

    "Only the stupidest dolts in the universe?" Aside from being a little insulting, it's just not true. Many intelligent people believe these reports simply because, as the article points out elsewhere, because it is repeated the lie becomes truth.

    People trust "media" to the extent they don't have expertise in some subject matter. What other result would you expect? There are too many topics, too many reports, and too many things demanding attention, general consumers and lay people, appropiately (though naively), rely on integrity of reporting bodies to filter that part of their world not their specialty(ies).

    Reporting organizations (e.g., CERT) have an ethical responsibility to normalize and make canonical data issued for general consumption.

    Unfortunately the technology world today is Microsoft's sandbox, and seemingly if anyone wants to play, be it media, competition, and lately even government, Microsoft seems to be able to control the rules. Sigh, again.

  4. Gadzooks! by goldaryn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Every year, US-Cert produces huge fireworks in the security trade press with their annual summary of misinformation about security flaws. [...] The summary gives a total for flaws found in Windows and another total for flaws found in Unix and Linux. Last year, those totals were 812 for Windows and 2,312 for Unix/Linux.

    Oh ****! Quick, someone tell me how to upgrade to this "Windows" thing!

  5. perceived standard? by OffTheLip · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft has established itself as a standard so much so that even a 'unbiased' consumer organization such as Consumer Reports basically only acknowledges MS when reviewing computers and making recommendations. Apple is a player but not top tier. It's no wonder AV companies pander to MS and spread FUD. Logically, one would think that a business that exists to correct flaws in another product would lead consumers to shy away form that product but no, because MS is a standard.

  6. Work on your public image by gr8_phk · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From TFA "The idiots in the press repeat the lie verbatim and the lie becomes real. What is the lie? That Unix/Linux is less secure than Windows. Granted, only the stupidest dolts in the universe -- and the trade press -- are going to buy that crap, but they put it out there anyway."

    idiots, dolts, crap. There is a lot of name calling in there. He sounds like a teenager complaining about her friends. I don't claim to be the most articulate person around, but this guy shouldn't be writing articles. People judge you by the words you use. I got so distracted by his name calling I had to post before finishing the article, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to reach the end or take his side given the tone.