Computer Associates Offers Warranties

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Thursday September 28, 2006 @05:52AM from the you-bet-your-identity dept.

Kelvin D. writes, "Computer Associates has come up with a new angle to get consumers to buy its security software — a warranty with cash benefits if you catch a virus ($1,500) or get your identity stolen ($5,000). From the article: 'Users who want the identity theft coverage need to both install and register their copies of Warranty Corporation of America's Mobile Lifeline (included). No registration, no coverage.'" Moblie Lifeline includes something that sounds like a benign Trojan: it lets you retrieve or delete files from your stolen computer if it's ever connected again to the Internet.

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Re:5K isn't going to be enough by RedHelix · 2006-09-28 06:00 · Score: 5, Informative

They've been advertising this service in the TD catalog for a couple of months. The 1,500 warranty is for HARDWARE damage. Obviously, viruses and trojans are unlikely to ever cause a physical hardware problem with the machine, and even if they do it would be impossible to prove. They're essentially promoting a software warranty that they'll never have to honor.