Are Anti-Virus Programmers Producing Most of the Viruses?

After all,
1.They know all about viruses.
2.Chances of exposure and apprehension are slim.
3.They have the obvious motive of lucrative financial gain.

Of course,you'd think someone would come out and blow the whistle
at one of the software companies.....
Then again,they could be doing that now but authorities can't
build a case against one person.

What I don't understand is why the media never reports on this.
We just continue shelling out the bucks like suckers taking it
all for granted.

 

Here's a media report for you, but it doesn't take the conspiracy theory
angle you're proposing:

http://www.theregister.com/2003/09/05/the_trouble_with_antivirus/

"Who cares about improving product - when the share price is soaring?
So there's a problem - but one that the mainstream AV industry has no
financial incentive to solve. Quite the opposite, in fact. The worse
things become the rosier the financial future looks for AV vendors, at
least in the short term."

 

My mate a few years back claimed there was a virus in one of the Norton
updates but I think that's a load of bollocks.

LJ

 

I hear this theory postulated by the occasional conspiracy-minded customer.
But people with these suspicions must realize that there are more than
enough people around the world with the malicious or thrill-seeking intent,
combined with the programming skills necessary to create and distribute
viruses. There are sizable virus writer/hacker subcultures out there that
thrive on the publicity and notoriety of fast spreading and prolific
viruses, and hacking of websites and company systems. I've been around such
people before, and it is disturbing the level of disconnection these people
have with the rest of the society. Typically young, teens to early 20s,
somewhat gifted in computer knowledge, but with a destructive or anarchist
streak running through them, and a complete lack of concern about the damage
and problems their viruses can inflict. The AV companies, while they are
indeed making money hand-over-fist from the phenomenon, have nothing to do
with the creation of viruses and worms. It defies common sense that they
would be involved in such an act. Destructive-minded individuals of society
are ever-present, and are all-too-willing to do the job. The AV companies
need not lift a finger. And besides, if the AV companies were doing this, it
would not remain a secret for long, and there would be a massive criminal
penalities and class-action lawsuits if they were ever caught doing it. Such
an act would be so far over the top and outwardly criminal that they would
be insane to ever attempt it given the likelihood that the truth would leak
eventually, completely destroying their companies in the process, and
sending most of the management to jail.

 

it is a idea i've heard for a number of years, to be honest i don't
credit it much credibilty but would agree with the idea voiced in the
register artical that the security firms have no isencitvity to fix the
situaction, as at the moment they are sitting pritty no dought rakinging
a tidy profit.

roger

 

Under the general heading of "I may be paranoid but people really are out
to get me"

 

(wodger) writes:


]> After all,
]> 1.They know all about viruses.
]> 2.Chances of exposure and apprehension are slim.
]> 3.They have the obvious motive of lucrative financial gain.
]>
]> Of course,you'd think someone would come out and blow the whistle
]> at one of the software companies.....
]> Then again,they could be doing that now but authorities can't
]> build a case against one person.
]>
]> What I don't understand is why the media never reports on this.
]> We just continue shelling out the bucks like suckers taking it
]> all for granted.

There are many things the media do not report on-- the fact that all of the
members of the Senate are actually aliens, the fact that cars really run on
the water vapour in the gasoline and there is no energy crisis, the fact
that Hitler is alive and well and living in Kansas, etc.

 

I thought that was Elvis? ;o)

Anyway.. certain of the companies don't help their reputation by counting
"not seen in the wild" viruses - i.e. simple modifications of "standard" or
"what-if" code.

Not that I'm suggesting that these things are /released/.. still, it's
enough to make the more (cough) "wobbly" netizens take note ;o)

--

Hairy One Kenobi

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this opinion do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the highly-opinionated person expressing the opinion
in the first place. So there!

 

Thor! Don't tell me you've given up on paragraphs!!

 

Got no use for 'em. A waste of good text space. heh, heh. ;-)

 

After all,

You left out the part about them all being members of the
Illuminati Brotherhood with a plan to take over the world in 2011.

 

[...]

I can imagine a scenario where a single employee of an anti-virus company
makes a virus, for one reason or another... but the idea that ALL viruses
are created by anti-virus vendors is preposterous.

Occasionally you will see on the news a story about a firefighter who
actually is caught setting fires as well. Apparently he gets a thrill from
fighting fires, so if no fires are available to fight for a few days, he
*makes* a fire! To take an isolated incident like that, and draw the
conclusion: "This just proves that ALL fires are set by Fire Fighters" is
ridiculous.

As someone else already said, there are plenty enough anti-social criminals
in the world who are more than happy to wreak destruction on other peoples
property. Anti-Virus vendors don't need to make any more.

 

I thought that was 2037.. ;o)

--

Hairy One Kenobi

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this opinion do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the highly-opinionated person expressing the opinion
in the first place. So there!

 

(Vallant) wrote in @posting.google.com:

Most good antivirus vendors have a very strict policy regarding employing
known virus writers: they do not employ them.
Check out these articles by Sophos Plc:
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/mydoomuvw.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/calgary.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/calgaryletter.html


A quote from http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/calgary.html states
'Sophos points out that none of the researchers working in its labs write
malicious code, as there is no need to do this to achieve a better
understanding of how to defeat viruses.'
I'm sure most other good AV companies adopt the same policies.