I’m not going to discuss the exact protection we use on work machines here, but there’s only one application specifically targeting viruses that’s active. We do know what we’re doing more or less. ^^;;
Ahhhh … In that case, make sure you use exactly the right amount of whipped cream. Too much ‘banana’, or too much ‘cream pie’, and all is lost.
As a professional software developer as my cover (daily life), I’d say there is never enough anti-malware. The trick is, of course, to only run them basically one at a time. Since different AV and anti-malware packages catch DIFFERENT viruses and malware, it’s best to have a spectrum to check your systems.
Kaspersky is rated at the very top of the pile of AV products, but I’ll never give them one cent of my money. They are known to employ VIRUS writers who DEVELOP viruses on company time, then release the code to alt.code.viruses so malcious people can then compile that code and “release it in the wild”— as well as mutate the code, generating a new family of viruses that we all have to protect against. Just one way Kaspersky has been forced to admit to keeping ahead of the competition and making sure the world sees a need for AV. If you are a good virus writer, you will always have a job waiting for you at Kaspersky.
Not that I doubt you personally, but this sounds too much like rumors I’ve heard, and stretches my credulity enough, that I have to ask … Citation, please?
News.com was were I originally read it the sorid tale. I don’t know if it is still in their archives. I doubt it is in mine, as that was before I was seriously archiving interesting articles locally. I could try doing some searching to find a live link to the related article series.
Kas hired an infamous virus writer, claiming he was “reformed” and now spent time only writing viruses to keep practiced/current so he could then develop and refine the anti-virus. When more then 12 new viruses in the wild got traced back to this writer, it was revealed that he was dumping the source of what he wrote to alt.comp.viruses— and people were scooping it up, compiling it, and sending it out. Strangely, even though he had only built it for practice, Kas had ALREADY published the signatures to prevent it— unlike their other prior “purely research” viruses from their other staff. It was a huge stink in the tech/it at the time, but now its fairly common practice. Dump your “research” virus source code to the right locations, and maintain your job security. Call it “collaboration with other white hats”, and you’ve covered your legal needs.
Norton and McCaffee came out with all these statements at the time that they’d never hire a virus writer, ever, no matter how much he’s reformed or seen the light, and they’d never release their “purely research” developed viruses and other malware to the wilds— Norton has fired staff for getting caught doing that, dumping their code to the public for “comments” and “collaboration”, but they’ve also seemed to be awfully slow when its turned up that some of there staff had been dumping their source to the wild for years. Someone needs to write those new general viruses after all to keep the masses buying AV subscriptions.
Most criminal and government agencies that generate viruses and other malware use such refined targeting software and so many “zero day” exploits that no modern commercial AV/anti-malware will catch it. Or so we are told by various government agencies.
I’m a longtime AVG user, but I don’t like this new 8.0.101 crap :roll: .
Just now, I’m running this version with no Search-Shield installed and Resident Shield, Update Manager and Scheduled Scan disabled because of obnoxious invasiveness :evil: , let’s hope for the best…
for firefox users, i just noticed that the google search-shield isnt compatible with the new firefox3 (and therefore disabled), so thats a good thing 