Is there any Antivirus program that really works.?

Question

Roumor has it that aitivirus programmers also write the virusses! Who's integity can be trusted.

Answer 1

ALL AV programs work - it is just up to their files which are updated regularly which KNOW about the different types of virus as to how good they actually are! It's also up to you to download these updates regularly!

I have to say, when I worked at McAfee it was always a joke amongst the rest of us that the AV team were strange folk that secreted themselves away in dark rooms & created the viruses they were supposed to be curing.
But I did once see someone mention that thought to one of the AV team - it was nearly a fist fight - the guys that investigate new viruses trojans etc. really take their jobs very, VERY seriously and the idea that people think they write them REALLY upsets them!
(Could also just be that they have their sense of humour removed when they join the AV community!)

Answer 2

I don't know about the the anti-virus program writers also writing the virus but I must say I have always had my suspicions. Of course if you have an anti-virus program then it is a challenge for the virus writer to try and beat it so you will find that they get round the program from time to time. It seems to me that there are less viruses being written now so the anti-virus programs are probably working which gives the rest of us more time to try and avoid the physhing e mails and these strange e mails saying a relative has sent me a card and those ones with nothing in the e mail but an attachment with a pdf file in ti. What on earth are those all about. I don't know because I never open an attachment from a source which I don't recognise
I am currently using AVG which seems quite good

Answer 3

If you see some one say I use NORTON it works, shoot them because they dont know FA, in networking communities it is laughed at, it is only used because of the name and the reputation they built up from norton tools.

I and several others have been victims of Norton hacks, I hate the program for it is worthless, it was instrumental in my computerd demise and since that day I have used AVG by GriSoft. It by contrast has saved my machine from 17 seperate malware attacks, thousands of intrusion attempts by web sites I visited, it has recovered and cleaned my PC and removed very nasty viruses, it intergrates with your email client, it can be run from DOS which is handy if you happen to get a boot sector virus unlike Norton which cant do owt for toffee.

Seriously get a Firewall of worth and AVG.

It has kept my network up and clean for the last 7 years, Norton was on my computer for less than 5 days and I was hit by a hacker.

Finally... STOPzilla for those who dont know is SPYWARE....

Answer 4

There are indeed some malware programs shaming to be malware removal tools, but those are usually easily spotted and just another kind of Trojan Horse.

You can trust all the virus scanners listed at http://www.virustotal.com/ and http://virusscan.jotti.org/ - both sites have no commercial interest in selling virus scanner and just test them. There is also http://stopbadware.org/ who have a whitelist and a blacklist for several sites - simply insert the URL of a site you are suspicious of and wait for their report before downloading anything.

Furthermore, you can earn a lot of money with malware like viruses and trojan horses. The most common scheme is to take over computers using the malware and rent them to whoever wants it - for dDoS attacks, sending spam, hosting illegal content or whatsoever. Also, law enforcement agencies all over the world where capable of tracking down malware authors and arrest them. At least one was already found guilty and arrested (see article in Security Focus)

Thus: The rumour, that antivirus programmers would write viruses is simply wrong. They do not. Furthermore, here are addresses to some well known and reputable free anti virus products - what advantage should they have on writing viruses in the first place?

ON DEMAND AND GUARD

Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic
http://free-av.com/

avast! Home Edition
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/

Active Virus Shield
http://www.activevirusshield.com/

PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition
http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/


ON-DEMAND ONLY

ClamAV/ClamWin Free Antivirus
http://www.clamav.net/
http://www.clamwin.com/

BitDefender 8 Free Edition
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

VirusBlokAda Beta
http://anti-virus.by/en/beta.html

Answer 5

Norton Internet Security

Answer 6

The problem is that a lot of malware is not actually a virus, so an anti-virus program does not always detect or fix other types of malware e.g. trojans or spyware.

Soemone can go to prison if they are traced as the writer of a virus. So far I have not heard of a anti-virus company being prosecuted for writing viruses.

Answer 7

Although alot of people will say Norton it is a good program but takes up so much CPU use something like AVG anti virus its free and doesn't slow your computer down much and last of all its great program!

Answer 8

I heard that too. Ironically, I don't trust the bigger and more trusted brands. I think they are the ones writing the viruses and adding them to their list to make sure you subscribe and renew in order for them to stay on top.

I like CA Internet security for an anti-virus program along with STOPzilla as my anti-spyware program. They work well together.

They haven't let me down yet.

Answer 9

Mc Afee Security Center, its always scanning your PC to make sure virus doesnt spread when you dont have a scan scheduled. Or Norton Internet Security, only those two i would use.

Answer 10

there are always rumors floating around like this, but lets think about this logically.

if your anti-virus software's designer writes a virus, chances are hes going to code the solution in his own anti-virus software. Why? Because if he doesn't, he (or she!) will have their anti-virus be proven inefficient, and no one will purchase their product and they will be out of work.