4 ms·
And it's probably not effective anyway. If there's an official security software, or even a small list of them, it creates an easy target for the bad guys to wo
by arohner 17y ago
And it's probably not effective anyway. If there's an official security software, or even a small list of them, it creates an easy target for the bad guys to work around. They'll build their attack code with the knowledge of what they need to avoid.
Virus writers already do this today. They acquire a bunch of current AV programs, and test the virus on boxes with up-to-date AV. They don't ship the virus until it passes that test case.
- CWuestefeld 17y agoThat's true, but this would exacerbate the problem. Right now there's a relatively large list of possible AV programs that they need to get around. But if it were known that, e.g., Comcast has a contract with McAfee to provide AV software, then the list becomes shorter, and may make it easier to target specific populations.
- arohner 17y agoI think we're in "violent agreement". I absolutely agree the suggestion is a bad idea, and this will make it worse. My original comment was intended to bolster your argument. I can't find the link right now, but a story claimed that the top 3 AV programs covered 75% of the market. I don't think dropping to 1 program to test against strains the virus writers significantly.