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It seemed like a good idea because back then the OS wasn't multi-tasking.
by timbit42 5y ago
It seemed like a good idea because back then the OS wasn't multi-tasking.
- JadeNB 5y ago> It seemed like a good idea because back then the OS wasn't multi-tasking. Of course virus scanners have been around in some form forever, but I believe always-on virus scanners didn't really take off until the multi-tasking age (and indeed couldn't—"always on" doesn't mean much without some sort of multi-tasking). For example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivirus_software#2000%E2%80%932005_period https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivirus_software#2000%E2%80%... tells me that ClamAV wasn't released until 2001. Optional, "on-call" virus scanners are highly unobtrusive (though, like manual backup, only as reliable as their operators), and I can't imagine this sort of outcry against them.