Is the doctor the mad scientist too? (Entry 7)

For years, I've been hearing this rumor that I've never been able to confirm, and I'm sure that many people have heard of this too. The reason why Norton is regarded as the safest antivirus software, and the reason why it defends against just about any virus, trojan or other assorted malware out there, is because...

Symantec writes its own viruses to which only they have the cure for, and releases them into the Internet. This means that other antivirus programs, like MacAfee, AVG and that crappy one that Jackie Chan advertises for, either cannot find solutions for these viruses or will take a long time to do so. This gives Symantec a great advantage over the rest. *insert gasp here*

Holy shit, right? Well if this were true, then Symantec could be charged with a number of Internet crimes in a number of countries, and probably even in the International Court of Justice. Then again, if this were true I reckon that Wikileaks would've exposed this by now. Or maybe they're too bust exposing corrupt governments and child porn peddlers to care. After all, these so called viruses don't seem to be causing a problem, are they?

Well, if you're using Norton along with almost all of the online world, then of course it wouldn't be a problem. But a substantial amount of computer users use free versions of MacAfee and AVG, so those people will be vulnerable. Then again, if you're too cheap to buy a computer but not antivirus software, like buying a car but not maintaining it, then maybe you deserve to catch an Internet virus.

But I digress. After looking online a bit, I realized that this claim is also extended to MacAfee and basically any company that creates antivirus software, all in an effort to boost sales for their product and to remind people how relevant they are. However, of course the PR departments of these antivirus companies are going to deny releasing anything malicious online with the intention to mess with people and their data. Also, we have to consider the fact that for the many years that people have been using antivirus, there haven't been any major lawsuits against antivirus companies for purposely releaving malicious software on the Interwebs (not that I've heard of, anyway). That argument may not be entirely valid as would be argumentum ad ignorantiam (saying something is false because there is no evidence of it being true). So we're going to have to rely on the words of Internet analysts, and by that I mean some fat, jobless guy in his mother's basement who just spends all day coasting the CNET forum. I kid.

Anyway, I found a post that might help. Essentially, this guy says that yes, antivirus companies do release viruses, in two scenarios:

1. Some viruses pose as free antivirus programs in order to entice people who believe that they're smarter than Norton users because they've found a free alternative. Well, good luck to these people who think they can get a free pass. As the local saying goes, not every day is Sunday.

2. Norton, MacAfee and gang, the established antivirus programs, do release minor viruses for research purposes, in order to figure out how viruses spread. These viruses wouldn't be debilitating, and would be able to be easily deleted by any decent antivirus software. It's the same thing as these companies employing white hat hackers to crack their system and find exploits so they can fix them and improve.

However, whether or not these companies actually release malicious programs to justify their own existence, we may never know. For now.

Wikileaks has some homework to finish.