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Got AV? Maybe You Don't
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-10-08
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Having antivirus software installed on a system is not the same as having an updated antivirus solution in place; surprisingly, some people don't understand the difference.
The influx of non-techie users into the online world has been both boon and bane for the growth of the Internet. Greater demand for useful and innovative services brought out the best in developers.
It also drew out the worst in others, who plague the typical computer user with spam offers and malware on a regular basis. To fight off the ravening horde of criminals, people turned to security companies (or to Apple for a Mac) to keep their computers safe.
Criminals continue to evolve, and security software can't stay stagnant. The problem, as demonstrated by a McAfee-backed survey with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), comes from people who aren't keeping their protection up to date.
The survey found people believe they have countermeasures like AV, firewall, or anti-spyware tools in place. Virtually all of them have heard of spyware, and 75 percent have heard about phishing.
Though 92 percent of those surveyed believed they had up-to-date antivirus protection, only 51 percent actually did.
"If I dared, I would say the situation is perhaps worse because minimum security needs daily update not weekly and there is more malware written today than ever before," McAfee researcher Francois Paget said on the Avert Blog.
We think a commenter on Slashdot may be on to something regarding this disparity between what people think and what they have in place. People buying new machines may not realize that the preloaded antivirus solutions only run with full functionality for a limited period of time.
Once expired, those products require payment to continue working as normal, including the regular updates. The paid security software industry can only do so much to reinforce that point before people simply ignore it out of annoyance.
Fortunately, free solutions like AVG and Clam AV for Windows exist, and work effectively. If one of those products were to take the place of a proprietary solution with an OEM, we think the rate of up-to-date PCs would be a lot higher than 51 percent.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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