Changing of the Anti-Virus Guard
I had been standing by my AVG for the last few years now, but it has recently let me down. I’m not talking about the free version, but the full blown subscription one. Before that it was Mcafee, but they have never gotten their enterprise edition to run worth a crap with Vista. Oddly enough my latest pick goes to Microsoft Security Essentials.
I picked up a case of AV.exe because AVG for whatever reason just didn’t see a problem with a bit of java script changing my registry settings on what program opened .exe files. That’s right, every time an executable was fired off this fake anti-virus trojan would get kicked off and not the .exe that was clicked. Easy enough to remove once I figured out what it was doing, but you would expect something that had the programming complication of a board with a nail in it would be easily ignored by AVG. It was so obviously a virus too, like it was Superman with glasses so everyone thought it was just Clark Kent. WTF is up with that?
Anyway, long story short is that if you need some good ol’ fashioned antivirus that will just get rid of viruses and not be all up in your face I am officially giving MSE a thumbs up. Might have to make a “Dojo Stamp of Approval” for these endorsements.
There was a good one a few years ago by a strange Jap-o-nese feller. RoboAntiVirus or something it was as good as the name.
But yeah, AVG had it’s moment in the sun. The trouble with Anti-Virus software is that once the gremlins find it, they find away around it. So you keep having to download random no-name programs, or… you could just get a mac.
Actually the biggest problem that the AV companies will easily stop the viruses, Trojans, or worms unless they are payed to otherwise “look the other way”. Sorta like slipping the bouncer a $50 to go have a smoke break, but on a much larger scale.
No offence, but I’d rather just cram this stapler up my ass than have to use a mac any more than is needed. So far the best use I have found for the one I have here at work is that it keeps my drinks warm when I use it as a coaster. But to each their own, a tool is only as good as the person using it.