Antivirus is 'completely wasted money': Cisco CSO

By zerologic
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Grand Master

Laurë Veteran

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I think that companies could do with investing some serious money in educating their employees. I've seen one example of a business waste sooooo much time (and thus money) because they refuse to spend a bit of money on some good quality courses so that people don't sit there for twenty minutes struggling with a table in Word or a spyware they shouldn't have had in the first place.

I've actually never had a known virus/nastyware on a computer of my own but like someone said, I think running anti-virus is a similar precaution to locking your front door. I'd guess that a big problem is that people think an anti virus will always protect them, so they can do what they want when in reality it is just an extra precaution.

Big companies would be best using linux or mac, anything but windows.

Do you mean because they can afford the support? Not sure about support for Linux, but off the top of my head I wouldn't count on it. I guess if it's simply a case of paying more, that might be worthwhile. As for either of those options, what do you do about software that only runs on Windows? Expecting the average user to cope with virtualisation would be crazy in my opinion.

I've seen Linux used well at university, and everything is locked down so you can't duff it up. That department really loves open source though, I know nothing about their tech guys or where they got them from :p However, there is still a Windows lab for certain uses/preferences.

Finally...the reason Windows gets such a beating from malware is that it leads the market. If 90+% of PCs were running OSX or Linux, the criminals would target those OS's instead.

Grand Master

Cara Veteran

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Finally...the reason Windows gets such a beating from malware is that it leads the market. If 90+% of PCs were running OSX or Linux, the criminals would target those OS's instead.

Thats true, however both *nix and OS X are built around a much more secure core way of doing things thus it would be much harder for a virus writer / malware writer to slip their code undetected into a *nix based Operating System. Not soloing any OS out here but the US Military uses *nix based platforms for security due to their inherent defense against those type of attackers.

Mentor

Mr. Dee

Posted
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Well, if the Antivirus is to blame, then the developer of the OS is pretty much a part of the equation too. I personally believe Antivirus is an important utility to have installed on your computer. I ran Windows Server 2003 R2 (even had SP2 installed) on my laptop for nearly 2 years without AV software, when I went back to school to continue my studies, I connected that same laptop to the schools network. Bam! The machine started acting weird, became extremely slow, took forever to log in from hibernation. Then I was locked out of the system, couldn't launch certain functions such as the Run command, it began to automatically shutdown and so on. I decided to install an AV, I chose Norton Antivirus Corporate because I have had a good experience with it on my desktop at home and seems to do a good job of detecting viruses, especially when I plug in thumb drives and it also does a good job of removing them. After installing Norton AV Corporate Edition with definitions from November 2006, I scanned the system in Safe Mode with System Restore disabled, it discovered a total of 500 viruses, Trojans, malware and worms. And this was with definitions up to November 2006, when I did update to recent definitions, it found even more. Was I relieved! I have also encountered viruses on Windows Vista 32 and 64 bit, but they haven't been as effective as they would be on XP or Server 2003 it seems. But they seem to still penetrate. I have found that Norton AV Corporate Edition is a great solution, its detection is good, much lighter in comparison to its retail sibling and easier to configure.

Community Regular

Internet

Posted
Posted

I haven't had an antivirus software on my computer in 4 years.... i installed one a week or so ago to do a scan and nothing came up. If you aren't an idiot and use your computer normally you'll be safe. Most people i know that get viruses, the first thing i asked them "have you downloaded cracked software or searched for cracks/keygens/bots for games?" and 99% of the time thats how they get them.

Experienced

C_Guy

Posted
Posted

In other words, Cisco is angry they have no piece of the AV pie.

Get the word out, everyone! Un-install all anti-virus software and don't download OS updates anymore. I can't think of better advice to offer computer users. :rolleyes:

What was this guy drinking when he came up with this?

get a Mac

This is going to shock and disturb you but I must tell you.

Macs have software updates to correct security problems in OS X!!!

:cry:

Have you never checked for updates to your Mac? Do yourself a favor and check. You'll be glad you did.

Neowinian

Apple Mac Stud

Posted
Posted
i had a virus on my home laptop a little while back.. it somehow managed to get past norton 2008 with all the updates... i contacted norton and they told me i'd have to pay ?70for them to get rid of it...... i told them where to stuff it and just formatted lol...

its bad that because their system which is meant to prevent viruses failed, that they wanted to charge me so much money!

Hopefully you no longer have Norton.

Rising Star

abcdefg

Posted
Posted
This is going to shock and disturb you but I must tell you.

Macs have software updates to correct security problems in OS X!!!

:cry:

Have you never checked for updates to your Mac? Do yourself a favor and check. You'll be glad you did.

Have you seen many malware infested Macs? :rolleyes:

Neowinian

Apple Mac Stud

Posted
Posted
Thats true, however both *nix and OS X are built around a much more secure core way of doing things thus it would be much harder for a virus writer / malware writer to slip their code undetected into a *nix based Operating System. Not soloing any OS out here but the US Military uses *nix based platforms for security due to their inherent defense against those type of attackers.

I couldn't have said it better. Even when I was a Windows user I understood this. It IS NOT security through obscurity. There is no doubt that if the Mac Market share was far larger, hackers and malware writers would target it much more BUT...*NIX and OS X are built on a UNIX foundation and lack several attack vectors that is found on Windows. This isn't saying a virus cannot be made for Linux and Mac but no where near to the extent that you see it commonly in the Windows world.

Grand Master

Shane Pitman

Posted
Posted
ZDNet Australia

Companies are wasting money on security processes ? such as applying patches and using antivirus software ? which just don't work, according to Cisco's chief security officer John Stewart.

Speaking at the AusCERT 2008 conference in the Gold Coast yesterday, Stewart said the malware industry is moving faster than the security industry, making it impossible for users to remain secure.

"If patching and antivirus is where I spend my money, and I'm still getting infected and I still have to clean up computers and I still need to reload them and still have to recover the user's data and I still have to reinstall it, the entire cost equation of that is a waste.

"It's completely wasted money," Stewart told delegates.

He said infections have become so common that most companies have learned to live with them.

/snip

I think his remarks were taken out of context. He "If patching and antivirus is where I spend my money,and I'm still getting infected and I still have to clean up computers and I still need to reload them and still have to recover the user's data and I still have to reinstall it, the entire cost equation of that is a waste." The key word there and[/b][/i]. I think the point he's making there is that if you're doing all that you can to protect your systems with antivirus and keeping them up to date with paand[/b][/i] you're still getting infected, then you need to refocus part of your time and budget towards training or deterring your users from doing whatever they're doing that's causing your problems.

Grand Master

+Mirumir Subscriber¹

Posted
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I've just read the article on the front page...Well, obviously being proactive by setting up firewall, network security, not opening spam/junk emails, not visiting shady websites is a TONN better than being reactive - running an antivirus after your computer has already become infected.

Rookie

janedoe

Posted
Posted
The real security hole is the user.

Bottom line.

Not saying that no antivirus is needed but that says it all. The user is the first open door (remember the virus that was saying "Run Me To Remove The Virus X").

A good basic antivirus (Free Avast with the Standard Shield only), a good basic firewall (Free ZoneAlarm) or hardware firewall configured adequetly, never install ActiveX control unless you are sure of the source (I mean really sure), never use warez softwares, avoid peer-to-peer file sharing and don't try every programs you find on the web unless it is known to be safe. Don't do that and you're most likely to be the first to blame if you get infected.

It's not because your car is equiped with 153 airbags that you can ride at 160mph on the highway safely.

Neowinian

TaBaScO

Posted
Posted

I agree. That is a stupid statement. It just goes to show idiots exist everywhere -- even at the top of major corporations. My AV software has certainly saved me from getting infected many times over the years, and I've cleaned many client PCs successfully using various AV and anti-spyware programs. There is no 100% way to stop malware, but not having any AV software on a PC is ridiculous. I've had experience with Avira, Avast, and AVG. IMHO AVG is the best, especially once they introduced version 8. It's silly to even buy AV software anymore for home use, and for business I would recommend AVG Professional.

I always tell people they wasted their money if they got Norton/Symantec or McAfee. Both are garbage.

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