Virtual Vultures
Businesses are predatory. Most would agree with that and add a great big "Duh!" Perhaps I’m warping reality, but I feel that predation is becoming less subtle. What with the last decade of industry-friendly power politics, no wonder.
In the software industry, Microsoft is legend for it’s predatory practices that played a large roll in Windows becoming ubiquitous. Many people still hate MS because of just that, and many also embrace open source software as a direct result of Microsoft malfeasance.
Not enough noise is made for another virtual vulture: Symantec. Like the Redmond folks, the company formally known as Peter Norton Computing has quietly mimicking MS by dealing with the large PC manufacturers and having trial versions of their famous anti-virus software pre-installed on shiny new machines. This, as Redmond proved, is the best way to snare the unwary newbie and chain them to a yearly fee (or two).
Perpetuated by fearmongering, the Antivirus Industry is worth billions. It creates thousand of jobs worldwide. Isn’t it curious how large an industry can become that requires the collective cooperation of "rogue software developers" and "hackers" to continue to deliver threats in order to maintain its existence? For all appearances, there is no profit in creating trojans, worms and such. Why would any one bother? The unspoken stereotype of a basement coder is a quasi-anarchist, angry, young man, intelligent yet jaded, crouching in the dim unwashed and pale, head haloed with cigarette fumes. Such and image is pure Hollywood, but might bear a bit of truth here and there. Why would an educated rogue, real or imagined, continue a anti-establishment-inspired activity like inflicting malevolent code upon the world’s computer systems, all the while seeing that the "Man" is making a killing counteracting his activities? It doesn’t make sense.
As a consumer, Symantec is not user friendly.
A personal tale: My elderly-yet-hip mother in-law received an upgrade message on her newish Dell. She dutifully clicked and entered her credit card information for an AV upgrade. Unfamiliar with the process, she didn’t know to click through and begin a download. A week later, after receiving the same message she tried again. This gave her card info again, this time for AV and for Norton Systemworks upgrade package (such a deal.) Still unaware of the need to download files, frustrated by the oblique instructions on Symantic’s web site, she gave up.
I found out about this a month later, by accident. Thankfully she knew to print out a hardcopy of the confirmation emails. I took these home, logged on and downloaded all the file she paid for (2 copies of antivirus, and Systemworks - some $100 dollars worth) and burned the install filed onto disk. I loaded one AV onto her machine, not without issues (waiting for her dial-up to update the virus definition files took HOURS!), and took the others home to install in my machine with her blessing.
The problem began with installing Norton Systemworks; AV installed fine. Systemworks failed when the final setup screen said to "click here" to complete configuration. The program locked up on my brand new XP pro machine. A search of Symantec’s tech support supplied me with two options: Pay by the minute to speak with a support "Specialist," or to try a fix (or hack, actually) involving changing Windows registry entries. (For the non technical of my readers, the Windows registry is the central-clearinghouse file holding all the system configuration settings. It’s quite huge, complicated, and purposely cryptic.) Being the local Alpha-geek, I went for the hack. Upon rebooting, the problem remained. Further investigation at tech support mentioned to download a Norton Uninstaller, which rid my computer of all installed Symantec products (I’m definitely keeping that one), including the working install of antivirus. Their suggestion continued that I installed the two programs in the wrong order! So, I reinstall Systemworks, then the antivirus, and find the same problem. An email detailing the situation was sent to tech support, who surprisingly replied within 24 hours. Their suggestion was useless, however. The condition they claimed was causing the FUBAR, didn’t exist.
I think of hapless users like my mother in-law spending a hundred dollars to get software that doesn’t install, their frustration of being told to uninstall, reinstall, delve into the intestines of Windows XP to no avail, followed by the insult of having to pay to talk to a human about the problem!
That is shameless predation. Not only is this company parasitic of an underground community of the ill-intentioned, but it preys on the ignorance of the average computer user. Buyer beware anything sold in a yellow box, or downloaded from Symantec. You have been warned.
My thinking is that companies that gain profit from mal-ware and viruses must be paying off the malcontents somehow. Their very survival demands it. And Microsoft, having yet another chance at making a secure platform out of their flagship operating system, failed again to put consumer’s interests foremost. The open source community showed everyone it can be done via the various Linux distributions. (Okay, they’re not bulletproof, but they’re not as Swiss-cheesy as Windows.) Conspiracy? You decide.