Virus Protection Cure Worse than the Disease

March 14th, 2006

According to ComputerWorld, McAfee released an update last Friday that incorrectly labeled and deleted legitimate files from any computer that had it set to automatically delete corrupted files. Included among these files were Microsoft Excel and standard Windows XP utility files such as shutdown.exe and install.exe.

Having come to believe some time ago that Norton’s Symantec products cause system instability and now seeing how nasty a McAfee misstep can be has led me to remove virus scan software from my computer.

Is this justified? I think so. With the advent of an open source browser that has strong security (Firefox), a firewall on XP that seems quite strong, an online virus removal program that actually works in most cases (Trend Micro’s Housecall) and the nasty underperformance of installed virus removal and protection software, There’s little else that makes sense to me.

I try to browse carefully, using Firefox and only clicking on links whose destination I am reasonably sure of and avoiding most advertisements unless I know the company advertising. I keep my firewall on. I know the url of Trend Micro’s Housecall.

No longer seeking a cure when I do not have the disease, I am browsing much more happily. Since I have tools at my disposal and can run them online as needed, I will not worry and enjoy a faster and more worry free computing experience.

For those who simply must use Internet Explorer, there is probably no alternative except to run virus scan software. In my opinion, McAfee still performs best. But keep to the minimum package: VirusScan only or with the personal firewall, which seems ok. For those who don’t mind a bit more work, installing the open source ClamWin for Windows is an excellent choice.

Edit: Since I wrote this, I discovered the the free version of AVG includes an on-access scanner. This definitely gives it an edge over Clamwin.

Entry Filed under: Technology