What’s your opinion on this matter?
Consumer Reports recently conducted one of the most thorough tests ever of antivirus programs. But to really put these security programs through the paces, the magazine hired a firm to create 5,500 new viruses, using them to test the antivirus software products for their ability to detect unexpected threats.
More than 100 security experts from companies like Microsoft and HP as well as anti-virus vendors F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Sophos, Symantec and Trend Micro signed their names to a declaration denouncing Consumer Reports’ methods, stating that it is “not necessary and … not useful to write computer viruses to learn how to protect against them.
“Creating new viruses for the purpose of testing and education is generally not considered a good idea,†wrote Igor Muttik of McAfee’s antivirus lab on a public company blog this week. “Viruses can leak and cause real trouble.” The entry helped touch off a firestorm.
Other antivirus commentators were far more inflammatory, accusing Consumer Reports of being irresponsible.
“The antivirus community has always been very strongly opposed to the creation of new malware for any purpose,” wrote John Hawes, the technical consultant at antivirus Webzine Virus Bulletin. “There’s just no need for it. Plenty of new viruses are being written all the time, why would anyone in a responsible position want to add to the glut?”
For a very good reason, said Consumer Union’s Evan Beckford, who helped run the test. Nearly all antivirus programs do a good job of detecting known viruses. That’s easy; and rarely are old viruses the cause of much trouble.
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These little things can be very addictive and are now being compared to drugs! My own little Cingular 8125 very much like the Blackberry is also very addictive indeed especially when out of office/home and so on. 
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