Do Security Companies Create Monsters?

Security software companies “try to create a need for [vendor solutions],” says Frost & Sullivan security analyst Jason Wright. “That’s how capitalism works.” But do some go too far? One day you check your e-mail, and there is a forwarded message with a questionable-looking subject line. Say you are conscientious about basic security and normally would not open anything referencing an .exe file. But since a known party sent this, you do. Oops — it turns out the e-mail is not from a friend. Whew! You dodge a bullet. It is just a forwarded message from one of the bigger software security companies (perhaps Symantec, McAfee or Trend Micro) alerting you to the dangers of virus XYZ — complete with a detailed description of all the havoc it could wreak on your computer. This is the question: Is such a warning nothing more than a scare tactic by the security-software vendor in question — not so subtly promoting its own service offerings? Or is t helpful education for the public? Or both? The answer, it seems, depends on whom you ask. Full Story