I use Trend Micro anti-virus software, and receive automatic updates every day, often two or three times a day. Are their boffins really constantly outwitting the work of a relentless tide of crooks? Pete Allerhand
There are new viruses every day, and new variants of old viruses, so yes, there is a constant battle. But there are at least two significant problems. First, thanks to broadband connections and spam emailers, a worm or virus can reach more than 100m PCs in five or six hours, whereas it can take an anti-virus company eight hours to create and test a defence. By that time it may be too late, so it often makes sense to have more than one update per day. Second, in such a fast-paced market, every anti-virus company is at risk of missing a few threats, and even the best could miss half a dozen a month. It makes sense, I think, for anti-virus companies to work together on detecting and identifying malware, while competing in other areas.
