Excuse me!!!!

Why are all the other APPS showing up in the Trojan threads?
Are these really cool peope that really know the difference?

Is anybody moderating this forum anymore?

HELLO?


Con

 

Do you have a specific question?

Blue

 

I think the original poster was asking why message posts regarding other applications were showing up in the trojan forum such as postings regarding HIPS and Comodo which may or may not involve anti-trojan software? There is no mention as to what the "other APPS" refers to. However, from where I noticed, the anti-trojan forum has much fewer posting than this forum and other forums. I guess the original poster was expecting a moderator to "transfer" the message posts because they were not located in the "correct forum"?

 

Having separate categories for anti-trojan apps, AVs, etc is somewhat problematic. With both the the apps themselves and the malware they target, it's hard to draw distinct lines between different categories. With the malware files themselves, very little of it fits into one neat category. There's very few that are just viruses, worms, etc. A trojan that uses rootkit methods to conceal itself and harvests e-mail addresses from the PC it infects in order to send out copys of itself, and attacks security software will fit into several categories. That single piece of malware can legitimately be a rootkit, trojan, malware, and e-mail worm. For all practical purposes, most malicious code can be looked at hybrids of many categories. The categories themselves are not clearly defined.

The "anti" apps have the same problem. Anti-trojans have to target malware that performs the same functions as e-mail worms. AVs target trojans. With some of the pseudo-legitimate malware, the ones there's disagreement over what they are, and what they are can change with every update, the problem gets worse. One vendor calls it adware. Another calls it a trojan. A third calls it a data miner. They can all be correct as well. At times, vendors attempts to classify a piece of code into one specific category has resulted in that piece of code not being detected at all.

There's such an overlap in the apps and the code they target, it would be better if they were just referred to as anti-malware. Depending on how you look at them, HIPS, virtualization software and sandboxes are anti-trojan in a way. IMO, trying to categorize malware and the apps that deal with them doesn't serve much purpose anymore.
Rick

 

Forum Suggestion

herbalist makes a good point, and the practical application of it would seem to suggest that Wilders Forums should be reconfigured, at least in the Security Software section. Perhaps a better configuration would be to base the categories (sub-forums within the Security Software section) on general types of security software as in the basic method the software uses rather than basing the categories on the type of malware it focuses on. While the lines between different types of security software (signatures scanner, HIPS, sandbox, virtualization software, etc) are to some extent also becoming blurred (ie some software incorporate multiple methods or in other words combine different types of security software, for instance PrevX = signature scanner + HIPS), they are much clearer than the lines between different types of malware. Besides, organizing the categories by the type of software would, I think, be a more accurate representation of the computer security environment. If this suggestion is taken seriously and actually considered, it might be a good idea to retain some sense of familiarity with the old setup so as not to throw everyone off too much. For this I would suggest breaking down the signature scanners section (by creating sub-categories) in the same way the Security Software section is currently layed out (anti-virus, anti-trojan, anti-spyware).

 

To all:

Please read a previous Admin response made to a thread that evolved along similar lines. The same comment still applies.

With that, this particular thread has run its course and will be closed.

Regards,

Blue