Testing bodies AV‐Comparatives, AV‐TEST and Virus Bulletin comment on allegations of inappropriate

How can you be sure?

Bits for freedom recommend avast: https://www.bof.nl/ons-werk/internetvrijheid-toolbox/ (Ctrl:f avast) based on their inquiries into the privacy practices of all the major vendors

 

the security companies probably know ways and means of spying/gathering information that they keep to themselves that even the most savvy investigator may not be able to unearth,just because an organisation recommends a product doesn't mean it's not dodgy in some way,every body gathers info on us,even the supermarkets so why big surprise when security vendors do?

 

I am not surprised at all. But i am looking for a vendor that i can trust at least a little.

 

http://www.av-comparatives.org/funding/

Would be good to post actual $$$$$s you people receive from these AV vendors. Also, salaries of executives and employees.

 

I always based my choices on the many YouTube amateurs, and never went wrong.

 

Man do people jump ship and crucify quickly. They got caught, plain and simple. It is not the fault of the testing organizations and yes, they are still your best support for product testing. Just like the majority of AV vendors are very trustworthy. You know, the whole world aint corrupt, just a portion of it.

 

True, unless you getting to know more. Then you'll realize consumers, the average joe, you and me, are the lowest level in the food chain. Our information and privacy are being harvested by all sorts of software we use, starting from the OS to the so called "security applications". Our info and privacy turned into huge profits to these big and small IT firms and, we, the victims and preys, are targeted with all sorts of ads. That's the current ecosystem.

You'll be more scared when you know more, as time goes by. LOL.

 

Good move. I suggest we, wilders members, as a group of relatively tech savvy users, to move to Linux. You'll find how easy it is to use Linux. But keep a dual boot Win OS or VirutalBox Image of Win OS, in case you need to use some specific software that only has a Win version.

I use Ubuntu on and off for 8 years now, and I find myself spending a lot more time on Ubuntu than on Win lately.

 

don't get the idea that linux is immune from malware,mac users were under that delusion for years

 

With grsec patches linux becomes much stronger

 

It never fails to amaze me that someone will give up all sorts of personal information to save a paltry sum on groceries, for example. It seems that teens/twentysomethings and seniors are most apt to do this. No sense of the value of privacy or the risks involved.

Waiting with bated breath for the next test manipulator to be revealed.

 

true, however the active malware on Linux is close to zero. unless a specific Linux flavor gets to a 2% maraket share, I won't worry about it. The total market share for all Linux distros are currently below 2%. I don't think hackers will be interested in hacking a Linux system.

 

I'm not totally understanding this. Qihoo 360 does use the Bitdefender and Avira scanning engine, but it's not on by default. You have to go in and change the settings to protection. I know this because I play games and the one site I used to use is Iwin. When I download a game from there I get the same notice that it contains adware.adware.gen as I got when I used Avira.

 

360 TSE 6.0.0.2016 is out with with BitDefender enabled by default. The 'Enhanced' version, 150 MB.

 

Thank you I updated and it kept my settings. I am not going to give up on a program because of this. It works well for me.

 

Perhaps this can help you a little.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf

 

This I find captivating. You lost confidence in Symantec when they withdrew from AV-C testing for reasons clearly now understood. But you will continue to use the product of a vendor found to have cheated. Now that's loyalty.

 

Because Symantec has missed stuff that other programs detected. I remember years ago Mcafee always detecting trojans Norton missed. That was years ago. I only have faith in Qihoo, because it is a good program and free. Norton is not and Norton misses stuff.

Edited to add: I also thought av-comparatives was nonprofit.

 

Ok, so you also had concerns about Symantec's effectiveness. It's all good! At the end of the day it comes down to what you are comfortable with.

 

+1

 

where do you think rootkit tech was developed?

 

I take no glee in this outcome but I will say that when I among others said this was not necessarily a company to trust the security of your PC to, the overwhelming chorus drowned us out. I used Qihoo for almost 6 months until research done by others and then my own dealings with the company threw up too many red flags and I uninstalled for good. Anyone who defends them from this here on, or tries to measure degrees of corruption are missing the point. This is not a trustworthy company. To say business practices in the West differ from the new capitalist form of communism in China is a huge understatement. It's not a simple case of not trusting China's government. There are fundamental differences in the cultures and ways of doing business that make trust on either side a dubious proposition at best. Just remember, this is not a security company! It never has been. The goal is to get the software in as many hands as possible, by almost any means, because the real goal is to obtain as much user information as possible and to sell those users other products. Why in the world would you trust these guys with your security? Because it's free? Come on. You can argue ethics all you want but there are other companies to deal with who provide a free product that I would trust more than Qihoo. All free products are fraught with some kind of compromise but certainly not to this degree.

 

Several months ago, I installed 360 on my wife's computer. After going through 2 other antiviruses and constantly getting infected, I decided based on what I've read here to try Qihoo. Since putting it on her computer, no more problems. In fact, it impressed me enough that I put 360 TS on this laptop. I don't care what this or that 'testing' agency says. Qihoo has saved me the nuisance of having to clean my wife's computer at least once a month, something a couple of other well known AV's couldn't seem to do.

 

That is wrong Stephen especially when it is not true. What other products are Qihoo selling me? Nothing. You can argue Qihoo engine relies on the Bitdefender engine, so what? Why do you think it's there?

Just the other day I downloaded zonealarm free firewall and wisecleaner. Both of them had crap in it that was detected by either Zemana or Herdprotect. If the free stuff contains crapware it really isn't free.

 

I have mixed feeling about this. I certainly don't like that Qihoo cheated in the testing. But, on the other hand, they did nothing malicious, they changed the configuration of their antivirus to give it better protection.