Virus Signature Updates Questions

Hello. I was participating in the NAV 2005 thread and thought this might be a nice topic to discuss. It concerns virus signature updates.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=47637


1. Why do AVs like NAV and McAfee update their virus signatures once a week, except if there is a virus outbreak, then they are updated as needed, while a good majority of AV products update their virus signatures on a daily basis?

1B. If NAV and McAfee make daily files that can be download manually daily, why not just provide them as automatic daily updates?

2. Are the AV companies that update their virus signatures daily, over reacting. Are these daily virus signature updates not really needed? (If Symantec and McAfee aren't overly concerned, why should the others be?)


Just something for discussion. I know I'm interested in your thoughts on the subject. I'm sure there are few more like me out there.

 

My thoughts are that there are new viruses released every day; the defs should be just as often. Another nice benefit of frequent updates is piece of mind! I know if I were to compare NAV to KAV, I'd feel safer with KAV just because I know there's a team of specialists churning out defs every 3 hours. That makes me feel better than recieving an update every 7 or 8 days.

 

Kaspersky updates malware signatures hourly.

 

Less updates=Less $ spent on servers=More profits for PIGGY NORTON. In actual practice, it's very difficult to catch a PC bug if you exercise common sense when browsing the internet, downloading data, and opening e-mails.

Command AV and McAfee Corporate are at the top of my paid AV program. I use Avast Home. It's free and just as effective (for me) as NOD32, Kaskpersky, NAV, Computer Associate, and Panda. AV vendors stay in business because their stuffs work. A decent AV vendor should be in business for at least 5 years.

Use a high quality online AV scanner to clean up your PC. Install a good firewall and configure this firewall for maximum security. Now load ANY well-know AV of your choice. Update the AV's virus definition file and scan the whole PC one more time.