DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

How antivirus companies get new virus samples

18 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/how-antivirus-companies-get-new-virus-samples.55672/

CadCrazy
CadCrazy Original post #1
Apr 20, 2007 at 9:45 PM
how antivirus companies get a new virus in their labs as soon as it is out ???????
anandk
anandk #2
Apr 20, 2007 at 10:41 PM
simplistically speaking, they r on the lookout for malware all the time. the first one to identify it and find its 'antidote' gets to name it. it (the virus) then gets shared.

wud love to know more on it, however.
R
Apr 21, 2007 at 9:29 AM
well the rumors have been that they breed it & then let it loose on the web & then soon provide the patch for it...............business keeps running fine.

Remember its a rumor Ihave no confirmation on it.
anandk
anandk #4
Apr 21, 2007 at 4:00 PM
^ cant be ruled out :-z sometime bach i read somewhere that malware writters were hocking their wares to the highest bidder in the open mkt !
phreak0ut
Apr 21, 2007 at 6:13 PM
I had a nice read in a ebook. Will try to get the excerpt from the net if possible. This guy is running a server just to catch malwares and since malwares attack a particular OS or application, it manages to catch his server as well. He checks the logs, the traffic of the net once his system is infected, etc, etc. Then, he finds the file and debugs it. Though he gets it first, he doesn't reveal it to the AV companies as he wants to become famous in his hacker group by finding a fix by himself and the first one as well!
nileshgr
Apr 21, 2007 at 6:21 PM
I think, these virus companies especially paid ones program viruses so that the virus will trouble the user and the user will be forced to buy their product. The viruses may be written by pro-virus programmer hired by them for a lumsome amount.
techtronic
Apr 21, 2007 at 7:18 PM
I have always propagated that Antivirus companies and Virus writers have a hand in glove always :mad:
cynosure
Apr 21, 2007 at 10:16 PM
^
^
Yes block this guy.

And coming to the point, the systems of the antivirus agencies would also be attacked by the virus. So why would they seach for virus outside when the traitor is in the same house??? :D
CadCrazy
Apr 22, 2007 at 3:14 PM
cynosure said:
And coming to the point, the systems of the antivirus agencies would also be attacked by the virus. So why would they seach for virus outside when the traitor is in the same house??? :D

This may not be the case always. Also they should get the virus ASAP ( not to wait for the virus to attack their server)
iMav
iMav #10
Apr 22, 2007 at 3:43 PM
what i heard/read once was tht norton has a facility setup in russia which tries to find new loop holes and viruses then they try to patch em .... heard this not sure if ne1 can confirm its validity plz do so
alsiladka
alsiladka #11
Apr 22, 2007 at 3:53 PM
It is an accepted RUMOUR, that the Anti Virus companies themselves release viruses.

Ankit Fadia had once supported this claim, saying that many of his friends and contacts who had previously worked in AntiVirus companies, have released that info to him.

This explains the fact that as soon as a Virus it OUT IN THE WILDS, within few hours the Anti Virus companies have their Virus Definitions updated. Common man, you think we fools?

Story is simple, I make a bomb and ask you, either pay me money for the shield of this bomb, or face the bomb!!
CadCrazy
CadCrazy #12
Apr 22, 2007 at 4:58 PM
Now who is Ankit Fadia.

So that means kaspersky is the largest creator of viruses
praka123
praka123 #13
Apr 22, 2007 at 5:13 PM
*mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2006-April/003966.html
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankit_Fadia
Goten
Goten #14
Apr 22, 2007 at 5:26 PM
jugnu_009 said:
Now who is Ankit Fadia.

So that means kaspersky is the largest creator of viruses

No I create viruses.

LOL.

Ankit Fadia is a student of DPS RKPURAM. May be a potential hacker coz his all claims have no proof at all.

Peace~~~!
alsiladka
alsiladka #15
Apr 22, 2007 at 6:54 PM
I dont believe his claims of hacking either. He just uses simple tool to fool the ignorants.

But we all know that for all the fools he has made, he does have contacts and name. So cant discard his revealation, plus it makes sense too.
kalpik
kalpik #16
Apr 22, 2007 at 7:24 PM
Hehe.. Its not the case that AV companies manufacture viruses! The get viruses from 2 main sources:

1. Honey pots: They set up unpatched and unprotected machines on the internet to "collect" viruses.
2. They collaborate with online virus scanning sites like *virusscan.jotti.org and *www.virustotal.com to collect samples that were missed by their antivirus product.
praka123
praka123 #17
Apr 22, 2007 at 9:20 PM
^ but the suspicion other users expressed remains...>the link with warez for new viruses.btw honeypots are used for security of base systems.
K
khattam_ #18
Apr 22, 2007 at 9:37 PM
Some viruses are made just for fun, because they can be done...
Some other malwares are made for increasing visits to a certain site so that the user may be forced to buy a product being sold there, it may be viagra, porn material, penis enlargers or simply some malware removers...
I myself have made some of the viruses of 1st type, but not of the second type....