Not your dady's antivirus.

Let's face it. Anti virus is done for, or at least the days of buying an anti virus program. Time for big guys like Symantec to close up their antivirus divisions, and do something different. There are many reasons for the big, brand name's demise in the computing computer world..

One big reason is the lack of new features. Go to Staples and pick up the latest versions of Norton Anti virus, for example. Chances are you won't see much of a difference. Therein lies the problem. Anti virus hasn't changed much. Every anti virus program, free and otherwise, does the same thing. It scans your hard drive, comparing each and every file against a list of known viruses. They may vary in speed and dependability. A simple google search reveals a cornucopia of free anti virus, avast, AVG, etc. Why pay, when you can get comparable service for free?

Another big reason that anti virus is on the decline is the lack of viruses being created and released. A quick check of the Symantec anti virus website shows that most threats are at a low risk. These days, chances are slim that you'll catch a virus through IM, email, or file sharing. The only threat to your computer isn't even a risk of being infected with viruses! The "medium risk" these days is a vulnerability in Internet Explorer.

And not just big, brand name anti virus is on the decline. Anti virus in general is heading down the tube. Take my friend "Paul" for example. Always the risk taker, Paul disabled all anti virus software on his computer, and lived on a steady diet of firewall for a few weeks. A simple virus scan a few weeks later revealed a whopping 0 viruses.

People, thankfully, aren't stupid. Most of us have the sense not to go to random web sights with Japanese and English in the url. Everyone and their grandma knows not to click on those crazy links forwarded by Nigerian Royalty.

And it's not like anti virus is hard to find these days. Take a look under the hood of some of your most used programs. I guarantee that many of them have their own, usually crude, yet somewhat effective, implementation of virus scanner. So, the end user is bound to have their incoming data scanned multiple times before it reaches home.

Most nare-do-gooders these days don't even bother with viruses. It takes too much time and a little bit of luck to ensure a good infection. Spy ware is the new kid on the malware block, potentially sending your personal info (and passwords!) to some 16 year old kid in Sweden. Spy ware comes in all shapes and sizes these days, but viruses spend their days in the corner, obsessing about how noone likes them while listening to their new Taking Back Sunday album.

So yes, it's not a bad thing to keep the ol' antivirus program around, feeding it a few updates now and then, but it may soon become obsolete. Like Paul, it may not be long before we need not worry about those silly viruses, and those antivirus programs growing lonelier and lonelier...