The term computer virus has entered the popular vocabulary, and indeed, there are many analogies between computer viruses and ‘real’ viruses. Well-written viruses spread rapidly, can cause considerable damage, can be hard to eradicate, often escape detection until too late, and some can even evolve a bit as they go along.

I’m beginning to think that anti-computer virus companies are also becoming worrying like their real-life equivalents in big pharamaceutical companies. Big pharma thrives on fear, on claims that their new drug is more effective than the opposition, and that the only way to guarantee your health is with regular doses of their product. The more illnesses they can discover, the more they can claim to cure.

These thoughts were prompted by a couple of days responding to an alleged virus for OpenOffice.org. I suppose it’s a sign of recognition in the marketplace that rumours of an OpenOffice.org virus are real news and propagate at lightning speed across the news wires. As a result I’ve spent most of the evening pointing journalists at the official statement from the OpenOffice.org community.

What is interesting is that all this heat was prompted by a blogger in some anti-virus company who claimed I came across something interesting today and the ‘something’ turned out to be an OpenOffice.org virus. It maybe my suspicious nature, but how did he come across it? Did someone in the cubicle next door pass it to him?

In fact it wasn’t even technically a virus – something you might expect an ‘expert’ in an anti-virus company to know. However, it did generate huge publicity for his company, and helped reinforce the climate of fear which helps sell anti-virus software.

Excuse me while I go and find some sleeping tablets – I really can’t manage without them.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 2nd, 2006 at 9:25 pm and is filed under OpenOffice.org. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.