Antivirus Software 10 years from Now

  • 30 May 2013
  • 6 replies
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Userlevel 5
  • Popular Voice
  • 141 replies
There is constant development of Antivirus Software to to battle the malicious threats on the web today. The question
that comes to my mind are we "losing" or "winning". What new malicious attacks against ones PC we haven't seen yet???
10 years down the road what will the antivirus be like????  What types of malicious code will be thrown at us???
Our forum members are the best..............what is your opinion of the future and what can we expect???? How will the web be like 10 years from now????????????????

6 replies

Userlevel 7
To be honest, at this time I would say we are winning compared to 10 years ago.  In my experience, a far greater % of computer users have AV software installed than 10 years ago.  Also, the AV software vendors are much quicker to respond to new threats now.  I remember the days when more than one vendor had a schedule for definition updates: once a week, period.  Today it is common to see multiple updates daily.
 
As for today compared to what I expect to see 10 years from now: that is much harder to say as I left my crystal ball at home today :)  I would expect to see more vendors moving towards the cloud based format that Prevx and Webroot have pioneered.  The rate at which new bugs come out has vastly increased with the passage of time and I would expect that to continue.  As more and more people use the internet there is far greater PROFIT to be made from malware.  10 years ago malware was mainly to be fun and distruptive, now it is the realm of identity thieves and I do not see that changing.  (Also it has become the realm for terrorists and goverments to use as tools of war... )
 
Can we win the battle?  To be honest I don't think so.  But neither can the writers of malware.  It will always be a battle of react and respond on both sides.  I do think, however, that we will have a bit more of a leg up on things than we do today simply because the % of computer users covered by anti-malware software is likely to continue to grow.
Userlevel 7
Great question which will hopefully unleash big discussions.

I am not specialist but I think it won't change so dramatically. WSA already gives a prospect what is the future of defense against malware, i.e. cloud coupled with heuristics.

I remember I asked myself on the verge of the 21st century what I can expect in the IT security in 10 years and beyond and now I can answer retrospectively that there wasn't anything revolutionary new except the Prevx concept which Webroot brought almost to the perfection.

Though, I am curious to hear Webroot folks how they see their business is going to evolve in the future.
Userlevel 4
I'm just a novis user, but I feel that  alot of companies like MacAfee.Symantec and others as such will follow in Webroots steps and use the cloud. As far a malware, I have to agree with David, I don't think that much will change either The cloud is starting to be used for everything in the pc an cell phone industry. Go cloud go! Lite fast and awesome protection are the things I like in all products. 
 
Marc
Userlevel 7
I think AVs will be shaped up for more mobile and integrated devices like smartwatch, glass or even something like smart skin which would see people enjoying movies on their hands or forearms. Interesting times await us.
Userlevel 7
@DavidP wrote:
Can we win the battle?  To be honest I don't think so.  But neither can the writers of malware.  It will always be a battle of react and respond on both sides.  I do think, however, that we will have a bit more of a leg up on things than we do today simply because the % of computer users covered by anti-malware software is likely to continue to grow.
I agree David ... a human created a malware and another human created a tool to beat it. It means that security products are highly dependant on occurrence of malwares and threats. The more threats the more investments into security. It cannot work vise versa. So we have to accept that threats and fight against them goes hand in hand. However what is needed is the balance between the dark and bright parts of IT world, it means we cannot allow a prevalence of threats.
Userlevel 5
I would compare this to the Arms race that has been going on since our existance. When someone created a better bow, someone else would create armor to protect against it. It is still going on with ICBM and Anti-missile lasers (Project Star Wars anyone).
 
It's an unwinnable race from either end and I'm thinking it's the exact same thing with malware and anti-malware, no matter how advanced we get there will always be something that will be able to top it.

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