New Split Up Of Bd Forum - Badley Conceived

G'Day Folks,

What can I say, in reply to the splitting up and supposed new design of the BD forum ?

(References used are from "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

1. The BitDefender Support Forum and the 2. Community Forum in the implied word usage does little to confirm ones understanding of these when you go to them.

2. Malwarecity - I keep telling you that the word "Malware" is a bad choice to replace the commonly known terminology for 'Virus" or "Anti-Virus". Malware as explained by the "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" "Malware" is

"Malware, a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.[1] The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses.

Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of several American states, including California and West Virginia.[2] [3]

Malware is not the same as defective software, that is, software which has a legitimate purpose but contains harmful bugs.

Preliminary results from [AV company] published in 2008 suggested that "the release rate of malicious code and other unwanted programs may be exceeding that of legitimate software applications."[4] According to [AV company], "As much malware [was] produced in 2007 as in the previous 20 years altogether."[5] Malware's most common pathway from criminals to users is through the Internet: primarily by email and the World Wide Web.[6]"

Whereas a "Computer Virus" is in its definition somewhat different not only in its description, but also what it does.

"A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. [1][2]

Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but has a hidden agenda. Worms and Trojans, like viruses, may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when they are executed. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but most are surreptitious. This makes it hard for the average user to notice, find and disable and is why spet anti-virus programs are now commonplace.

Most personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, Instant Messaging and file sharing systems to spread, blurring the line between viruses and worms. Furthermore, some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any form of self-replicating malware."

Note the last lines of this explanation, " .... some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any form of self-replicating malware."

In the day to day operation of a PC at Home or in a Business environment, we keep getting people who want to re-invent the "Wheel" so to speak, mainly because they cannot understand the language or they are just plain lazy and therefore invent their own interpretation of a Virus and or use any other term to interpret their implied functions or tasks and confuse the issues and at best loose their following in a forum.

Another term for those that re-invent the Wheel, are "Empire Builders" who use fancy slang in marketing terms like "###City" or any of hundreds of perceived fashionable "xyzCity" terms to attempt to develop a following or otherwise popularize their Product or Web Site, where MalwareCity is just another one of these.

From the attempts by BitDefender to broaden their horizons and bad attempts to segment the functions of their software, one would tend to believe that they do not understand what their software, in its different forms, actually does or perform.

In the modern communications environment when computers are connected to fast Internet broadband, we know that a Home PC or Business Server or Workstation needs to be Totally protected aginst intrusions of all possible kinds and therefore think of "Internet Security Suits" or "Internet Security" as a package rather than individual parts or programs to afford us the needed protection for privacy and intrusions.

Wikipedia explains "Internet Security" this as "When a computer connects to a network and begins communicating with others, it is taking a risk. Internet security involves the protection of a computer's internet account and files from intrusion of an outside user.[1] Basic security measures involve protection by well selected passwords, change of file permissions and back up of computer's data.

Security concerns are in some ways peripheral to normal business working, but serve to highlight just how important it is that business users feel confident when using IT systems. Security will probably always be high on the IT agenda simply because cyber criminals know that a successful attack is very profitable. This means they will always strive to find new ways to circumvent IT security, and users will consequently need to be continually vigilant. Whenever decisions need to be made about how to enhance a system, security will need to be held uppermost among its requirements."

and under this heading is the use of the term, "Anti-Virus" which clearly defines "Malware" as being separate from Viruses, Trojans, and Worms, and in fact categorizes "malmare" as part of the anti-virus category and I fail to see that malware is a replacement for the term "viruses" or any other term of the anti-virus category.

"Anti-virus" For more details on this topic, "Antivirus Software" This quote taken from "Internet Security Ant-virus paragraph"

"Programs can be made to help your computer, but some users can also create programs with intentions of destroying the computers data by being deceptive. Such such programs are known as Trojan horses, worms, viruses and spyware.

* Trojan horses are programs which pretend to do one thing, but in reality snoop out your personal data or damage it. These types conceal their identity or true intentions and are usually quite hard to detect.

* Worms are programs which are able to replicate themselves over a computer network and in turn perform malicious actions. As a result it has the ability to affect other programs on the computer.

* Viruses are programs which are able to log into the personal files on a computer it has affected and as a result, can end up removing all of them. It can have serious side effects on a computers system.

* Malware can be classified as trojans with a limited payload and are often not detected by most antivirus software. They may require the use of other software designed to detect other classes of malware, including spyware.

Software programs such as antivirus software are the most useful in protecting your computer from harmful viruses. These programs are used to detect and eliminate viruses. Anti-virus software can be purchased from any software vendor or downloaded off the internet. Care should be taken in the selection of anti-virus software, as some programs are not very affective in finding and eliminating viruses or malware. Also, when downloading anti-virus software from the Internet, one should be cautioned that some websites say they are providing protection from viruses with their software, but they are really trying to install malware on your computer by disguising it as something else."

The, what I consider to be a, miserable attempt to streamline the topics of the BD Forum and or enhance the functionality of it, must have been conceived by a Sales and Marketing propagandist and not a Security Strategist.

One would have thought that BD would have taken guidelines from the old forum member generated topics and turned the new forum into a functional and user friendly and better organized forum, instead we get a more confused and badly formulated categorization of Forums and Topics, and the very function of the BD Programs and Suits split into the 2 suggested different forum web sites )one on the North Pole the other on the south Pole) when in fact they are one ant the same category and in fact a sub-category of Internet Security.

One would think that Malware is part of the general "Virus" category and not the otherway around.

As to the Forum for "Business Protection" I mean really Folks, as if a Company IT or Network Executive would post on this forum ??? you must be kidding! They phone you or send you a direct email with their issues !

Try this as a Forum Outline:

A. Home and Small Business Forum - Home & Home Office Protection - 1 to 20 PC's or Workstations

1. General Discussions / - Installation Issues and Questions (How To) / - Functionality Questions and Issues / - Update Issues and Questions / - Product Suggestions.

1a. BD 2009 Versions. / - BDTotalSecurity 2009 / - BDInternetSecurity 2009 / - BDAnti-Virus 2009

1b. BD 2008 Versions. / - BDTotalSecurity 2008 / - BDInternetSecurity 2008 / - BDAnti-Virus 2008

1c. BD Older Versions

1d. Suggestion and Enhancement Wish List Box.

2. Internet Security and Anti-Virus Protection. - Sample Submission, Logs Analysis, False positive reporting.

Note: Ensure you indicate your Operating System and the BD Product and version you are using when posting your issue or other problem.

Report issues discovered by a BD virus scann or indicated by the BD security Pop-Up window, or question relating to specific Viruses.

2a. Virus Protection issues - "Viruses are programs which are able to log into the personal files on a computer it has affected and as a result, can end up removing all of them. It can have serious side effects on a computers system."

2b. Trojan Protection Issues - "Trojan horses are programs which pretend to do one thing, but in reality snoop out your personal data or damage it. These types conceal their identity or true intentions and are usually quite hard to detect."

2c. Worm Protection Issues - "Worms are programs which are able to replicate themselves over a computer network and in turn perform malicious actions. As a result it has the ability to affect other programs on the computer."

2d. Malware Protection Issues - "Malware can be classified as trojans with a limited payload and are often not detected by most antivirus software. They may require the use of other software designed to detect other classes of malware, including spyware."

2e. Spam (Electronic) Talk - "Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, Online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, and file sharing network spam."

2f. Phishing Talk - "In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."

3. General Community Talk - Social Chit-Chat and community Events.

3a. Social Calendar. -

3b. Events Calendar. -

If you think you must, then

B. BD Business Forum - Business Protection - 21 and above Workstations.

3a. Workstation - Individual Workstation Issues on a LAN -

3b. Enterprise Protection 2.x -

3c. Enterprise Protection 3.x -

3d. Windows Servers -

3e. Unices (UNIXES) -

(NB: Most common is the conventional "Unixes", but "Unices" (treating Unix as Latin noun of the third declension) is also popular.

3f. Mobile -

Whichever, ALL require specific posting rules to include a minimum of compulsory User PC detail for OS's and BD product and version detail.

OK, You get the general idea I trust, because thats all I have time for and I'm sure you can work with this suggested concept !

-and please put MalwareCity to sleep i.e. shoot the ruddy thing and put it out of its misery.