Has an antivirus company ever been caught releasing a virus?

Factual Questions
1

Tinfoil hat time! Has there ever been a case where an antivirus software company (or antispyware company) has been caught releasing a computer virus? Seems to me that when a huge worm hits the net, a lot of people go out and buy new antivirus programs. Could Norton be releasing some of the viruses in an effort to convince people they need the software? Has any evidence of a scheme like this ever surfaced?

On a less severe level, does anyone suspect that programs like adaware might ‘pad the numbers’ a bit? I mean, if I ran it and it found three spyware programs, I might be indifferent, but when it finds something ridiculous like 357 programs you think “gosh, good thing I have this, I should tell my friends!”

I am putting this in GQs because I am interested if any real papertrials or other evidence of this kind of activity has ever surfaced.

2

they wouldn’t need to employ somebody to write a virus. There are plenty of people out there who will do it for nothing.

3

Adaware and the like certainly exaggerate the threat of some of the things it finds. Most of the cookies identified as ‘critical threats’ are nothing of the sort.

Not that they’re not essential software, mind you.