# What is the point of malware/viruses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831 "2012-01-27T04:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/21 "2012-01-27T18:31:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep. All those dudes you know that say “I don’t bother with anti-virus protection”:rolleyes: and “I leave my computer on all the time” have their computers hijacked, sending out scads of stuff to the other idiots. Then they will wake up one day and find their bank accounts drained, their CC maxed out, and their identities stolen. Then they will blame someone else. :mad: Hey, anti-virus software makes your computer slow in the CPU! Damnit, even if it is a bad thing, it’s hard to make people without anti-virus software sound like anti-vaxxers when the strawman has a point. ---
**Author:** ![Upsurd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/71e660/32.png) [@Upsurd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upsurd)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/22 "2012-01-27T18:37:26Z")
Some people also enjoy showing off how smart they are because they can do damage to your computer. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/23 "2012-01-27T19:12:32Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > I had this paranoid image in my head, where one section of MaCafee writes anti-spam software to sell to household PC’s, while another batch of paid employess sit in the darkened basement crancking out viruses that are annoying and visible enough for the customer to sigh and head to the store to buy MaCafee protective software. Why would McAfee pay people to do that when there are hackers who’ll do it for them for free? :D. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/24 "2012-01-27T19:50:10Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Why would McAfee pay people to do that when there are hackers who’ll do it for them for free? :D. It is not THAT farfetched. The point of many viruses nowadays it to keep hidden and use your PC as a botnet. So your PC may be a little slow at times, but that is not a reason to run protective software. No, for most people a virus needs to really announce itself in order for them to start buying and running protective software. You’d practically need a virus that makes a pop-up of a skull-and bones saying in a cartoony voice: Ha ha, I infected your computer, haha. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/25 "2012-01-27T22:10:51Z")
> [@DHMO](#): > > This. > > I have found that this explains _a lot_ about human behavior. At work, we’ve come to expect a huge influx of spyware/viruses immediately following summer break and winter break at school. The bored little kiddies go write evil viruses on their time off. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/26 "2012-01-28T09:44:34Z")
Why do people vandalize and bully? It’s just the digital form. (Or was. As others have observed, these days it’s big-time crime). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/27 "2012-01-29T02:10:43Z")
Another case nobody’s mentioned yet: Back when I was an undergrad, there was an extremely pervasive virus whose payload consisted entirely of looking for an EXE file whose size was a certain exact number of bytes, and deleting it. The best guess was that some software company had laid off or otherwise angered a programmer, and he wanted to get even by sabotaging their product. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/28 "2012-01-29T03:08:30Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > At work, we’ve come to expect a huge influx of spyware/viruses immediately following summer break and winter break at school. The bored little kiddies go write evil viruses on their time off. Huh, most of the virus load is done by professional programmers working for botnet herders and such. Its not random kiddies kicking nortons ass. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/29 "2012-01-29T03:38:08Z")
Don’t forget international espionage and electronic warfare. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831/30 "2012-01-29T03:50:11Z")
The black hat industry has been upscale for years now. Those seeking to break into the malware business don’t even have to write code, they just [buy a malware kit and load it on a server](http://www.esecurityplanet.com/trends/article.php/3879226/DIY-Malware-Kits-Growing-in-Number-Toxicity.htm): > [@](#): > > This week, security software provider [M86 Security unveiled its latest study](http://www.m86security.com/documents/pdfs/security_labs/m86_web_exploits_report.pdf) (PDF format) of these so-called do-it-yourself exploit kits. To no one’s surprise, it’s a booming growth industry with more than a dozen new kits making their way onto the market in just the past six years. > > “After acquiring an exploit kit, the chief goal of the cybercriminal is to make money, and there are numerous ways this may be achieved,” M86 researchers said in the report. > > Exploit kits with names like Fiesta, Siberia and Fragus are really just Web applications developed with Web technologies, such as PHP and MySQL, that are [designed to take advantage of known exploits](http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3877556) in popular applications like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Adobe Systems’ Acrobat, Reader and Flash applications. > > Those inclined to pay between a couple hundred bucks to as much as $1,000 then install the kits on a Web server, often based in Russia, Eastern Europe or China, that is connected to a database used for logging and reporting activity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-malware-viruses/610831.md?page=1)