I am really sorry. I was unaware that there was a virus on my computer. I have McAfee Virus Scan on my computer and it did not show a virus. How can I get this off my computer?--- Tom
Tom had responded to our email (where we asked him to stop sending us the SirCam virus.)
It should be noted that Tom is not alone in his experience. Others have conveyed similar concerns. We have attempted to communicate with McAfee (and, TRUSTe Watchdog) in good faith. McAfee has not responded to our concerns in a prompt manner. After numerous attempts (and several months), McAfee did reply. However, they did not offer any assistance. Our most recent letter is included below. It is part of our reply to another "help desk" inquiry.
To: Help Desk
I thought you might be interested - about 2 weeks ago the hospital
was infiltrated with the Internet worm. The entire hospital system was shut
down for an entire day - the IS staff worked around the clock to fix the
stations that were affected and then has spent the rest of the time updating
all 500+ computer stations with new virus scans and making sure nothing else
was involved. Hmmm sound familiar?
Sincerely,
Dear Concerned Citizen,
Ouch! Yes we've been seeing a drastic increase
in violations. Unfortunately, most of the
companies getting hit are not taking severe
enough actions.
Virus protection and auto-scans are a good example:
That is to say, a virus protection program is no good
after a virus has been activated. (Many viri leave a
"backdoor" behind... allowing the bad guys future
access to your computer.) And,
in fact, virus scans
can be a security breach in, and of, themselves --
any
network that automatically connects to the Internet is
at risk.
Here is a copy of our latest
letter to McAfee (the virus protection company):
RESPONSE TO -- TRUSTe Watchdog #5650 [#18705736]
Dear Angela,
To the best of my knowledge, we have not yet
received your answers to our privacy and security
violation concerns. Since we plan on publishing
today, we would appreciate your prompt attention
to this matter.
In the event that you have misplaced our questions,
we are happy to supply them again. And, while we
were waiting for you to respond, a new FTC violation
has come to our attention. So, please add these
additional questions:
Is it misleading to consumers when you suggest
that an automated virus scanning product is
a good thing? How can a network automatically
connect to a centralized server while ensuring
a 100% secure connection? Isn't the nimda worm
a perfect example of what can go wrong?
That is to say, isn't "automatic Internet based software
updating" a security threat in, and of, itself?
-------------original questions--------------------
a) did you place mobile code on my PC without my permission?
b) are you setting cookies on my machine without my permission?
c) what is done with the information collected from
directad.mcafee.com?
d) is it possible to view your privacy statement without my privacy
being violated?
e) as a shareholder, I tried to express my concerns to McAfee
shareholder relations. When I clicked on the link for "shareholder
relations" did you, again, place mobile code on my PC without my
permission? Did you set cookies on my machine without my permission?
Is it even possible to view the shareholder relation website without my
privacy and security being violated?
f) as a consumer, are your advertising claims misleading?
Concerned Citizen
"No one is sure that these viruses aren't leaving remnants behind.
The only way you can know for sure is to THROW AWAY the
machines. The next best alternative would be to reformat the
harddrive and re-install the operating system."
"Nimda is the first worm to modify existing web
sites to start offering infected files for download."
"When you think your PC may have been infected, use Scan to
find and remove viruses instantly."
Do you know of any product that can effectively eliminate all viri? Or, is there the possibility of remnants/backdoors, etc.?
g) is there anyway to effectively view your website with a browser's security settings set to "high" or "most secure?"
h) did you respond in a timely manner to my original complaint?
i) does your association with the TRUSTe Watchdog organization further mislead consumers and viewers? did their involvement delay action from being taken?
j) are you going to immediately cease and desist from these privacy and security violations, as well as, all other related activities including false and misleading advertising?
Thank you. I shall await your advice.
Sincerely,
Help Desk
Have you had an experience with McAfee or other virus protection software?