{{page>Templates:Secularization}} //**"**// Saying that you don't need antivirus because you're good at avoiding malware is like saying you don't need a seat belt because you're a good driver. //**"**// Malware is one of the hotbeds of modern discourse and a perfect opportunity to prove that just because we're not burning witches anymore we are still equally as uninformed as the people were back in the day, just with different things. Malware is a type of computer program that performs malicious actions ("malicious software") on the user's system, typically for financial gain of the malware author. While purely destructive malware was quite widespread back in the days, these days purely destructive attacks are usually targeted attacks against companies to hurt their business as there is little benefit to be gained from hurting an individual in the same manner. Normally, though, modern malware consists mostly of Infostealers (exfiltrates login credentials stored on the device to enable hackers to hijack the victim's user accounts), Adware (clutters the device with ads to generate ad revenue for the attacker, also good for acquiring and then selling userdata, think of spyware) and Ransomware that holds the filesystem hostage to demand ransom. The methods vary, some software functions as a remote access tool for hackers to infiltrate the system, a 'Trojan' is any kind of malware that disguises itself as a legitimate piece of software the user may actually intent to install, many Zero-Days exploit software vulnerabilities already present on the system to install without (much) user interaction. Malware is an interesting phenomenon to observe in society because there are a lot of people who get it wrong. This happens all the time in real life but on this wiki is easiest to point at and work through by going off of the example of YouTube videos. Even channels with otherwise extremely high editorial standards - as far as I can see, anyway - seem to be massively misunderstanding a lot of things, take the channel ULTRALATIV and their video on malware:\\ {{ youtube>ZxzvHXT0NXw |ULTRALATIV: Virenschutz: Das digitale Schlangenöl((Antivirus: Digital Snake Oil))}} But then there are also just the kind of people who just have no clue in general and where with a quick look at their channel it becomes apparent quite quickly that they are primarily clickbait:\\ {{ youtube>mE7CCZCgRB8 |Rob Braxman Tech: Why an Antivirus does nothing for you}} These are hard to watch and the goal of this page is, using these example, to through some of the common arguments levied against antivirus software.