Comments on: McAfee Releases Antivirus App for Palm

McAfee has released a handheld antivirus app, VirusScan for Handheld. It works by scanning your Palm every time it gets hotsynced. Most of the app resides on your PC, only a 3k app is on your Palm.

McAfee describes the need for the software like this: "Each time you sync with a PC, receive email wirelessly, or accept an infrared transfer, you risk introducing a virus into your system. That's because PC anti-virus applications don't defend against viruses that come through a handheld sync operation. "

This isn't an application you buy; it is a service you lease. It costs $59.95 per year.

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McAfee VirusScan for Handhelds

Brian @ 6/28/2000 10:29:57 AM #

Does anyone know of any virii that is on handhelds?

RE: McAfee VirusScan for Handhelds

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/28/2000 2:48:06 PM #

At the moment, there's none that I know of. But of course, McAfee can make one up to create demand for its AntiVirus :-))

virus monger

anti-anti-virus @ 6/28/2000 12:02:08 PM #

Do you wan't to pay $59.95 a year to protect you from something that doesn't exist.

Tell you what I give me a ten bucks and I wil give you 100% protection from nothing. Buy now and I'll throw in protection from giant pieces of gold poop dropped by flying elephants...

yes someone could send you an email though your palm but any attachment is going to be opened on your pc so duh ! the "excellent" Virus software you have should see it....

Go away and come back with a real product.

Pathetic

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/28/2000 12:14:13 PM #

How pathetic. For the truely guilible paranoid computer iliterate fools

Someday there'll be a use for this....

Jeff @ 6/28/2000 4:09:03 PM #

... just like there's a use for regular anti-virus software on your PC. The problem is that any time anyone comes out with a revolutionary new PC virus, none of the anti-virus software packages work anyway, and they need to patch it. Since there are handheld viruses out right now, the first one certainly will be different, and probably not something they'll catch, and we'll all be screwed anyway.

Any 59.95 a year?!?! I don't pay that for my PC anti-virus software, and that is useful.

Kudos to McAfee for taking the lead on this, but they should really be giving it away, or maybe a $10 fee, until they can prove that it works and there's something out there for it to work against. I totally agree that they're just trying to make a quick buck off the paranoid.

RE: Someday there'll be a use for this....

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/29/2000 10:31:50 AM #

I totally agree. Up until now (and even now) there has been ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for Palm Virus protection BECAUSE THERE ARE NO PALM VIRUSES!!!!! Sure, maybe there are some badly written hacks, but these are not viruses!

This is nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. By bringing out such a product, they are throwing down the gauntlet to would-be virus writers challenging them to write viruses.

Talk about creating a market where one does not exist! This is absurd!

PC World's Opinion

ed@palminfocenter.com @ 6/30/2000 9:10:33 AM #

Below is a link to a PC World editorial discussing this and Symantec's planned anti-virus apps.

http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17489,00.html" CLASS=NEWS TARGET=_NEW>http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,17489,00.html

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