Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Demophobe]

*Rant* One guy's opinion.

Man, if there is one program that needs to be burned at the stake...You know which one...that Korean "Ahnti-virus" software.

This pervasive crapware installs itself on everything; Korean companies piggyback it with every single software that you can download off the net, yet it doesn't even ask you if you want to install it! It does so without question! The only Korean program I can think of that isn't covertly bundled with it is Gomplayer, and that is only because it has reached an audience outside of Korea's borders, where piggybacking is unacceptable.

The program doesn't work, is a resource hog and cannot be effectively uninstalled by the average user; it wraps itself so deeply into Windows. It clearly doesn't work, as evidenced by the miserable state of the average Korean computer; riddled with all manner of trojans and data-miners.

And that the problems are trojans and data-miners is very telling. The Korean internet doesn't want the users' computer crippled, but open for business. There doesn't seem to be many reports of virus attacks here, does there? This Ahnti-virus program plays into this game, not bothering to find anything it knows to be non-threatening to the computer powering up and getting on the net.

In many ways, the Korean internet is where the West is heading. There is a silent collective agreement by all that it is ultimately in all their best interests to allow harvesting, profiling and collection of National security numbers that are used as a header under which an detailed profile can be created. Privacy is unknown on the Korean internet; an absolutely outlandish concept.

The software in the crosshairs is on the tip of this spear, IMO. They are the ones claiming to be defending the user against what we all know to be spyware, yet in reality, they only serve as a hoodwinking placebo, fooling the Koreans into a false sense of well-being.

Big rant...sorry. Perhaps many people here (I know many in real life who do) use the Korean internet with some frequency and are oblivious to what IE can introduce to your system. Most think (as we have been told time and time again) that it is .exe files that are proliferated via e-mail and IM programs that are the Devil. This is all true, but doesn't tell the whole story.

What protects you in the West is the watchdog: if a consumer group (and there are many, highly vigilant groups) get a sniff of a site being malicious in any way (Firefox alert, anyone?), it will be crucified publicly and may never recover. This kind of grassroots protection is absent here and thus, we are not only unprotected, but actually being set up by our protector.

So...think before you surf, don't believe that certain Ahnti-virus software is doing anything for you and when not at your own personal computer (using the one at work, PC room, etc) don't do anything that needs your password; heck, don't do anything that requires you to type anything remotely sensitive.

Call me paranoid...fine. But am I wrong?

*Rant Over*

Post your stories folks....I'm sure there are many.

[rocklee]

Don't you know? Anti-virus is a big business and Korea leaves no stone unturned for making money.

I didn't quite understand any of the Korean anti-virus software and just installed Avast instead.

[Demophobe]

[Demophobe]

They have the VB100 certification.

I looked into it (join the site for free) and here is how they stack up:

2008 - Ahnlab V3: Failed.
2008 - Anhlab V3 for Windows Servers: Pass.
2007 - Ahnlab V3 Internet Security 2007 7.40.1: Failed.
2006 - AhnLab V3Net for Windows Servers 6.0: Pass.
2006 - AhnLab V3Pro: Failed..
2005 - AhnLab V3Net 6.0 2005.08.31.10: Pass.
2005 - AhnLab V3 Pro 2004 6.0.0.383: Pass.
2005 - AhnLab V3 VirusBlock 6.0.0.312: Pass.
2004 - AhnLab V3 VirusBlock 2005 IS: Failed..

2 more passes and 2 more failures round them out to 2003. VB100 lists Ahnlab as having participated in 13 tests, passing 7, with 45 testings not having entered.

Summary:
7 Success / 6 Failure / 45 no entry.

AVG results:

22 Success / 22 Failure / 14 No Entry.

AVG failed once in 2007 and once in 2004. Before 2003, they apparently made crap. Failed many in a row. However, at least they participated.

Avira:

13 Success / 2 Failure / 43 No Entry

Like Ahnlab, suspect entrance, but reasonable success for what they do put forward.

Why do they fail? (From 2006 to present)

Avira: Failed for 2 false positives.
AVG: Failed for 1 miss.
Ahnlab: 2008: 2 misses, 2007: 17 misses, 2006: 19 misses.

Now, this is only a test for viruses that are "in the wild", but clearly Ahnlab is low on the curve.

[Demophobe]

Spit your coffee:

[CentralCali]

How the heck did Gomplayer get an audience outside of Korea? It's approximately worthless. Actually, worthless would be a step up from its quality level. Whenever I go to an Internet Caf� here, the first thing I do is reassociate video files with WMP.

[Demophobe]

[mishlert]

[eamo]

I don't think Koreans see spyware as a problem. In this rabid capitalist culture being sold something is as normal as taking a pee. They don't see it as invasive. They see it as either a potential consumer choice or just as someone trying to earn a buck.

[Demophobe]

[Horangi Munshin]

I completely agree with you on this Demophobe. I have a serious hate of the compulsory a$$lab antivirus. I can't use the internet at work without it installed. What a joke aye!!

[SHANE02]

Gom player is great, but I agree with what the OP said about Anlabs.

[Demophobe]

[Horangi Munshin]

[rocklee]