Schneier on Security

Bruce Schneier is one of the foremost experts on cryptography and is a well-known security author and commentator. He is the founder of the managed security services company Counterpane, which was acquired in October 2006 by BT. Schneier sat down with IDG News Service at the Infosec security show in London to talk about the effectiveness of security products and the psychology of security.

Are antivirus products just making money by giving people a “feeling” of security rather than true security?

Schneier: Antivirus is easy. Antivirus products actually work. They have for years. A lot of the software on this show floor is just snake oil, but antivirus does work. You should have an antivirus program. You should have it updated regularly. It doesn’t make you secure, but it gets that bottom layer of the trivial stuff. That’s why. It’s not sufficient but it’s certainly necessary…