why the hell do the anti-virus companies seem to find tracing them and removing them so tricky?

"why the hell do the anti-virus companies seem to find tracing them and removing them so tricky?"

Because they are Virtually Invisible, Indivisible and Untouchables, Paul, and Fleet of Code HeXXXXSS.

QuITe a Triumph, Actually ....... http://triumphpc.com/johnlennon/index.shtml.

Hi. Ready for AI Trip ...... Magical Mystery Turing? El CIDs 42 Lead ITS Following

CIDs ..... CyberIntelAIgent Information Devices ....... which is only a Hop, Skip and a Quantum Leap from Alien Beings. :-) ..... who may be Long Lost Friends .... Kindred Souls.

The less effective the AV software is, the more trouble that AV threats cause, and the greater the demand for AV software.

...sometimes enthusiasts will spend far more time than people paid to do the same thing.

...why can't OS vendors prevent them in the first place, or at least make the OS-self healing when a rootkit tries to insinuate itself?

Ah, this trend seems to go back all the way down to the 80's, when the "Yankee Doodle" virus started killing others: Cascade and Ping-Pong, at least. And some ingenious virus that was, as it "re-wrote" the virii so they would self-destruct, actually.

Some AV's had an alternate name for it, as "VACSINA" which meand Vaccine in ... some other language. As a plus, the virus would play "Yankee Doodle" every now and then on your PC speaker =)

Not quite the same ring to it as War of the Worlds.

How about The Malware Malefaction? Battle of the Bots? Rise of the One True Zombie Horde?

And if they ever get diplomatic

The United Rootkits of Malware?

av vendors have to ensure the PC is still fine after it removes the virus. Whereas virus writers don't *really* care if the PC still works, so they can employ harsher removal methods than the AV products can. If the PC dies during the removal process - who cares - as long as most of 'em still work.

Sudo wrestling.

"So how does one know if the slow PC response is down to a rootkit or just the usual Windows problems ?"

One doesn't, AC. That is ITs Stealthy Grace. If you want to Imagine anything, consider IT, a Binary AIDS VXXXXine ....... Right to the Heart of Man's Woes and Follies........ The Pleasure and the Pain in ITs Not Giving ....... The Ultimate Betrayal to Oneself which Denies One the Keys to the Kingdom Castle....... Seventh Heaven, Global Communications HQ.