[orng]

Slightly OT, but not too long ago I read that it is not uncommon for viruses to remove other known, competing, malware. Does anyone know if anyone has ever made a virus who's only purpose is to remove other malware? Perhaps the same aggressive approach used by Janit0r is needed to stop the spread of worms, kill off botnets etc.?

[seob]

> Does anyone know if anyone has ever made a virus who's only purpose is to remove other malware?

The first computer virus was an experimental self-replicating program called Creeper.

And the second computer virus was Reaper, a similar program created for the sole purpose of deleting Creeper.

http://corewar.co.uk/creeper.htm

[js8]

Not only that, but even human immune system can instruct other cells to self-destruct, if it detects they are infected! So what Janit0r is doing is kind of similar to that approach.

[Bartweiss]

A brief history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-worm

[ZoFreX]

Yes, such things exist, but they are still technically malware.

It's a risky approach. It could have unintended consequences. If it's a worm, it could spread out of control and cause considerable harm purely from its transmission.

As attractive an idea as it might be, it's dangerous.