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You can protect yourself from viruses with antivirus software, sure.
But an antivirus can delete a file if it believes it's a virus.
And what happens if the virus database files used by the antivirus gets corrupted? The antivirus program itself can become the real threat.
Perhaps Antivirus software producers should make us know:

• how virus database files are digitally signed, so that anyone can verify them,
• how virus database files and keys are managed, to check them independently.
• show us the source code.

And the users should:

1. avoid the dangers of software monocultures:
   • Pushing BITdiversity: Biodiversity applied to IT environment: don't stick to a single O.S.
   • Beware of antivirus monopoly.
2. Rethink redundancy:
   • OS redundancy: push multiple different operating systems on the key servers and clients. If the virus attacks one OS, the other will likely be safe. Traditional redundancy will fail.
   • Antivirus Redundancy: having multiple simultaneous antivirus systems with different signature files.
3. Keep the data safe.
   • be prepared to access to your data from a different OS.
   • avoid proprietary data formats as hell.

This is a short presentation about those ideas: http://homes.stat.unipd.it/mmzz/Papers/AutoimmuneComputerVirus.pdf

In seguito al programma I-Law 2005 a Torino mi e' venuta l'idea di raccogliere alcuni spunti sulla crisi dei media in conseguenza dell'avvento del digitale. Gli spunti che ritengo originali sono lo svuotamento del media, del contenitore, e l'importanza che assume Internet come unico contenitore di tutti i messaggi e i "contenuti".
L'industria dei "contenuti", che controllava i contenuti grazie ai supporti (CD, DVD, libri, giornali), e' in grossa crisi, soprattutto di immaginazione , e non sa come sftuttare i nuovi mezzi per fare business, e richiede leggi illiberali e mezzi pericolosi come i DRM.
Articolo, in Italiano: http://homes.stat.unipd.it/mmzz/Papers/media-0605.pdf
Ogni commento e osservazione e' benvenuta.
Following the I-Law 2005 program in Turin i wanted to share some ideas on the media crisis following the digital revolution. what I think can be original is that media (called "containers, as opposed to "content") is gradually losing its importance, and Internet is becoming the only container of all messages and "content".
The "content" industry, which was controlling its content through media (CDs, DVDs, books, newspapers) lives a very critical moment, and does not know how to exploit new media to make business, and asks for illiberal laws and dangerous techniques as DRMs.
The article (in Italian): http://homes.stat.unipd.it/mmzz/Papers/media-0605.pdf
Any comment welcome.