Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 709 Outrageous, absolutely outrageous!
"Damn it, abandon Panda Burning Incense and give it your all for 2345!" Zhou Hongyi went completely mad because of Pang Dongzi's betrayal.

He hated treacherous people like Pang Dongzi the most in his life.

Is trust between people really that fragile?

Why would someone suddenly go back on their word when we've already agreed to something?

If you want to back out, fine, but why bring a bunch of people to gang up on you?

Is this even human?
Just as Zhou Hongyi was mobilizing her limited manpower to launch a counterattack, at the 2345 headquarters, Pang Dongzi looked at the declining number of Kaspersky 360 installations on the screen and a savage smile of confidence appeared on his face.

Kaspersky 360 is just a security guard; it can clean up junk files and remove plugins, but it doesn't carry its own virus database. Therefore, it has absolutely no ability to protect against viruses like Panda Burning Incense. Although its ally Kaspersky has been working hard to detect and remove them, Kaspersky can only effectively isolate viruses that have appeared for more than three days and cannot deal with new variants of Panda Burning Incense.

The user's computer, tormented by both Panda Burning Incense and 2345, vented its frustration on Kaspersky 360.

They were even angrier when they saw that Kaspersky 360 had also been changed to a panda burning incense icon.

I uninstalled it right away!
This also led to a sharp decline in the number of Kaspersky 360 installations.

Pang Dongzi turned around, looked at the core team behind him composed of elites from Rising and Jiangmin, waved his hand vigorously, and laughed loudly: "The time has come, let's unleash the big move we've been holding back for so long!"

Upon hearing Pang Dongzi's words, the team members' faces lit up with excitement.

They've been making malware since they joined the company. If it weren't for the need to support their families and have affairs, they really wouldn't want to do this.

After all, they are all respectable people in the antivirus software industry.

Seemingly to calm them down, Pang Dongzi had them start developing 2345 PC Manager shortly after they joined the company.

2345 PC Manager is not an antivirus software, but it's somewhat similar to Kaspersky or 360, and can clean up computer junk files, etc.

Although the functions are very simple and the software was hastily and rudimentary, at least it's not malware, which makes their conscience a little less painful.

The next day, several mainstream portal websites published news about 2345 PC Manager.

An Apology Letter to Users Nationwide: We Were Wrong, But We Have Found a Solution.

Say Goodbye to Lag and Viruses: An Exclusive Look at 2345 PC Manager's "Fight Viruses with Viruses" Strategy!

Is it a rogue or a savior? In-depth review of how 2345 PC Manager cleans up your system.

The article downplays the seriousness of the issue, acknowledging that 2345 has indeed caused trouble for users in the past. However, it then shifts its focus to emphasizing how crucial a safe and clean system environment is to users, and proudly introduces their ultimate solution—2345 PC Manager—created with the combined efforts of the core technical teams from Rising and Jiangmin.

The article exaggerates the product's miraculous effects, claiming that it can not only clean up all malicious plugins and pop-up ads with one click, but also effectively suppress the activity of file-infecting viruses such as Panda Burning Incense.

The effects of 2345 PC Manager are basically the same as those of Brain Gold.

The reason they claim to clean up all malicious plugins with one click is because these malicious plugins all belong to their company.

Effectively suppressing the activity of the Panda Burning Incense is a rather general statement, since there is no standard for the word "effective".

Almost simultaneously with the public outcry, 2345 PC Manager's installation package was bundled, pushed out, and silently installed with unprecedented force through all the channels they controlled.

The most ruthless thing is that they even thoughtfully provide a one-click replacement function for Kaspersky 360, ostensibly to help users uninstall invalid security software.

The core working principle of 2345 PC Manager is not based on traditional antivirus technology at all.

In essence, it is a super rogue program that has obtained super privileges.

It can completely detect and remove all malicious plugins from the 2345 series, with a 100% detection and removal effect.

It leverages its deep understanding and control over the system registry, far exceeding that of ordinary software, to directly seize registry entries modified by other malware and the Panda Burning Incense virus, overwriting or locking them to achieve a purification effect.

This is like a gang leader driving other thugs out of his territory and then declaring that he is in charge of protecting it.

While it cannot completely eradicate Panda Burning Incense, its powerful process management and file locking capabilities can indeed interfere with the copying and icon replacement behavior of some Panda variants, creating the illusion that it can deal with viruses.

This combination of punches had an explosive effect.

Many users who were driven to the brink of collapse by malicious plugins and the Panda Burning Incense game were pleasantly surprised to find that their computer pop-ups decreased significantly after installing 2345 PC Manager.

Although the browser homepage was forcibly locked to 2345 Navigation and could not be changed, at least it no longer jumps around randomly.

The system speed seems to have increased, and even that annoying panda icon is appearing less frequently.

Compared to the incompetence of Kaspersky and 360, 2345 PC Manager has become a savior in the eyes of many users.

Uninstalling Kaspersky and 360 and installing 2345 PC Manager became the most helpless choice!

At 360 headquarters, Zhou Hongyi was completely dumbfounded when she saw the suddenly popular 2345 PC Manager.

"What the hell is this?" Zhou Hongyi pointed at the 2345 PC Manager icon on the screen, her voice trembling. "How could they... how could they do this? How can a company that makes malware have the nerve to make security software?"

The deputy said with a mournful face, "President Zhou, the technology they're using isn't legitimate antivirus at all. They're using higher system privileges to forcibly overwrite and lock other software. We have to expose them."

"Reveal? How do you reveal it? Are you going to teach those users who can't even reinstall the system what system permissions are?" Zhou Hongyi rolled her eyes at her deputy, her tone full of dissatisfaction.

“We can expose things in a less professional way, such as telling users that 2345 PC Manager steals user privacy,” the deputy said. “Many users care about these things, and we must fight back as soon as possible. Now 2345 PC Manager has listed us as malware.”

“Hmm…” Zhou Hongyi fell silent.

His mind was in turmoil.

That damned panda incense burner ruined his entire plan.

He wished he could find the maker and shoot him a hundred times with a machine gun.

He now understands that Pang Dongzi recruited the elites from Rising and Jiangmin not to enhance the attack power of his malware, but for this very purpose.

This battle was truly frustrating.

As the fight went on, their security software turned into malware, and the malware turned into PC manager.

Is there anything more outrageous than this in the world?

"Fight back, we must fight back." Zhou Hongyi said in a deep voice, like a gambler who had lost everything. "Immediately update our rules, list 2345 Manager as the number one rogue software, and completely eliminate and ban it."

The technical team tried to do the same, but they soon discovered that they no longer had the capability.

Their user installation numbers have fallen below those of 2345, which boasts a powerful bundling team. This is a painful fact, indicating that their monopoly in the security field was short-lived. Seeing that this approach was unsuccessful, Zhou Hongyi immediately launched a media campaign, exposing the rogue nature of 2345 PC Manager.

At this point, users didn't care whether it was malware or not; they only cared about who could temporarily restore their computers to normal operation.

When faced with something useful, its essence seems somewhat pale and powerless.

Moreover, 2345's online army is equally powerful, and they quickly labeled Zhou Hongyi as the originator of rogue software.

All resistance appears utterly pale and powerless in the face of the ultimate tactic of 2345, where magic defeats magic.

What followed was a complete and utter defeat.

Kaspersky 360's market share has been rapidly eroded, and the loss of users is irreversible.

Zhou Hongyi watched helplessly as the empire she had built crumbled in just half a month, unable to mount even the slightest effective counterattack.

He slumped in his office chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He knew that Kaspersky 360 was finished too.

He didn't lose to technology, nor to capital, but to fate.

If it weren't for the Panda Burning Incense incident, he would already be the godfather of China's security industry.

This damn virus, why did it have to appear now of all times? Zhou Hongyi even suspects that this virus was created by 2345.

At this moment, the headquarters of 2345 was filled with jubilation.

Pang Dongzi looked at the curve on the screen representing the market share of 2345 PC Manager, which had already crushed all competitors and topped the list with an air of supreme dominance.

What excites him most is the monthly active users of 2345 Navigation.

It has already surpassed the ten million mark!

Although the figure of ten million monthly active users is somewhat inflated, there are too many users reinstalling their computers during this period, and the monthly active users are calculated every time a computer is reinstalled.

But he finally achieved his goal!

He opened a bottle of champagne with a triumphant air, raised his glass high, and shouted to the entire team: "Brothers, we won this battle! From today onwards, I'm going to treat you to the best of everything! I'm going to make Southeast Asia! South Korea! Japan! Make every computer in every Asian country display our 2345 pop-up window!"

The cheers from below were deafening.

The former engineers from Rising Jiangmin had mixed feelings, but more than anything, they felt a sense of triumph and satisfaction.

On Sunday night, the Kaspersky Lab in China was still brightly lit, and a sense of oppression filled the air.

"Success! Mr. Lovsky, we have completely cracked the core behavioral sequence of the most widespread panda variant V-487. The signature has been extracted, and the rule base has been updated. We have solved this variant!" A young technician jumped up from his seat, waving his fist, his bloodshot eyes flashing with ecstasy.

A brief burst of cheers and applause erupted in the laboratory.

After countless days and nights of continuous hard work, they finally saw results.

This Panda V-487 variant is the most troublesome database-related variant that plagues government and enterprise platforms; it is extremely difficult to deal with.

Upon hearing the news, the person in charge, Lovsky, also showed a relieved smile.

He walked up behind the technician, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed, "Well done! I knew it. When it comes to real technology, there are no invincible enemies."

Lofsky immediately instructed, "Push the results to the global virus database update immediately, and then send a copy to Microsoft to show them the strength of Kaspersky."

The command was executed swiftly.

The technicians relaxed slightly, some began to stretch their stiff necks, and others slumped in their chairs for a short rest, preparing for the next challenge.

They believed that as long as they followed this pace and took them down one by one, they would eventually be able to put the panda back in its cage.

The dawn of victory seems to be just around the corner.

Less than two hours after the signature update was pushed out, and before some users had even had time to complete the virus database update, the head of the monitoring technology department strode into the laboratory. As he walked, he said, "We have just detected seven new variant infection behaviors targeting government and enterprise databases."

"ID V-488, the transmission path has changed, and the types of infected files have increased."

"ID V-489, the core code obfuscation method has been updated, bypassing the V-487 signature we just deployed."

"Item V-490 has been detected attempting to attack our antivirus software's own process protection mechanism!"

"And there are V-491, V-492... V-501..."

"Oh no!" Before the person in charge could finish speaking, Ivan, the young technician who had just been excited, let out a painful howl, clutched his head with both hands, and cried out, "How could this happen... We've only just..."

Another senior engineer slammed his keyboard away, ran his hands through his already thinning hair, and said in a tearful voice, "It's useless...it's completely useless...we're risking our lives here, and those bastards can create dozens of new variants just by moving their fingers and changing a few lines of code. Our construction speed will never be able to keep up with the destruction speed."

An atmosphere of despair quickly spread throughout the laboratory.

The smile on Lovsky's face had vanished, replaced by a look of bewilderment.

He didn't even hear what the head of the monitoring department said next, because his mind had gone completely blank.

If they keep going like this, their team will really be worn out.

Some variants changed the file header verification method, some optimized memory hiding techniques, and some even imitated the behavior patterns of normal software to evade behavioral analysis...

This is not a single viral evolution; it is an arms race driven by countless creators.

Every time Kaspersky updates its arsenal, the enemy instantly mass-produces a batch of soldiers immune to the attack.

This is never going to end.

If this battle continues like this, it could really last a lifetime.

“Mr. Lovsky…should we…should we continue analyzing V-488?” a voice asked timidly.

Lovsky's face was filled with conflict; he didn't know whether to continue the analysis.

He felt that he was using the assembly line methods of the industrial age to fight against a monster spawned by crowdsourcing and open source models in the information age.

(End of this chapter)