Is it just me, or does anyone find it curious, and maybe a bit humorous, that many of the top antivirus software firms are based in Eastern Europe? All three of our TopTenREVIEWS Award winners are behind what had once been the Iron Curtain. Such firms as AVG and AVAST! are in the Czech Republic, ESET is in Slovakia, Kaspersky is in Russia, BitDefender in Romania, and F-Secure in Finland (I don't think Finland counts as the Eastern Bloc, but what the hell, it shares a border with Russia).


This wouldn't seem like such a strange fact except I can't think of any another type of computer software that is produced in the former Eastern Bloc? I can't. No doubt there are a number of successful companies in these nations, but a major software firm in Eastern Europe? Name one.

For many years, it was reputed that some of the most mischievous software making its way around the web was from underutilized programmers behind what had been the Iron Curtain. Rumors had it that after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, so many bright programmers were out of work that they practiced and honed their skills writing viruses. Is it possible that these same virus creators have now become the most effective virus detectors and killers?

You can see how the antivirus programs rank on TopTenREVIEWS.

And you might be interested in these other blogs:

Microsoft to Focus on Creating Software for Your Car

Cuil Just Isn’t Very Cool

Wardriving and Your Internet Security

Vista’s Alter Ego, Mojave, Apparently Isn’t Half Bad