Hmm. I dunno dude.
I've been clean on both my PCs for almost 5 years now. Not completely clean--stuff sneaks in now and again--but minimal stuff, really.
Most people don't even know what a virus is. They think any computer problem is a "virus" the same way people get sick. They don't understand the concept.
Spyware is actually all the napster brats' fault. It would have never been invented if people had just let it slide, and used audio-only download services.
Just remember, using those download programs isn't the only way to get viruses. if a friend gives you some bootleg stuff, chances are, he's giving you **** you don't want as well. Plus, if you have XP, Virus/malware type stuff can hide in your system restore backups, reinfecting you after every clean up.
I get what you're saying though, man. It is pretty depressing on the whole, how we have this great and brilliant invention at our fingertips and all we use it for spamming each other's livejournals and stealing music and programs.
It's sad, because most of us internet dudes can handle--barely, sometimes--the influx of BS that chokes our poor computers. But for an average schmuck, man...spyware must be the pits.
I have a friend who doesn't know anything about computers, and she calls me every week to come "fix" the damn thing. I tell her how to stop the **** from coming back but obviously her sorry ass isn't listening to me. And she doesn't even understand WHY these things do what they do.
I told her about the gator thing, for example. I explained that for every computer that **** gets snuck onto, they get paid by several advertisers. She didn't get it. I feel worst for the companies who advertise this stuff themselves...usually they aren't legitimate in the least, but some like the people who try and go through gator are just trying to buy some honest advertising...and really, all that happens is their company name gets associated with an annoying computer program that nobody likes. Their brands get ruined.
When you use kazaa, every banner that flashes by makes that kazaa son of a ***** a buck. Now imagine a minimum of 40 banners per half hour per day that kazaa is on. That's 40x24. That's up to 960 dollars a day going to that rat ****ing *******, from the kazaa folk who leave it on all day to download Lindsay Lohan movies...PER PERSON. Now imagine that ****, multiplied by the better part of a few million people.
That dude gets rich while people use his ****ty program to grab ass other people's stuff. You strangle the economy and you make a ****head richer. And no one seems to mind...as long as they get "what's rightfully theirs."
Kids nowadays with the internet are the worst. They think they're entitled to state of the art software, free dvd rips of movies weeks before they are released, free patches, free games, free everything. There's no other way to say it: the time of the Grabass *****es is upon us.
Sometimes it really amazes me how dumb people are. Especially some of the kazaa folk. You're using a program that is DESIGNED TO STEAL MULTIMEDIA. Did you think it was going to be on the up and up? In all seriousness, I truly believe we might not have had ANY of this stuff on the net if it weren't for Generation Grabass's endless potential for exploitability.
[EDIT: It should be noted that saying "I have Norton blah blah 2006 and I still have viruses" is the same deal as kazaa...if you download Norton System works from some dude on ****ing Bearshare, chances are it's going to be bad for your PC's health. After all...that'd be the first place I'D hide malicious programs]