Attack Of The Clones: What is a clone rogue?

One question I get asked a lot is what a "clone" is when I am referring to rogue antivirus software. This post will attempt to answer that question in a clear and concise manner.

The short answer is that a clone is a copy of another rogue. Oftentimes, rogue antivirus writers don't have the time or the energy to make their rogue unique, so they use the design of other rogues. The user interface for the rogue may be the same as another rogue, but it's under a different name. This is what makes it a clone. Some clones of rogues are so alike to the rogue that is being cloned that everything except the name is the same. So a condensed answer would be a rogue that is ripping off another rogue.

Oftentimes, clones are written by the same author that made the original rogue. This is done in order to help maximize profits. If the name of a rogue is well known, people will not pay for it, but if the writer switches the name up, people are more likely to buy it.

Don't think that the rogue writers are just being lazy. Because for every rogue, even if it's a clone, the writer has to set up websites, set up payment systems, actually make the rogue, etc. So a clone can be profitable. The downside to this is that removal methods are often the same with clones, so this makes it easy to remove.

Hope this answers the question of what a "clone" of a rogue is. As always, I invite you to comment if you have any questions or comments. Thank You for reading.