"~BD~" wrote:
> 1. The "False Authority Syndrome"
>
> Don't believe everything. Some people talk or write about viruses as if
> they were an authority in this field, but in fact they are often not.
>
> Ref: http://www.claymania.com/info-fas.html

The link to vmyths (for more about FAS) on that page is out of date.
Use this: http://vmyths.com/fas/ which redirects to a PDF written by
Rob Rosenberger. It's a bit dated now, talking about old msdos viruses
and bulletin boards, but the wisdom is still sound.

"The U.S. Air Force highlights the concept of False Authority Syndrome
in Tongue & Quill, their official publication on effective writing:

Nonexpert opinion or assumed authority - Don't be swayed (or try to
sway someone else) based on the opinion of an unqualified authority.
The Air Force is chock-full of people who, because of their position
or authority in one field, are quoted on subjects in other fields
for which they have limited or no experience.

(As this Air Force publication notes, False Authority Syndrome can
attack people in all fields of expertise.)".

> My niggling concern has always been that
> malware (call it what you will) might remain 'somewhere' within a box
> ready to continue with it's malicious activity even though it's been
> flattened and windows reinstalled (or even if a *new* hard disk has been
> installed!).
>
> I suspect such thoughts came about from my contact and discussion with
> our then High Tech Crime Unit - who recommended that I *destroy/trash*
> the machine involved in my identity theft encounter.

See the quote above. Police units dealing with computer crime are not
authorities on malware. Their expertise is in gathering evidence
(computer forensics) for possible prosecutions. They need to know
where and what to look for on the system and, before they start, how
to preserve or not corrupt that information. Sure, they may employ or
consult experts who know something about particular malware in certain
cases but did you communicate with one of these experts? More likely
it was some desk sergeant or other front man whose job is not to
educate the public about the finer points of fraudulent or malicious
software but simply to give the safest and most general advice; i.e.
trash the machine. In fact, that sounds like pretty dumb advice from
anyone claiming to be an expert on malware.

> The implication was
> that there is much more going on 'behind the scenes'- things that the
> authorities do not want the public to know about!

There's no such implication - just your paranoid fantasies and
conspiracy theories at work.