Incompetence and idiocy
If, like me, you are one of the enlightened ones and don't use Windows, you are no doubt wondering why you get helpful messages from random strangers' mail servers telling you that they defanged a Windows virus you sent them. You will no doubt be especially perplexed when you find out that the anti-virus cowboys in question know that some viruses fake the sender address when they propagate through email and that the anti-virus people claim not to send their spam in such cases. How, then, can they recognise that a virus is (eg) Sobig.F - one which is known to fake the sender address - and yet still send their annoying idiotic drivel?
It makes me madder than a sack stuffed full of weasels. And that's very mad indeed. How would *you* feel if you were stuffed in a sack with a bunch of weasels? That's right, pretty damned mad.
An acquaintance who works in that shady industry tells me that I shouldn't be angry about this, the companies are only trying to be helpful and responding to their consumers' demands, and anyway, do I expect them to add functionality for free? They're not charities! This is exactly the same argument used to justify more egregious forms of spamming. "There's money to be made - otherwise we wouldn't do it - and so seeing that we're servicing a market why should we change our ways"? Typical bloody money-money-money capitalist-apologist crap, putting mammon before honesty and ethics.