One can only hope that security software provider Trend Micro saw a nice sales boost after the proclamation of its chairman earlier this week that Android phones are more vulnerable to hacking than iPhones are. If it didn't, those blatantly self-serving statements were made for nothing.

After all, they're certainly not true. Not only that, but they were made immediately after the company launched its brand-new security software for Android. There's no way that was a coincidence.

The statements were, however, a classic example of the FUD that's so often resorted to by companies that earn their bread by instilling fear in the hearts of computer users. Microsoft's recent anti-OpenOffice.org campaign was one example of such fear tactics used for profit; now, Trend Micro's little threat is another. Who needs enemies when you've got "friends" like these, working to steer you away from free and open source software and toward their expensive products?

More: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/216733/