Dave Nelson Joins the Lavasoft Team

Lavasoft is pleased to announce the addition of notable malware analyst Dave Nelson, who joined the Lavasoft team in November.

Dave, aka Atribune in computer security circles, is well-known for his online work in malware removal and PC help forums, and has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) for Windows – Security since 2006.

It all started for Dave when he was infected with his first virus back in 1998. His story is the epitome of the ‘pass it on’ theory. After receiving help from another user in an online forum, he then, in turn, began to help out other malware victims on various sites.

Dave soon found himself taking things a step further by collecting malware, figuring out what it did, and how to remove it. Not only that, but he began developing free malware removal tools, which computer users across the Web still benefit from today.

“Although I do still enjoy getting into the forums once in awhile, the monotony of doing ‘Hijack This’ logs was getting old so I started collecting malware and figuring out what it does and how to remove it. Which led to me creating stand-alone tools for virus removal,” Dave says.

Vundofix, his most well-known tool, has been downloaded nearly four million times.

Most of Dave’s malware research involves heavy behind-the-scenes work, but he’s always looking for new infections and pokes his head in on almost every help forum. Dave’s latest project, Uploadmalware.com, is dedicated to collecting malware and distributing it to anti-virus and anti-spyware companies, with the ultimate goal of improving detection for computer users around the globe. He is also an IRCop for Wyldryde IRC network, the network host of chat channels for over 15 malware removal forums and websites. This includes BleepingComputer.com, GeekstoGo.com, and 247fixes.com, as well as his own site, Atribune.org.

We are excited to have this dedicated malware analyst join our Lavasoft Research team in fighting the spyware battle.