Vmyths Up For Sale On eBay

Vmyths, the web site that takes a skeptical look a the anti-virus industry, is for sale on eBay: item 5762562547  at a starting bid of $200,000. (Or you can buy the whole thing for $280,000:

Vmyths.com is the leading independent voice in the computer security and computer virus industry. The site is owned by an investor not directly involved in the industry and is looking to sell the site to either another investor or to a someone directly involved in the industry that could benefit from the editorial exposure from being associated with the site. We have an exclusive contract to Rob Rosenberger, editor-at-large. The site comes with URL, all content, and rights to Rob's contract.

Rob Rosenberger, the editor, explains in his newsletter (not available on the website at the time of writing) that co-founder Eric Robichaud wants to sell Vmyths, and he's got experience selling websites on eBay. But our readers will want to know: "why now?" Robichaud called to say he's riding on the coattails of a bombshell we dropped in our latest "Whisper" Update. He told me to announce the eBay auction in a special newsletter or he'd do it himself in an advertisement.

I’ve not always agreed with Vmyths, believing sometimes that a threat is a threat and not always a hype. But its skeptical approach has been a useful antidote to the often inflated claims made by some security vendors. Indeed, Rob’s fear is that one of the companies he has been most scathing of, Britain-based mi2g, could shut down one of their most vocal critics with a meager $200k bid. Oh, sure, I could still rant -- but years of historical insight would disappear overnight.

That would definitely be a shame.