some may ask why do these files remain then? simple reason - know thy enemy
I agree completely. As a matter of fact, I originally came to this site specifically FOR the downloads section so I could find certain malware to try and determine what it does and how it works so we could better protect the environment I was working to secure.

Unfortunately, I found a lot of useless stuff and a lot of malware within the malware- programs that had their own viruses and trojans. So, now I stay far away from the downloads section and triple scan anything I do download from there.

On the up side, I learned that the collective knowledged of the members of AO was a more valuable tool to me than the downloads section so I hung around to share in the community and learn and hopefully help others along the way.