Companys Makeing viruses?

I had A friend Tell me That Norton,Microsoft,Mcafee..ect... Make viruses. I dont beleave that!...Is this true That Companys make viruses?

 

I don't really believe that "any" company would write a virus and then release it just to make money for the same reasons PeteC has said

But there is a reason that some people just might think this. Has anyone ever noticed that in some cases a anti-virus company will announce a certain virus is about to be released on the net and they can also say exactly what damage it will cause long before. In other cases and I know of quite a few, how is it that a virus can be released, lets just say today at 3pm and by 3:30pm someone will have a fix for it.

The reason I wonder about this, myself, sometimes, is how is it possible they have a fix for any virus before or immediately after one is released.

I programmed for a long time and I do know you can't just come up with those fixes in a few seconds. They must have advance warning in some way.