I got rid of all that crap a year ago except Ad-Aware which I run once a month when I get bored and need some time to think of what to do next and want to have something to stare at while I ponder. I have pretty unruly browsing habits, download a lot of stuff (lots of executables, cracks, patches, all that stuff that everyone is always afraid has viruses and says are very very unsafe) and the worst I've gotten is google saying the site I'm going to is marked as unsafe and full of adware. Comp is clean though, so I don't really care. I actually found that having an AV and Firewall caused me more problems with viruses and "hackers" (I.E. the firewall reporting an attack when it's simply accessing an online chat room or something) then when I run my system without anything except the router one. My friend is a security freak, he's also devoted to Norton. His computer is the biggest POS I've ever used, he gets a new virus every 2 days, out of nowhere. It's rather funny, I got rid of all the stuff he had on it a few weeks ago.. He's astounded he hasn't had a virus since. So go figure
I use AVG on all my pcs (XP and Vista) simply for the same reasons mentioned earlier. I trust myself, and I know quite well I could survive without AV, but because I'm taking files from clients computers and school computers, it acts as a condom for my pc. You know, so it doesn't catch teh aidz.
a vanilla XP box pre service pack 1 connected directly to the internet and NOT behind a router takes aorund 4 minutes before it becomes a zombie spam centre. i very much doubt that you arent using a firewall of some desciption. At the end of the day, if its all you've got, windows firewall does the job admirably. Its hard to imagine a world without a basic software firewall these days. did you mean dont get ME worng as in you use Windows ME? lol
*insert obligatory smug linux user's post here* (surprised the apple boys didn't get in here before me)
Using a hardware firewall and Kaspersky ATM. Thankfully, I don't feel the system slow down because of the C2D
I use avast just because I feel better when those pesky links get clicked or something, it's saved me a couple times blocking connections from places I didn't want doing something to me. I wish I had a firewall box in front of my netowrk, but no money to do such, so as some have said, common sense while browsing will pretty much protect you.
I use AVG. Just checked and in total it's processes are using just over 4mb. So no big deal at all really.
I think careful web browsing and downloading is the key to avoiding a virus. If you know your systems well, like most people around here should, you can often tell very quickly when somethings not right and find a way to fix it. I don't use anti-virus software (except when at school because the university makes students) because it just slows things down, especially boots. With Symantec installed my computer takes 3-4 minutes to boot up and be usable, without it installed, no more than 1 min. Also I don't have anything on my computer that I really really need, so worst case, i reformat and start over, i lose an afternoon but thats about it. If i were running a business, or had other important information on my PC I might think again. -Sammo1999
I use AVG as my cyber-condom, on all computers, as I have to get files off the college computers, msn file transfers and I use one of my computers for backing up files when i'm fixing someone's PC... Does the job pretty well, and does'nt use that many resources so it's all good
I have a NAT router. No software firewall, or anti virus. Too much overhead for my liking. I don't get viruses or spyware.
I have AdAware and Spybot S&D installed for a tri-monthly scan (if I bother), but using Firefox instead of IE prevents 99% of spyware/adware junk, I've found. I have AVG installed, but all avg-related windows services and startup-executables disabled. I scan once or twice per year. How many viruses have I encountered on my system in the past 4 years? None. About a year ago I gave my family my old system to use for their general browsing, word-processing, etc. In a matter of weeks it had acquired 3 viruses and was loaded with spyware. My parents are the kind of people who 'fall for' those ads which are made to look like the typical windows "warning" dialog box, or click "yes" when offered an "INTERNETZ BOOST0R LAWL". After that, I set AVG running on that system with resident shields, etc and the startup times have gone through the roof but it's relatively 'clean'. Meanwhile, my computer continues to run virus-free and antivirus-free.. If you ask me, the suites of 'security' software by McAfee, Symantec, etc are worse than the typical virus in terms of how invasive they are on a system during installation and how abusive they are of system resources.
Agreed on Norton and McAfee, they suck the big one, my neighbor's Vista machine hates McAfee, and I hate Norton on my mom's comp, it won't be there when this year's subscrition runs out.
thats what i was looking for - a man akin to my own. Why pay for a NAT firewall and keep updating your software if you have to run antivirus to protect yourself, its like going on the pill AND wearing a condom AND taking the morning after pill. Except with most antivirus, unlike the morning after pill - it DOESNT get rid of that unwanted something-or-other.
I had a terrible AV-software on my 1,6 GHz Duron 512 MB-rig few years back. Then I noticed that there was a huge penis growing to my forehead every time I used my computer and the AV just had to go. Using became much smoother and ever since I haven't used any AVs. (except Avast which I tried once) ATM there's NAT on router and I have Kerio firewall on the rig. I also have a Ubuntu-rig for all the sites I just don't want to go with XP-computer. (If such ever occur, mainly the rig is just idling). No viruses so far, atleast not any that I've noticed
Granted, I can see where you're coming from when you say 'if your careful, you won't get anything', and that will probably hold true for most people on these forums. I never used to bother with an AV until I got a particularly nasty bot that my brother installed accidentally. Now I use NOD32, it's a bit pricey, but I honestly can't tell when it's running, it has such a small footprint that I don't mind leaving it running all the time. Thinking about it, it was probably the fact that Norton was such a resource hog on my very first proper PC (486 goodness ) which put me off an AV in the first place.
Router with its firewall is my main protection, like many others here my browsing habits could be described as somewhat suicidal. My defence is using a ye olde Netscape Navigator for dodgy sites, lets see a virus writer attack a browser with a less than 0.1% market share! Also the file server runs an AVG scan every night just in case something slips in. Never has though (/touch wood)
I would still prefer to use anti-virus on my main system ... So which one is the fastest and least obtrusive? I have avast on my dad's PC and not that fast, and when I want it to scan a single file or folder, it takes ages. But it still seems faster running scans than AVG. Norton is a resource hog, so thats gone. I have McAfee on my Dell laptop - came with it and I havent bothered uninstalling it just yet. I want to replace it with something better - but which one ? Kaspersky or NOD32 seem to be usually recommended. Havent used either before.
