Do You Really Need Antivirus Software?

Antivirus 101:

Acquire computer crippling virus
Remove virus with software, take your pick
It doesn't work, format reinstall
 
I am surprised he doesn't mention firewalls at all, I do use AV (mse and avira), but really, a good firewall will frequently let you know that an infection has somehow made it through to your system. And yes, they can get past your AV. The last time I was infected, I only found out because my firewall asked me if I really wanted to allow my mouse drivers to contact my bank website.

As for those who don't use AV... thanks! I make a lot of money cleaning computers owned by people who don't use AV.

And no safe browsing does NOT help you, it wasn't that long ago since NY times website was serving up malware. If you are connected to the internet at all, you are not safe browsing.
 
I suppose you could surf safely by never installing java, allowing, activex content, installing any adobe product, and running the browser on an OS in VM. Just not all that convenient.

Better browsing habits DO reduce the chance of infection, but they don't eliminate them.

Then again, neither does AV, but it is a lot better solution than the "I know what I'm doing, I have safe browsing habits", stuff we always hear.
 
I haven't used any Antivirus protection in 10 years, no firewalls (unless routers at the time had one) and no spyware scanners...
I've had 1 problem (it was a good one) in 10 years and it was only because I ran a file that was obviously questionable but I missed it so I simply reformatted and if anything does happen I'll just reformat again, I make backups of stuff once in a while and put them on an external drive so I get back up and running in no time (thank you Windows 7 for only taking 14 minutes to install)

I do sometimes download *insert name of popular spyware scanner here* and sometimes run one of those online virus scans but that is only when I think I might've ran something questionable which doesn't happen often


Never had a virus and aside from a few tracking cookies....nothing
 
LeviathanZERO said:
silly.
i have built myself countless computers over the last 20 years. not one has ever had silly AV installed and none have ever been infected. sure i run an ad killer or malwarebytes every once in a while, but there is no need for silly on-access scanning and memory hogging on a gaming PC.

dont surf for porn and suspicious downloads. its not that hard...
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Ridiculous statement. Most users have no idea how to practice "safe" computing. Therefore they'll invariably download or install some crap and fuck up their PC.
 
Everyone has their own reasons for using/not using AVs. However, I believe some are actually good AVs, such as Kaspersky, Avira, or Eset. It's only when you install shit AVs like McAfee or AVG Free.

I practice "safe" computing but still have KIS 2010 for backup. It doesn't slow me down one but or intrude with every little notice about something. Plus it was FREE anyways. I would think that most of us who builds their own computers would have a fast enough PC where you wouldn't even know if the AV is running or not.
 
with MSE being a good FREE AV I dont understand how people don't run with an AV. MSE seems very good and light weight, I never notice its running unless I go to a bad porn site... :D lol
 
All the Anti-Virus I have tried produce false positives, this means they are broken and I won't use them.

I have downloaded and kept files that Anti-Virus says are dangerous, nothing happened, it worked as expected and didn't do anything. I have read completely suspicious e-mails, nothing has happened.

Not to mention some Anti-Virus are incredibly stupid! e.g. With Norton if you try and install a program (Or game in my case) that it thinks has less than 10 users, it will remove it. If Norton had it's way, no-one could create new software, because there would be less than 10 users to begin with and therefore you could get no users!

Also, one time I decided to install a Anti-Virus(Kaspersky) after a format, it completed and I left it on but didn't actually use the Internet, however when I next tried to open explorer everything was completely broken, I required another format to get rid of whatever it was.

My Diagnoses: Anti-Virus are SDK's for Virii (Or are targeted by them).

I also run with IE 8. No pop-up blocker. No slow down. No wierd internet usage. No games blocked. No phishing.
 
I have been running without AV on my personal PCs for 20 years without problems. I just practice safe computing, which is extremely easy to do. I also backup everything I care about to a separate drive so I can reimage anytime I like (very rare now with modern OSs) without loosing anything.

As to how I know I don't have viruses if I don't have AV to find them, that is simple enough. A virus that does no harm is no virus at all. So since my computers show no sign of being harmed I have no viruses. This may be TECHNICALLY wrong, but for all practical purposes it is right.
 
I've used no A/V on any of my installations for going on 12+ years and never had a virus occur so bad that I had to format, worms, etc. I watch my outbound usage on my Internet connection for spikes indicating I might have become a bot-machine sending out mass spam emails, etc but never had an issue.

As general-maintenance, I always install the windows update to remove the omst common malicious software that updates itself once or twice a year. I also tend to run an a/v software scan about once a year. Give or take. Never one that requires you to install though and especially not the bloatware versions like Norton. I figure, its better to run an a/v scan using an online scanner like McAffee's online a/v scanner once a year and have your computer work a bit slower on a maintenance day(great time to choose is when you know you won't be able to use the pc) than to have your machine slowed for everyday throughout the entire year.

I remember in the old-days when I was using a P-60mhz and I think Norton, loading Tomb Raider, the original, would take about 2 minute and 13 seconds from double clicking on the desktop to start with NORTON OFF. With Norton on, it took 4 minutes and 46 seconds. I find it somewhat humerous when people complain of slow load times remembering how long load times 'used' to be wayyy back in the Windows 95 era. When your machine was just powerful enough to manage Windows 95's 'massive' overhead compared to Windows 3.1 and games had a small small percentage of system resources available to them resulting in those tremendously long load times.

Long story short: Follow safe practices like NOT downloading toolbars, .exe files or anything that promises to be free from a website you don't trust or from emails you don't trust and you really don't need an AV. Your computer will generally run much faster without the AV software installed. Much much much faster if your using particularly invasion/poor software like Norton.
 
WBurchnall said:
I've used no A/V on any of my installations for going on 12+ years and never had a virus occur so bad that I had to format, worms, etc. I watch my outbound usage on my Internet connection for spikes indicating I might have become a bot-machine sending out mass spam emails, etc but never had an issue.

As general-maintenance, I always install the windows update to remove the omst common malicious software that updates itself once or twice a year. I also tend to run an a/v software scan about once a year. Give or take. Never one that requires you to install though and especially not the bloatware versions like Norton. I figure, its better to run an a/v scan using an online scanner like McAffee's online a/v scanner once a year and have your computer work a bit slower on a maintenance day(great time to choose is when you know you won't be able to use the pc) than to have your machine slowed for everyday throughout the entire year.

I remember in the old-days when I was using a P-60mhz and I think Norton, loading Tomb Raider, the original, would take about 2 minute and 13 seconds from double clicking on the desktop to start with NORTON OFF. With Norton on, it took 4 minutes and 46 seconds. I find it somewhat humerous when people complain of slow load times remembering how long load times 'used' to be wayyy back in the Windows 95 era. When your machine was just powerful enough to manage Windows 95's 'massive' overhead compared to Windows 3.1 and games had a small small percentage of system resources available to them resulting in those tremendously long load times.

Long story short: Follow safe practices like NOT downloading toolbars, .exe files or anything that promises to be free from a website you don't trust or from emails you don't trust and you really don't need an AV. Your computer will generally run much faster without the AV software installed. Much much much faster if your using particularly invasion/poor software like Norton.
Click to expand...

i dare you to run a malware bytes scan.
 
I can see where AV can be useful for some people in some cases, but honestly I feel like it's not worth the hassle. I haven't touched AV in about 8 years and haven't had a problem yet.

I'm not saying I wont ever have a problem, but 8 years of not having to mess with AV and deal with it whatsoever is worth the risk of a virus or 2 every 8 years or something.

Also, If I get a virus I find it's much easier (and more reliable) to just load my system back from a snapshot.
 
I would recommend these guys:

http://www.backblaze.com/

They will let you backup terabytes and terabytes of data for $60 a year. They also have no upload or download speed caps or anything. I was able to upload my 6TB of multimedia from my NAS to their servers in only a few weeks crunching at about 50Mbit upload.

They do not support server operating systems at this time, but you can get around that pretty easily. you just need to provide the correct interface between your data and their uploading software.
 
I can see his point. I mean as long as I've had a PC computer I've always run AV software of one type or another, and honestly I have never had a pop up that said "oh noez the infection is here!" and I've download my fair share of linux distros too. However it is good for the not so smart users.

However the reality most people who know anything about computers probably could get away with running an "online scan" every so often, especially if they don't use any sort of online banking or other "critically dangerous" activity. If I did have a problem, I wouldn't bring my computer to "someone like me" (first poster) I'd simply run an AV, if that doesn't fix things, I'd reformat and reinstall and be happy with the extra speed my computer has because of it.

That said I will always run AV if anything because my wife uses the computer as well :D
 
SirMaster said:
I would recommend these guys:

http://www.backblaze.com/

They will let you backup terabytes and terabytes of data for $60 a year. They also have no upload or download speed caps or anything. I was able to upload my 6TB of multimedia from my NAS to their servers in only a few weeks crunching at about 50Mbit upload.

They do not support server operating systems at this time, but you can get around that pretty easily. you just need to provide the correct interface between your data and their uploading software.
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OK, wow I totally had too many tabs open and put my message in the wrong post box!

My Bad! :eek:

Feel free to delete the posts mods.
 
Since malware can now apparently be loaded without having to click dumb shit, I've installed AVG free version. It can't hurt and it doesn't seem to interfere with anything that's running. It also found some worms and zombies on my system.
 
EDIT: Has anyone noticed that no matter what antivirus program they use, on day one it runs great, but slowly gradually over time the performance of the entire Windows box degrades?

Then you get to a point where it's slow as a snail.

And then when you install all the AV software, usually what happens is that the entire computer's performance seems to come back to life (might need to apply some CCleaner for the full effect, donno).
 
86 5.0L said:
i dare you to run a malware bytes scan.
Click to expand...

Well, I have had Win 7 on my desktop since it came out a year ago and I don't run any form AV or anti-malware (no active or passive(scanners) protection) and here is my result:

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46
www.malwarebytes.org

Database version: 5178

Windows 6.1.7600
Internet Explorer 9.0.7930.16406

11/23/2010 9:36:05 PM
mbam-log-2010-11-23 (21-36-05).txt

Scan type: Full scan (C:\|)
Objects scanned: 372441
Time elapsed: 25 minute(s), 11 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 0
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 0
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 0

Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:
(No malicious items detected)
 
w00dix said:
At the end of the day, if someone is targetting me, they'll leverage one of countless undisclosed vulnerabilities in my phone, computer, alarm system, etc. All I can do is keep the script kiddies off my back.
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This part I chuckled at. Chuckling in agreement that is.


LeninGHOLA said:
I use MSE because the internet was made specifically for naked boobs.
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=) Yessir! People have no idea how fragile their soapbox is when they just calmy state, "Just dont visit porn sites and you're safe from all viruses." Just like those nuns who advocate abstinence. Yea you try that first, tell me how that works for you... virgin.


But some of you people, wow. What I hear is the equivalent of: "Yea, I never use condoms. I figure I have never seen any bumps so I'm cool. All you gotta do is make sure the girl isn't trashy looking and you're fine. I've fucked plenty of girls with no condoms and I'm virus free! All I have to do is have sex right after a shower where the girl cleans twice. We only do it in one position, I pull out before I cum, and I lather myself with antibacteral lotion... Who needs a condom when you can do that?"
 
John Vuong said:
I don't have one installed either, all it does it slow down my computer and I hate it.
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Ok so I looked up your specs in your profile.

PC 1: Intel Core i7 970 | 12GB DDR3 G.Skill Ripjaws

Thats as far as I could get before loling my ass off.

If you run any Core i7, a 970 no less, and 12 frigging GB of RAM and AV slows down your system, you are doing something wrong.
 
Surf the web through a virtualized client. Just keep a 'clean' duplicate of the virtual HDD. If the client gets hosed, delete and re-copy the client, starting afresh. With free virtualization software, and an old OS (or a free linux distro), there is no reason why your host OS should even risk browsing the internet, save for updates.

Got to love virtualization. :D
 
I've never run AV until I came across MSE - it's just so unobtrusive there is no reason not to.
 
You need AV software if you:

1) Visit porn sites
2) Download torrents
3) Download music through peer-to-peer software

Yep that first one pretty much covers 100% of you.
 
I can't see why anyone would not run Microsoft Security Essentials....it's free, it's effective, updates daily and has a small footprint. That's a no brainer.
 
MajorDomo said:
I can't see why anyone would not run Microsoft Security Essentials....it's free, it's effective, updates daily and has a small footprint. That's a no brainer.
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that I use MSE is the only thing keeping me from not living up to my name.
 
MSE can be quite the load on older machines, though. That can be said of any resident AV, though.
 
with all the java and flash exploits this past year, i dont see why anyone wouldn't run some kind of AV.

alot of malware gets installed without you having to do anything, and you wouldnt even know it was there
 
S1N3R6Y said:
You need AV software if you:

1) Visit porn sites
2) Download torrents
3) Download music through peer-to-peer software

Yep that first one pretty much covers 100% of you.
Click to expand...

That's an urban legend... you don't have to do any of that to get infected ;).
 
I have no choice in the office. Not only do some user click on stuff they shouldn't and go places they shouldn't, they even open attachments they shouldn't.

However, even the carefull users sometime have problems.
Anytime you open an email attachment from a customer, you never know if they are infected.
I've had customers swear that their system is ok since "they have AV software installed", even though they sent us an infected file.
 
Also... to those saying "I don't run AV and don't have any infections", you wouldn't know... virtually all actual malware (other than those spamming popups telling you to pay up to clean up) runs silently, sending it off to other computers to infect, keylogging your info, spamming forums, etc. That's like saying "There's no radio waves going through MY house!" without having any equipment to detect if there were... :rolleyes:.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Also... to those saying "I don't run AV and don't have any infections", you wouldn't know... virtually all actual malware (other than those spamming popups telling you to pay up to clean up) runs silently, sending it off to other computers to infect, keylogging your info, spamming forums, etc. That's like saying "There's no radio waves going through MY house!" without having any equipment to detect if there were... :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...

so true
 
I run Windows Defender if that even does anything. That's it. Sometimes a Malwarebytes scan once in a while. I run ad-block on many websites, except trusted sites like [H] and some others. Haven't had a virus in over a year or so. Is there a no-script for Chrome? Hmm...
 
You do, because it is another line of defense. What you want for any secure situation is defense in depth. You do not want to just have a single layer of defense, after which there is no security. You want multiple layers, multiple kinds of checks. So you want a firewall, and a virus scanner, and to have your system patched, and to use UAC, and to be smart about what you download, and so on. You do ALL these things so that if there is a failure in one, the others hopefully stop the problem.

Given the risks online, defense in depth is the only real way to ensure security and thus what you really need to go for.
 
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