Do you have Antivirus software installed?...

[Alone]

No, Windows. I haven't had A/V installed on any system I've owned in the past 6 years. For fun I've installed one and ran a scan and nothing significant came up.

 

[Numenorean]

No, Windows. I haven't had A/V installed on any system I've owned in the past 6 years. For fun I've installed one and ran a scan and nothing significant came up.

But even if you have only a cookie that turns up, then you're system must be reformatted because it's so infected and unclean and fucked up!!

 

[MotionMan]

But even if you have only a cookie that turns up, then you're system must be reformatted because it's so infected and unclean and fucked up!!

True. Cookies are bad for you, IRL and on your computer.

MotionMan

 

[cronos]

MSE on Windows computers, and none on the Macbook.

 

[dpodblood]

Yes. On all of my machines. If I were running Mac or Linux I would as well. There's no reason not to have an AV.

 

[Saint Nick]

Yes. On all of my machines. If I were running Mac or Linux I would as well. There's no reason not to have an AV.

Yes there is, such as "it makes your PC run like shit".

 

[crownjules]

Yes there is, such as "it makes your PC run like shit".

Don't use bad AV products.

 

[Saint Nick]

Don't use bad AV products.

I just don't use them.

 

[Veliko]

Yes there is, such as "it makes your PC run like shit".

Your PC must be a 486 if AV makes it run slow.

 

[Saint Nick]

Your PC must be a 486 if AV makes it run slow.

Actually its a 386, nice try though. Oh, and it's ENHANCED.

In all seriousness, I have an old PC and can't afford to buy a new one. And I don't surf shady websites/download porn torrents.

 

[Zeze]

Long ago, I hated AV because they slowed shit down so much.

It's not a problem anymore in modern PCs. I have Avast running 24/7 and the report shows I never got a virus to begin with.

 

[Deeko]

Windows - I never ran one, and never got viruses. I have one now, because my work requires it to connect through their VPN.

 

[dpodblood]

I don't have any performance issue as a result of running an AV. I you do I would recommend getting a better machine, or a better AV. Even if you are a safe surfer you aren't protected. Even legit sites are prone to external attack.

 

[D1gger]

On my Mac Laptop - No
On my Linux Desktop - No
On my 6 x Win 7 PC's - Yes (MSE on all of them)

 

[Electric Amish]

Yes (MSE) on Windows.

 

[BW86]

yes on my windows machine, no on my linux machine

 

[lord_emperor]

Windows 7 + Avast Free
Mint 10 + none

 

[lsv]

I haven't used an A/V in 10 years. I've not had a virus in over 10 years.

Don't be stupid and you'll be fine

 

[ShawnD1]

Stupid thread is stupid. Microsoft Security Essentials automatically installs itself through Windows Update if you don't already have anything installed.

The only people who don't know this are CRIMINALS who STOLE THEIR SOFTWARE on Torrent WebSites.

 

[gophins72]

i have it on all my machines and would even if i had a mac/linux box running.

 

[HAL9000]

Stupid thread is stupid.

Stupid anything is stupid by definition. That's why it's called stupid.

 

[Brainonska511]

I haven't used an A/V in 10 years. I've not had a virus in over 10 years.

Don't be stupid and you'll be fine

And what do you do if a legit site is compromised in some way?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Stupid thread is stupid. Microsoft Security Essentials automatically installs itself through Windows Update if you don't already have anything installed.

The only people who don't know this are CRIMINALS who STOLE THEIR SOFTWARE on Torrent WebSites.

Just because it's in windows update, doesn't mean you have to install it .

 

[ShawnD1]

Just because it's in windows update, doesn't mean you have to install it .

The default setting is for Windows Update to install absolutely everything.


The only reason Windows Update is total fail is because the default check time is something like 3AM, when nobody in the entire world has the computer running. I checked how many updates were available for my dad's computer and it was something ridiculous like 60 updates. The thing doesn't even bother to check for updates immediately after it misses the scheduled check time, and it will miss the schedule time every single time because nobody leaves the computer running at 3AM!!

 

[Aikouka]

I usually never install anti-virus, because I tend to use add-ons for Firefox like NoScript and AdBlock Plus. They aren't perfect, but they can usually avoid malicious ads, which can appear on sites like Anandtech. Actually, didn't Anandtech have a malicious ad on the site a year or two ago? Sometimes they slip into the rotation.

I did get an odd message sent from my Twitter account to my friend, but I know I did not send it. Curious if maybe my methods of prevention and tech know-how had failed to block an intrusion, I installed the free Microsoft Security Essentials, and all it found was the mIRC installer (it has some tool built-in to allow it to present a piece of software to install in tandem with mIRC -- optional of course). So, I had no actual problems. I don't mind having it installed though... I just turn off automated scanning and let it sit there.

I also don't use a software firewall... usually the fact that a router tends to block unwarranted traffic works well enough for me.

EDIT:

it will miss the schedule time every single time because nobody leaves the computer running at 3AM!!

Three of my computers are usually running 24/7; however, I turned off automatic install and told it to only alert me to updates being available.

Although, I installed a few updates yesterday, and it was odd... my machine sat there on the "Shutting down..." screen for about 10 minutes . I literally walked over, updated my server, restarted it and had it back on the desktop and my main desktop still wasn't done. I just powered it off incorrectly, but I'm wondering why. I used to have an old machine that did this (it literally took 5 minutes to restart), and the problem went away after I replaced a video card (I think).