Vista - Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

I have just about had it with all antivirus programs. They slow down my
system, they cause problems with individual programs -- for instance Adobe
Acrobat 8.1 cannot convert webpages to PDF documents when antivirus programs
are installed -- and in general they just seem to make my computing
experience much more of a headache.

I have tried Norton, AVG, Avast, McAffee, and others (free and full-paid
editions). Once I remove any of these programs from my system, it's like the
sun has come out, the rain and clouds have gone away, and everything
functions beautifully.

I know that this is an age-old question (at least in computer terms), but do
I really need an antivirus program running on my system?

Especially if I don't open any attachments from any known or unknown
senders, do I really need to have an antivirus program running in the
background? Is it really essential?

Many thanks for any and all comments!

(I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate, by the way, with Microsoft Office 2007,
and Firefox 3 as my web browser.)

you can get a virus by opening a compromised webpage so no you
don't need virus protection as long as you stay off the internet.
"husky86" <husky86@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@xxxxxx

well, you'll regret not having an antivirus when you start having problems like songs getting deleted, not being able to open task manager, etc.
virus can slow down you computer as well.

I would say an antivirus is a must. now, paid antiviruses are expensive and too heavy.
free antiviruses are better, you dont pay, they do their job pretty well, and they are not as heavy.
for example: 2 antiviruses that i've tried that are not heavy or slow down my compuer are: avast, and avira. both free.

Yes, you must have an antivirus running on your computer. I am using NOD32 antivirus with no problems and I was used panda antivirus with no problems also.
Make sure that you have enough memory installed on your system ( at least 512MB RAM ) and you don't have a hardware failure with your installed memory.

And you never attache devices to your computer
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/15/i...nally-thought/


"BigJim" <bigjim@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1eydnZ2fO6_C5T_VnZ2dnUVZ_vGdnZ2d@xxxxxx
you can get a virus by opening a compromised webpage so no you
don't need virus protection as long as you stay off the internet.
"husky86" <husky86@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@xxxxxx

I have Avast on the majority of my machines, and I have yet to see a
single machine seriously affected in terms of speed by the program -
this includes an old Celeron laptop that was given to me because the
battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore.

I can't remember who did this test, but it was determined that an
unpatched, unprotected PC (i.e., no AV, antispyware, etc.) wouldn't last
more than 4 minutes before being compromised if left open on the
internet. And considering some of the news out of the Black Hat
conference in Las Vegas over the weekend (the hackers got hacked without
knowing it), that 4 minute window may be more like 2.


--
tntoak
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View this thread: http://winvistaclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18945

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:40:21 -0700, husky86 wrote:
A 'slow' system may not necessarily indicative of a particular software
program.
Monitor programs like Process Explorer, System Explorer or What's Running
can give you an indication what's running in the back ground of your
computer.
You could perform a scan with:
Kaspersky's AVPTool
http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/
There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated
several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever
you want to do a scan.
A number of experts agree that the *retail* AV version of McAfee, Norton
and Trend Micro has become cumbersome and bloated for the average user.
The major criticisms are related to stability and footprint, the most
common problem being slow-downs because of the massive system resources
these applications hog. Sadly, the new version AVG has lost is lustre and
has turned in to a resource hog as well.
No, you don't; But this is a very controversial issue! The average user
who never heard of operating system hardening etc. should use a good
quality AV application :-)

To keep it simple:

Why don't you try:
Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
--or--
ESET NOD32 3.0 Antivirus for Win XP/2000/Vista 3.0 (30 Day Trial)
http://www.eset.com/download/free_tr...wnload_int.php

PS: prior downloading/installing the AV apps. ensure that AVG is removed
from your system *completely*.
How to remove AVG Free Antivirus
http://askabouttech.com/how-to-remov...ree-antivirus/
--or--
Revo Uninstaller
http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Good luck :-)

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm going to reinstall Avast. Out of all the ones I've tried, it was the
least problematic.

Many thanks for this very helpful info!


"Kayman" wrote:

Not having an antivirus is like walking cross-country barefoot in snake &
scorpion country.
You might get lucky a few times, but eventually you'll get bit.
If you're going to use the net, you need to accept the fact there are a LOT
of people out there that want to either infect your machine (just to show
they can) or steal your data (to get your money).

There are as many opinions of what the best AV is as there are AV programs,
but use SOMETHING!!
I use Avast, AVG8, Clamwin (all free) and NOD32 (paid) on various machines.
Of the Paid AVs, NOD32 is probably among the best.
I avoid Norton/Symantec and McAfee like the plague. I think Panda is
mediocre.

"husky86" <husky86@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@xxxxxx