Windows Vista Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

  • Thread starter Thread starter husky86
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Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

On Aug 13, 5:16 pm, Ringmaster <big...@VistaGeneralCircus.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:04:37 -0700 (PDT), snooker...@gmail.com wrote:
> >You guys say you
> >can get a virus just from a website, like what kind of site ?
>
> Almost any kind of site, which is the point, you never know.
>
> >Because I have surf and view many sites without getting a virus.
>
> If you don't use a Virus checker how do you know you haven't picked up
> a Virus? Many, especially Trojans and worms, (not a true virus) lie in
> wait and may be secretly infecting your system allowing some remote
> user to hijack it and no, you would never know unless you knew how to
> check.
>
> >If you mean sites from  porn or anything like that I can see why but
> >where if not ?
>
> Anywhere.
>
> >I want to open one of these site and see if I get a
> >virus , Yes I am asking to be infected . So where are these sites
> >normal people would get just by surfing the internet at ? Thanks
>
> Ok, you want to volunteer. Go visit the following newsgroup:

Because my computer has never gave me one problem . All my data is
there . All my programs work good . I have no problems at all . If I
had a virus wouldn't I notice something odd ?
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:04:51 +0100, Steve Thackery wrote:

>>> Everybody apart from me says "yes, you must have an antivirus program".
>>
>> A pompous remark.
>
> You what? When I wrote my reply, every other reply to the OP said "yes", so
> I was the only one who said no.

No, you were not!
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

Hi,

I too would suggest to have one though it cannot replace any of the already
suggested good safe computing practices.

I tend to see it also as one of the last line of defense for whatever reason
one got infected, it could help to quickly resolve and/or minimize the
damages, similar to the passive defense systems in a car (e.g. seat belt,
air bag).

Career criminals spend days and nights to come up with new viruses, and most
of us don't have the time, resources, skills, and knowledge to catch up with
them, so why not let security experts deal with them?

My two cents.


"husky86" <husky86@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@microsoft.com...
>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.)
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

husky86 wrote:
> I have just about had it with all antivirus programs.


You've actually tried all of the many dozens of antivrus products
available? I'm impressed. How many years did it take?


> They slow down my
> system,


Some do, yes.


> ... they cause problems with individual programs

Again, a very few can do so, yes.

> ... -- for instance Adobe
> Acrobat 8.1 cannot convert webpages to PDF documents when antivirus programs
> are installed


That is completely untrue.

>... -- and in general they just seem to make my computing
> experience much more of a headache.
>


That's true of any software that one doesn't learn to configure and use
properly.


> 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?
>


Not as long as you never, ever connect to the Internet, another network
of any kind, or have any way of inserting removable media (CDs, DVDs,
thumb drives, floppy disks, etc), no. Otherwise, yes.


> 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?
>

Attachments are just one of many infection vectors.


There are several essential components to computer security: a
knowledgeable and pro-active user, a properly configured firewall,
reliable and up-to-date antivirus software, and the prompt repair (via
patches, hotfixes, or service packs) of any known vulnerabilities.

The weakest link in this "equation" is, of course, the computer
user. No software manufacturer can -- nor should they be expected
to -- protect the computer user from him/herself. All too many people
have bought into the various PC/software manufacturers marketing
claims of easy computing. They believe that their computer should be
no harder to use than a toaster oven; they have neither the
inclination or desire to learn how to safely use their computer. All
too few people keep their antivirus software current, install patches
in a timely manner, or stop to really think about that cutesy link
they're about to click.

Firewalls and anti-virus applications, which should always be used
and should always be running, are important components of "safe hex,"
but they cannot, and should not be expected to, protect the computer
user from him/herself. Ultimately, it is incumbent upon each and
every computer user to learn how to secure his/her own computer.

To learn more about practicing "safe hex," start with these links:

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp

Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/

List of Antivirus Software Vendors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;49500

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:58:36 -0700 (PDT), snooker416@gmail.com wrote:

>On Aug 13, 5:16 pm, Ringmaster <big...@VistaGeneralCircus.net> wrote:
>> On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:04:37 -0700 (PDT), snooker...@gmail.com wrote:
>> >You guys say you
>> >can get a virus just from a website, like what kind of site ?
>>
>> Almost any kind of site, which is the point, you never know.
>>
>> >Because I have surf and view many sites without getting a virus.
>>
>> If you don't use a Virus checker how do you know you haven't picked up
>> a Virus? Many, especially Trojans and worms, (not a true virus) lie in
>> wait and may be secretly infecting your system allowing some remote
>> user to hijack it and no, you would never know unless you knew how to
>> check.
>>
>> >If you mean sites from  porn or anything like that I can see why but
>> >where if not ?
>>
>> Anywhere.
>>
>> >I want to open one of these site and see if I get a
>> >virus , Yes I am asking to be infected . So where are these sites
>> >normal people would get just by surfing the internet at ? Thanks
>>
>> Ok, you want to volunteer. Go visit the following newsgroup:
>
>Because my computer has never gave me one problem . All my data is
>there . All my programs work good . I have no problems at all . If I
>had a virus wouldn't I notice something odd ?

Not necessarily. A virus may do nothing really harmful and just be
annoying like pop up some moronic message. Then again a certain
element of creeps are devoted to causing mischief. I got interrupted
before and had to step away from the computer then sent the message
before I was finished by mistake.

What I was going to say is there are several newsgroups devoted to
serious hackers who live to cause mischief. I haven't looked on them
for years so don't know how active the newsgroup is now.

alt.hackers.malicious.

Some VERY nasty but also very clever cut throat guys used to hang out
there. There are other groups as well. Visit if you still have
questions why having some anti-virus protection is a wise choice.
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

=?Utf-8?B?aHVza3k4Ng==?= <husky86@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@microsoft.com:

> 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?

If you religiously back up your important documents/photos/music, etc and
always use UAC, and never elevate, i would say no, its not essential.

As long as you're a non-priviliged user, and running any virii in that
context; the worse that can happen is a loss of data, which you've backed
up, on disconnect media, right?

Z.


--
Please remove my_pants when replying by email.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:07:59 -0700, "xfile" <coucou@nospam.com> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I too would suggest to have one though it cannot replace any of the already
>suggested good safe computing practices.
>
>I tend to see it also as one of the last line of defense for whatever reason
>one got infected, it could help to quickly resolve and/or minimize the
>damages, similar to the passive defense systems in a car (e.g. seat belt,
>air bag).
>
>Career criminals spend days and nights to come up with new viruses, and most
>of us don't have the time, resources, skills, and knowledge to catch up with
>them, so why not let security experts deal with them?
>
>My two cents.

There used to be newsgroups with malicious or 2600 in their name that
were hangouts for some of the more nasty goofballs that spend their
time writing malicious code, some of it downright nasty. If they're
still active or not I don't know, but for sure some of their exploits
they openly discussed would make for interesting reading. ;-)
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

> There used to be newsgroups with malicious or 2600 in their name that
> were hangouts for some of the more nasty goofballs that spend their
> time writing malicious code, some of it downright nasty. If they're
> still active or not I don't know, but for sure some of their exploits
> they openly discussed would make for interesting reading. ;-)

Hi,

Thanks for sharing and I'm sure that they are out there, waiting and
hunting.

In your other post, you are right about "A virus may do nothing really
harmful [...]", or rather, *noticeably* harmful things, as newer viruses are
designed to be stealth (and why do they need to notify people for what they
are doing?) and a common example is to *borrow* the person's address book
and attach itself to a message and send out to all recipients without the
person's knowledge, and in this case, it's the chain effect that we might
want to consider.

I think this will be an endless debate, but I admit that I've been brain
washed to think about the worst case scenarios and even second-to-second's
backup cannot help for critical information leaked from the computer.


"Ringmaster" <bigtop@VistaGeneralCircus.net> wrote in message
news:2757a4t0e26ikmeu9hoalt57r1m9nnjqqm@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:07:59 -0700, "xfile" <coucou@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I too would suggest to have one though it cannot replace any of the
>>already
>>suggested good safe computing practices.
>>
>>I tend to see it also as one of the last line of defense for whatever
>>reason
>>one got infected, it could help to quickly resolve and/or minimize the
>>damages, similar to the passive defense systems in a car (e.g. seat belt,
>>air bag).
>>
>>Career criminals spend days and nights to come up with new viruses, and
>>most
>>of us don't have the time, resources, skills, and knowledge to catch up
>>with
>>them, so why not let security experts deal with them?
>>
>>My two cents.
>
> There used to be newsgroups with malicious or 2600 in their name that
> were hangouts for some of the more nasty goofballs that spend their
> time writing malicious code, some of it downright nasty. If they're
> still active or not I don't know, but for sure some of their exploits
> they openly discussed would make for interesting reading. ;-)
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

> > ... -- for instance Adobe
> > Acrobat 8.1 cannot convert webpages to PDF documents when antivirus programs
> > are installed
>
>
> That is completely untrue.

Be careful what you proclaim as "completely untrue."

Whenever I have had AVG installed (my latest antivirus trial run), for
example, Adobe Acrobat would go through the regular process of converting a
webpage to a PDF document; however, it would never actually produce the
document itself -- it was never able to actually bring anything to fruition
(and there was no PDF file created in the location I chose as a part of that
process). It's like the computer was working very hard to bring about...
absolutely nothing.

I contacted Adobe and went through 30 minutes of technical support
step-by-step. Nothing resolved the program... with the exception of the
removal of AVG.

Once AVG was removed, everything functioned perfectly with Acrobat.

I am certainly not saying that my experience is common. But it is very much
true.
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

husky86 wrote:
>>> ... -- for instance Adobe
>>> Acrobat 8.1 cannot convert webpages to PDF documents when antivirus programs
>>> are installed
>>
>> That is completely untrue.
>
> Be careful what you proclaim as "completely untrue."
>
> Whenever I have had AVG installed (my latest antivirus trial run), for
> example, Adobe Acrobat would go through the regular process of converting a
> webpage to a PDF document; however, it would never actually produce the
> document itself -- it was never able to actually bring anything to fruition
> (and there was no PDF file created in the location I chose as a part of that
> process). It's like the computer was working very hard to bring about...
> absolutely nothing.
>
> I contacted Adobe and went through 30 minutes of technical support
> step-by-step. Nothing resolved the program... with the exception of the
> removal of AVG.
>
> Once AVG was removed, everything functioned perfectly with Acrobat.
>
> I am certainly not saying that my experience is common. But it is very much
> true.


True? Maybe. You've completely changed your story, now. Your
original post stated that whenever any antivirus application was
installed, Acrobat failed. Now you admit that it was just one brief
incompatibility with only one anti-virus product. That's quite a
significant omission.

Which story are we to believe?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?


snooker416;803966 Wrote:
> On Aug 13, 5:16*pm, Ringmaster <big...@xxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Because my computer has never gave me one problem . All my data is
> there . All my programs work good . I have no problems at all . If I
> had a virus wouldn't I notice something odd ?

not necessarily, you could have a trojan waiting for you to open your
bank account, then it send your credit card and bank info to the
creator.

a friend of yours that wants to know your email password could have
sent you a trojan attached to a document, to retried your password and
stuff.


--
motarola2
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?


*I run nod32 on vista x64 :D Works gr8*


--
digital_sc4rz
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

Bruce,

I'm very grateful for all the extensive information you have provided. You
have given me a lot to think about.

But I wonder what is the cause of your excessively acerbic attitude...?

AVG was only the latest antivirus experiment. I've had problems with
previous antivirus programs causing problems with Adobe Acrobat; AVG was not
exclusive in this regard. I simply didn't feel like getting into all of the
individual problems with previous antivirus programs. I supposed -- perhaps
wrongly, in your case -- that this would become rather tedious.

Next time I will attempt to be more encyclopedic. My humblest apologies.

By the way, the antivirus program preceding AVG (and causing similar
problems) was Avast. It caused the exact same problems as AVG: Acrobat would
go into this long, drawn out process of creating a PDF file from a webpage.
But ultimately nothing was produced.

"Bruce Chambers" wrote:

> husky86 wrote:
> >>> ... -- for instance Adobe
> >>> Acrobat 8.1 cannot convert webpages to PDF documents when antivirus programs
> >>> are installed
> >>
> >> That is completely untrue.
> >
> > Be careful what you proclaim as "completely untrue."
> >
> > Whenever I have had AVG installed (my latest antivirus trial run), for
> > example, Adobe Acrobat would go through the regular process of converting a
> > webpage to a PDF document; however, it would never actually produce the
> > document itself -- it was never able to actually bring anything to fruition
> > (and there was no PDF file created in the location I chose as a part of that
> > process). It's like the computer was working very hard to bring about...
> > absolutely nothing.
> >
> > I contacted Adobe and went through 30 minutes of technical support
> > step-by-step. Nothing resolved the program... with the exception of the
> > removal of AVG.
> >
> > Once AVG was removed, everything functioned perfectly with Acrobat.
> >
> > I am certainly not saying that my experience is common. But it is very much
> > true.
>
>
> True? Maybe. You've completely changed your story, now. Your
> original post stated that whenever any antivirus application was
> installed, Acrobat failed. Now you admit that it was just one brief
> incompatibility with only one anti-virus product. That's quite a
> significant omission.
>
> Which story are we to believe?
>
>
> --
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> Help us help you:
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
>
> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
>
> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
>
> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
> killed a great many philosophers.
> ~ Denis Diderot
>
 
Re: Do I Really Need an Antivirus Program?

Hi,

For covert the current web page to PDF file problem, I'm not sure if you
have tried to use File/Print and then select installed Adobe PDF printer
method.

My own experience is that the IE add-on doesn't always work well for some
reason, and I'm not sure whose fault it is, but using File/Print function
almost always work.

Hope this helps.

"husky86" <husky86@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:458663B0-E968-4B54-815E-AB59458292C8@microsoft.com...
>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.)
 

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