Are anti-virus programs a real necessity?

[macdawg]

raverx3m so you only use online scanners and don't have an actual scanner installed like avg, avast, or nod32?

I want to make my response more clear, having an AV installed I think is mandatory, I just disable real time protection most of the time.

Problem with relying on just an online scanner is if you do get a virus and can't get online to scan then your screwed.

 

[Osiris]

Please read these to sources of information:

Antivirus software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (issues of concern)

http://www.semiologic.com/2005/02/24...o-help-at-all/



What do you think?

Of course for the average and uninformed user a AV is kind of the gadget that will stop you from speeding, but for those who are informed, sensible and adopt the common sense approach when accessing the www, are these kind of products really needed?

If needed is a real-time protection really required?

I am asking this because in all this time I used computers (around 10 years) I never caught a single virus. Of course I had issues in the past but they were more spyware related, and for these different applications are needed (specific antispyware programs).

Cheers

I can see it now, you get hired on some huge corporation and you decide to take off the antivirus on all the servers and install FF on all of them thinking you wont get a virus........ MAN ARE YOU IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE.

 

[raverx3m]

ya man so far i was able to get away with just an online scan which i only had to do 3 times so far rest of times i do it manually(im not a computer genius tho i just spend too much time diggin thru windows system) so i kinda know what should be in certain folders and what shouldnt i havent formatted my pc for a year as of now and it works even with my very unsafe browsing habbits
but i know AV does save time tho and sometimes stuff you cant find manually it is a very good tool i jsut cant afford it and not willing to pay for it anyway ( i dont trust them)

 

[peterhuang913]

most people i know: im not afraid of viruses, i have norton
Norton FTW /sarcasm