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Consider a case:

  • If I don't download new things.
  • If I don't install or copy anything from external resource.

  • If my PC is isolated from external resources like (CD, pen-drive, floppy, etc.)

  • I only use a browser to surf the Internet, and nothing else.

In this case can a person close the antivirus program?

What do you think?

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Actually, this is not far from: superuser.com/questions/9033/why-do-i-need-an-antivirus – nik Sep 24 '09 at 15:13
It's hard to imagine that you would have no need to download anything new. Maybe you are set for this year, but software will continue to change, along with your perception of what your computer can do for you. – Eric Wilson Sep 24 '09 at 15:24
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You NEED an Antivirus. You don't NEED a firewall. Even browsing certain sites will give you a virus. – Breakthrough Sep 24 '09 at 16:45
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@muntoo I don't mean to be so direct, but your example could not be further from the truth. A good firewall prevents those people trying to sneak in through the cracks in your fortress. Eventually the guards might find them, eventually they might not. The point is, get rid of the cracks, and they stop sneaking in. Disable all unnecessary network services (which for most people is everything except basic TCP/IP), and you will find your system more secure then a lot of people WITH firewalls - reason being, your system simply doesn't respond to unnecessary network protocol requests of any kind. – Breakthrough Jun 22 '11 at 2:13
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closed as not constructive by Sathya♦ Jun 22 '11 at 2:16

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11 Answers

up vote 8 down vote

I think you should remove me from your email contacts.

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What's your email again? – muntoo Jun 22 '11 at 2:09
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up vote 7 down vote

I only use a browser to surf the Internet, and nothing else.

Then you must at all times keep that browser updated, along with any other Internet-facing code such as browser plug-ins. Keeping the Flash, Java, Windows Media Player, QuickTime, Real, Office and Acrobat plug-ins all up-to-date is a pain, so just don't install the ones you don't need. (You probably don't need any of those except Flash, and Flashblock can limit the damage from that.)

Otherwise you're going to get hit by browser exploits and be infected. Avoiding dodgy porn sites won't help you; even if you only view “trusted” sites, they can be hacked or include adverts from a malicious source. There are many, many examples of big mainstream sites leading to browser exploits.

And here's the point: today's antivirus isn't going to protect you. There is an enormous amount of exploit code and payload out there and it's being updated every day to keep it out of antivirus software definitions. This is a huge industry and antivirus is not at all keeping up. New web sploits I submit to virustotal are often seeing single-digit detection rates.

If you get hit, you're likely to have a number of different payloads installed, including stealthy ones like rootkits. The chances of your antivirus software correctly detecting and removing all of them are slim. So if you want to be safe, you'd have to reinstall your OS. At which point having the antivirus software running has gained you nothing. And probably cost you in performance degradation, reliability and endless false positives, even if not in monetary cost if it's a free one.

So, feel free to go without antivirus. Not because you're safe without it, but because you're not safe even with it. All it is doing is making you feel good that you're doing something about viruses.

Antivirus sucks in 2009.

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Good point... Every single person that I've helped that has gotten a virus was running an anti-virus at the time. – Will Eddins Sep 24 '09 at 15:35
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I agree. Plus AV software is really closing the barn door after the horse has run out. However - AV software still helps limit the spread between computers and the AV providers are usually pretty good about providing tools to help clean up if you do get infected. – DaveParillo Sep 24 '09 at 15:48
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While these are good points, it should be pointed out that while an anti-virus won't keep you completely safe, it will greatly improve your chances of keeping your computer clean. For example, if you use something like Microsoft Security Essentials (which is free), you are protecting yourself from the viruses that it does have definitions for with little cost to performance. Saying you shouldn't run anti-virus software because there are viruses that it can't get is like saying you shouldn't wear a seat belt because there are car crashes that can still kill you, even while wearing it. – TwentyMiles Mar 3 '10 at 21:35
I would still run some free light weight AV (security essentials) and realize that it is just a tiny part of security, and not terribly effective. – spowers Mar 3 '10 at 22:15
I disagree with your antivirus-doesn't-help: Avast! doesn't degrade performance (it's one of their selling points - being the lightest good antivirus around). It's virus detection (zero-day) isn't top-notch, but it's been rapidly improving over the years, so I put my trust in it. – muntoo Jun 22 '11 at 1:56
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up vote 3 down vote

If you're on the Internet and running Windows it's important. There are lot's of sites that are inadvertently hosting malicious software and it only takes one little trojan to hit your PC and you will be in a world of pain. Drive by downloads where things install themselves just by you visiting a site would be a particular worry even if you never downloaded anything yourself.

Just download yourself a copy of AVG and you'll be much safer, or if surfing is really all you want to do install Ubuntu and then surf to your heart's content.

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up vote 2 down vote

Even if you're only surfing sites you trust, it is still important to have antivirus protection as the criminals like to target the most trusted sites on the Internet. If they get something through CNN, Fox News, or even Super User, it can be devastating to your machine. If you have a problem with antivirus programs taking up a lot of resources on an older machine, I'd recommend (even on newer machines) downloading Avast as it is free, lightweight, and an excellent solution for Windows users.

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up vote 2 down vote

Gross oversimplification ahoy:

As of 2010, do you use any software that communicates with the internet at large and let this software run arbitrary code on your machine?

A web browser counts twice--once for Javascript, once for Flash plugin. And guess what's installed by default on Windows? Flash.

If you run Windows, you need some sort of anti-virus/anti-malware protection as part of a blended defense strategy. Period.

I browse legit sites only (because I'm at work) on a Windows box--and I have still gotten a trojan delivered via a bad Flash ad. The anti-virus caught it.

Home? I'm not so worried. Noscript + No Flash + Linux usually stops attacks in their tracks. And if it gets really bad I'll break out the sparc32 box. Run code on that, kiddies.

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Flash isn't installed by default on Windows. (I don't know about Windows 7, but earlier OSes don't have Flash by default.) – muntoo Jun 22 '11 at 2:08
XP installs flash by default. – Broam Jun 22 '11 at 16:14
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up vote 0 down vote

It depends on your operating system. A Unix based systems such as Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X, or BSD can exist without antivirus, even if you are allowing yourself to do more than just surfing. But that other very popular operating system from Redmond, Washington... not so much, buy a good antivirus package.

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Linux isn't invulnerable. But, yeah, it should be OK for what he's doing. – muntoo Jun 22 '11 at 2:07
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up vote 0 down vote

Since even good sites (like the New York Times) sometimes spread viruses, you must have a good antivirus protection, install all security updates (for your OS and all your applications) plus you should have a firewall, too.

Currently (Sept. 2009), most attacks come from sites using Flash, manipulated PDF files and malicious IFRAMEs that hackers inserted into good sites.

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up vote 0 down vote

What I'd do:

  • Install Firefox or Chrome; they're two of the most secure browsers around.
    • Chrome's sandbox pwns. (Chrome hadn't been exploited at Pwn2Own for three years in a row - despite Google's whopping $20000 offer.)
    • Firefox's NoScript is a lot less annoying than Chrome's NotScripts.
  • Install a "FlashBlock" or "NoScript" (NotScripts) like add-on or extension
  • Install Avast! - Free, offers good protection, and doesn't really degrade your system performance (not on my ~5-year-old machine, anyways).
  • Remove unnecessary Services. TweakHound has a good guide.

I asked a question at Skeptics.SE earlier. It shows that AVs actually do help - a lot. They're not going to help if you've insulted Kevin Mitnick, of course, but you're OK otherwise.

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up vote 0 down vote

as already mentioned by far more people here in the thread use antivirus only on windows box i suggest clamwin in any other case

  1. do you need the software you want to use ?
  2. why is there a need to check the software you use for viri ?
  3. do not use browsers that use scripting, look around and see that most of it is not necessary
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up vote 0 down vote

Don't run Windows under an administrator account for normal use. Log in as administrator or elevate privileges only when needed.

Where I work at, we use Symantec AV, but things like "XP Antivirus 2010" still get through. However, since the user isn't a local admin on the machine, I can usually clean up the mess.

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up vote -1 down vote

It depends on the browsing habits. Good browsing habits = no need for protection.

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Good browsing habits alongside a secure web browser is all you need. – Matthew Ruston Sep 24 '09 at 15:22
3 years with no anti-virus and never a virus across WinXP and Win7. About once a year I'll download and fire up AVG, then get reminded why I don't run an anti-virus. If you know what you're doing and don't use Internet Explorer, you're usually fine. – Will Eddins Sep 24 '09 at 15:24
-1 Since even "good" sites can be infected, good browsing habbits isn't enough anymore. – Aaron Digulla Sep 24 '09 at 15:25
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Note that good browsing habits apparently means avoiding ad-supported sites like the New York Times, or at least suppressing all ads. Something unpleasant (don't remember what) got through there recently. Fortunately, my wife was using a Mac at the time. – David Thornley Sep 24 '09 at 15:29
As commented here here: superuser.com/questions/18847/… the benefit of an anti-virus and the danger of the internet has been far exaggerated by norton and mcafee for obvious reasons. That said, things are much better now than 5-10 years ago, when yes, an anti-virus probably would have been good to have. Now I just don't care. – Will Eddins Sep 24 '09 at 15:30
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