Taking the plunge-going antivirus-less

[lclev]

Well, you have finally convinced me. Yes, it has taken a year. I have installed and uninstalled several free antivirus products. I have decided to follow the long trail of wisdom found here and go antivirus-less (Is that even a word?)

It is so hard to do given my years with Windows. I have all Windows machines at work and as the IT I have to deal with malware issues a lot. Like for example, yesterday one of the secretaries had a fat man in a thong pop up on her screen advertising ... I'm not sure what. She flipped out and I had to explain installing all the coupon, save alerts, shopping extensions and add ons caused it. I do believe she may be cured - at least for now.

Anyway, I am going without. I actually had four different times I caught a problem and it was all from unsolicited emails with attachments that would have only affected a Windows computer and I would have deleted them first anyway. I never had a system scan show a problem. I always am very careful about where I go on the internet and what I download. I do run Ghostry and Adblock plus.

And I think I am still trying to reassure my self I made the right decision. Is there some sort of 12 step program of recovery for former Windows users? There should be. Just sayin'...

Lisa

 

[pigoo3]

Join the crowd (or at least me). I haven't run anti-virus on my Mac's since Mac OS X was released 12-13 years ago!

Some day...maybe we will need to run AV on our Mac's. Until then...my Mac's are running "AV-naked"! Whoo-Hoo!

- Nick

p.s. Or at least running "AV-naked"...not counting the "stuff"/features already built into Mac OS X.

 

[harryb2448]

Me too for the crowd.

No antivirus software since OS X.1 in 2001!

 

[lclev]

Well it took a year of reading on this forum and digesting the arguments that finally convinced me. I was also reassured that Apple addressed the iWorm threat by updating xProtect quickly and quietly. So different from Microsoft.

Lisa

 

[chas_m]

Bear in mind that there is still Xprotect, an anti-malware agent built right into the OS and silently updated.

This will not protect you from manually downloading things you shouldn't and giving them your admin password for installing (at least not in the very early days of such a thing), but it will block any attempt at known malware injections. Also, if you use Flash or Java, remember to keep them bang up-to-date, as this is where a LOT of security compromises come from.

 

[RadDave]

Well, you have finally convinced me. Yes, it has taken a year. I have installed and uninstalled several free antivirus products. I have decided to follow the long trail of wisdom found here and go antivirus-less (Is that even a word?)

It is so hard to do given my years with Windows. I have all Windows machines at work and as the IT I have to deal with malware issues a lot. Like for example, yesterday one of the secretaries had a fat man in a thong pop up on her screen advertising ... I'm not sure what. She flipped out and I had to explain installing all the coupon, save alerts, shopping extensions and add ons caused it. I do believe she may be cured - at least for now.

Anyway, I am going without. I actually had four different times I caught a problem and it was all from unsolicited emails with attachments that would have only affected a Windows computer and I would have deleted them first anyway. I never had a system scan show a problem. I always am very careful about where I go on the internet and what I download. I do run Ghostry and Adblock plus.

And I think I am still trying to reassure my self I made the right decision. Is there some sort of 12 step program of recovery for former Windows users? There should be. Just sayin'....

Hi Lisa - I've been 'aviral' for 18 months - switched to Apple products early last year (after retirement - before tied to PCs since the mid-80s) - boy, I was irritated for years worrying about malware on my computers and also for paying mainly Symantec for AV subscriptions - AND, when I frequented an excellent PC forum (CyberTechHelp) having to use their 'Malware Forum' to occasionally 'clean' my computers - it has been a relief - maybe we can start a 'Windows Anonymous' group -

Now that image bolded above made me chuckle! Had to google an image to match - Dave
.

 

[lclev]

Dave! You are soooooo BAD! I do not even know what to say about that picture. Sigh.....

On a serious note. I do really pay attention on this forum. As a result, I update Java and Flash when there is an update. I also have them set to require a click play first which I like a lot. I have found I don't miss all the side videos playing there ads. I am very very careful about downloading. And I back up nightly.

Lisa

 

[RadDave]

Dave! You are soooooo BAD! I do not even know what to say about that picture. Sigh.....

On a serious note. I do really pay attention on this forum. As a result, I update Java and Flash when there is an update. I also have them set to require a click play first which I like a lot. I have found I don't miss all the side videos playing there ads. I am very very careful about downloading. And I back up nightly.

Hi again Lisa - it is amazing how many images like that are now on the internet (and forever!) - still chuckling - my son is an IT guy in Indianapolis (works for a national company so he has to do a lot of remote takeover of computers to correct problems in other cities - he has many 'funny' stories). Dave

 

[lclev]

I can only imagine. I find interesting stuff on computers all the time at work.

Lisa

 

[Luther Mac]

Well, you have finally convinced me. Yes, it has taken a year. I have installed and uninstalled several free antivirus products. I have decided to follow the long trail of wisdom found here and go antivirus-less (Is that even a word?)

It is so hard to do given my years with Windows. I have all Windows machines at work and as the IT I have to deal with malware issues a lot. Like for example, yesterday one of the secretaries had a fat man in a thong pop up on her screen advertising ... I'm not sure what. She flipped out and I had to explain installing all the coupon, save alerts, shopping extensions and add ons caused it. I do believe she may be cured - at least for now.

Anyway, I am going without. I actually had four different times I caught a problem and it was all from unsolicited emails with attachments that would have only affected a Windows computer and I would have deleted them first anyway. I never had a system scan show a problem. I always am very careful about where I go on the internet and what I download. I do run Ghostry and Adblock plus.

And I think I am still trying to reassure my self I made the right decision. Is there some sort of 12 step program of recovery for former Windows users? There should be. Just sayin'...

Lisa

My dad was a IT. Studied computer sciences during the beginning of the internet explosion of the 90s.

Told me then that companies like Norton were the one's responsible for most the BS on the net. Told me never to install their software and never download any crap or click a link I shouldnt and I'd never have a problem.

15+ years plus of NEVER once using anti-virus software for myself. And NEVER once have I ever had a virus.

I've had the occasional hiccup (a bad extension in chrome or malware from Napster downloaded songs way back when) but never anything that has cost me data or privacy.

Anti-Virus is a scam.

 

[RadDave]

My dad was a IT. Studied computer sciences during the beginning of the internet explosion of the 90s.

Told me then that companies like Norton were the one's responsible for most the BS on the net. Told me never to install their software and never download any crap or click a link I shouldnt and I'd never have a problem.

15+ years plus of NEVER once using anti-virus software for myself. And NEVER once have I ever had a virus.

I've had the occasional hiccup (a bad extension in chrome or malware from Napster downloaded songs way back when) but never anything that has cost me data or privacy.

Anti-Virus is a scam.

Good advice but would comment on the statement above in bold - not for Windows users - Dave

 

[nickyr]

said goodbye to AV software 7 years ago when I switched to Apple.

My daughter has a windows laptop which she needs for school but I have preached safe internet habits to her so we rely on MS's own product rather than getting anything else.

I have a little chuckle in work every Thursday at 10am when the AV starts to scan and runs and runs and runs for about 3 hours and think if only they had Macs....

 

[cwa107]

I don't run any active-scanning AV, but I do occasionally run the BitDefender (free from the Mac App Store) and have it do a full scan on my machine. Though it has found stuff (mostly Windows-based malware in spam emails), it has never once found anything Mac-specific.

I've been using Macs since they jumped to Intel way back when and I've never had any cause for concern, though I do run AV on my Windows machines.

 

[Luther Mac]

Good advice but would comment on the statement above in bold - not for Windows users - Dave

I guess I should have clarified...

I was a loyal Windows user from '95ish to 2012

Had a brief affair with Linux, cool hobby but I dont have the time for it. Love Android.

Only been a Mac guy for about 2 years.

So the majority of my life Ive been using Windows. And Ive NEVER used Anti-Virus software. With as much internet surfing as Ive done and as much music downloading as I used to do... I dont think it's just a coincidence that Ive never had a issue.

In fact, nobody in our family that my dad has built a computer for has ever had a issue.

The only ones that have had problems are the ones that use Norton's and/or similar products. FWIW.

 

[pigoo3]

I was a loyal Windows user from '95ish to 2012

So the majority of my life Ive been using Windows. And Ive NEVER used Anti-Virus software. With as much internet surfing as Ive done and as much music downloading as I used to do... I dont think it's just a coincidence that Ive never had a issue.

That's pretty amazing...considering the mountain of risks that seem to be out there for Windows only users. I'm betting that you are MUCH MUCH more savvy than the average Windows only user...and you are able to steer clear of the most/all of the common virus/malware hazzards on the internet & email.

- Nick

 

[lclev]

....15+ years plus of NEVER once using anti-virus software for myself. And NEVER once have I ever had a virus.

I've had the occasional hiccup (a bad extension in chrome or malware from Napster downloaded songs way back when) but never anything that has cost me data or privacy.

Anti-Virus is a scam.

And I am very glad you have had so little problems. I wish I could say the same. I unfortunately, work with people who are not so cautious and in a Windows environment. When I first came on staff as IT, I had to educate them about all kinds of things. I have had to chase down numerous virus/malware issues. Truthfully, I am not all that convinced that any anti-virus program works that well but most do help with email scanning and that seems to be the biggest potential area of infection.

I had one incident happen when my boss click on an email attachment file that changed all the file extensions to exe while hiding the original files. It was a W32 worm. She thought the email came from someone she expected to get a pdf from but she didn't really look at the file extension name. She did realize she had a problem and I was able to get to it quickly, which help minimize the damage.

It started to travel to all the shares on her computer and got to one of my servers before I shut it down and took it off-line. It created files like sexy.exe and porn.exe and let me tell you, in a church environment that got everyone hopping! I will say it made for a long night for me. And it was a Kaspersky tool that finally removed all of it on the server and one infected computer. And I had good uninfected backups. Never discount a good backup!

So to say there is no need for anti-virus on a Windows computer is just not true IMO. I have not found all inclusive suites that cost a fortune to be worth it. They are resource hogs IMO. But a good (and there are some free ones) virus program can be an asset.

Lisa

 

[Luther Mac]

That's pretty amazing...considering the mountain of risks that seem to be out there for Windows only users. I'm betting that you are MUCH MUCH more savvy than the average Windows only user...and you are able to steer clear of the most/all of the common virus/malware hazzards on the internet & email.

- Nick

I think part of the key was I never used Microsoft Outlook as my email client. I was warned of that early on and stayed away.

But yeah, having a basic understanding of how computers work goes a long way, and most people dont have that understanding. They will click on anything and download at will and it creates a whole bunch of problems that no AV software is going to fix anyways.

Hearing all the IT nitemare stories my dad would tell went a long way. All he did was go around his company and fix secrataries computers that shouldnt have gotten messed up in the first place. All user created problems.

 

[Luther Mac]

And I am very glad you have had so little problems. I wish I could say the same. I unfortunately, work with people who are not so cautious and in a Windows environment. When I first came on staff as IT, I had to educate them about all kinds of things. I have had to chase down numerous virus/malware issues. Truthfully, I am not all that convinced that any anti-virus program works that well but most do help with email scanning and that seems to be the biggest potential area of infection.

I had one incident happen when my boss click on an email attachment file that changed all the file extensions to exe while hiding the original files. It was a W32 worm. She thought the email came from someone she expected to get a pdf from but she didn't really look at the file extension name. She did realize she had a problem and I was able to get to it quickly, which help minimize the damage.

It started to travel to all the shares on her computer and got to one of my servers before I shut it down and took it off-line. It created files like sexy.exe and porn.exe and let me tell you, in a church environment that got everyone hopping! I will say it made for a long night for me. And it was a Kaspersky tool that finally removed all of it on the server and one infected computer. And I had good uninfected backups. Never discount a good backup!

So to say there is no need for anti-virus on a Windows computer is just not true IMO. I have not found all inclusive suites that cost a fortune to be worth it. They are resource hogs IMO. But a good (and there are some free ones) virus program can be an asset.

Lisa

Case in point... the type of stories my dad used to tell!!!

I feel your pain.

I guess when I hear these stories I interpret them differently than most people. I hear it as USER ERROR and their is not a bit of software out there that can prevent stupid.

Most people want to be able to be cavalier on the net and then have software that can either protect them or clean up the mess. Im not one of those people hahaha.

 

[harryb2448]

Back in Classic days, OS 7, 8 and 9, Nortons had excellent AV software, and cleaning utilities also, but Symantec buying out Peter Norton and the arrival of OS X based on Unix saw that need pass.

 

[Collin Bl]

Well, since my first Mac, last Century, have never installed AV software or in fact had an issue.
But i do like Little Snitch keeping an eye on things, that along with Ghostery and Click to Flash