My DAW is online most of the time (and via a wireless router), as I frequently need to move between Sonar and the t'interweb.
 
If I am tracking something important, or have other people in recording, I disable the wireless card just in case, but it's not really caused any problems - I just like to be safe.
 
I run Norton 360, and have never had any issues with it.

It amazes me so many people still use MSE and think they are protected with it.
 
The best/easiest thing to do would be to get a good virus scanner such as Avira, Avast, Bitlocker or Kaspersky and set the active real time protection off as well as every other feature it offers that would be using resources. This means you won't be protected if something hits the hard drive but if you actively scan the system every night or so, say when you sleep, you wouldn't really have to worry about it and those resources that would normally be used for AV real time protection will be freed up for audio work.

Be very wary of USB memory sticks and other removable media. At work the computers that are never connected to the Internet had the highest rate of infection until a strict offline AV patching policy was introduced.

Had my DAW connected to the Internet since dial up. Never ever had a problem. Never understood why people think it's such an issue.

wizard71
Had my DAW connected to the Internet since dial up. Never ever had a problem. Never understood why people think it's such an issue.

Fear. Plain and simple.
 
Oh yeah and the occasional horror story. 

I don't keep my DAW plugged into the net.  I do plug it in for updates and such.  Never had a problem and see no reason to change.  I've always had an "office" computer for writing and browsing and porno or whatnot.   The biggest downside is anytime I do plug into the net MS has a million updates before I can even get to the musical ones.  So I've got a couple of updates just waiting until I have time to wade through all that junk first.
 
@

I use Microsoft Security Essentials because, in my experience, it works as well as other packages but does not demand resources from your machine.  Some other security packages I have used were as bad on performance as the spyware they removed.
 
Sweetwater's PC tech recommended MS to me after Webroot let a very bad virus through.
 
As a plus, MS is free.

I think there is a level of paranoia in all of this discussion.  Don't forget, advertising and fear, probably invented by The Nazi's or at least improved on by the Nazi's-is a way to get people to buy their products and in this case anti-virus software. 
 
I honestly think this is what we are seeing here, nothing more nothing less.  Let's make people fear the big bad virus in the corner, sounds a bit like the Christian ethos and if you have sex or masturbate, you will die and Satan will have your mortal soul...of course no one has come back yet to tell us if this is so.
 
Perhaps were also seeing an interesting psychology experiment, the plodders vs the devil may care attitude. 
 
Honestly the best argument against virus software and problems being connected to the internet is me.  If I have had one virus in 14 years...actually I think it was malware and it was my fault for accidently opening a dodgy email, then in the immortal words of Peter Sellers "we must stop worrying and learn to love the bomb" ok maybe not Peter Sellers, and for all of you over 10 and don't know who Peter Sellers is or the movie, then please educate yourself.
 
But if you want to be the epitome of the paranoid nerd and not plug your computer in because of fear...or you want to fill the coffers of the guy who came up with Norton, who coincidently is now broke, and arrested in South America somewhere for "accidently" killing someone, he was paranoid...he thought someone was trying to poison his dog, or something crazy like that...you go for it.  I'm going to love the bomb.  Remember...
 
"A life lived in fear is a life not lived at all"
 
Ben   

Well, I had a virus twice in a row that set me back months and, having worked in IT for years, I knew not to open strange execs from unknown emails.  These were both (I believe) from innocent-looking links of Facebook.
 
A major corporation where I consulted just had a virus that shut down its entire help desk/customer operation for three days.
 
So, people may be overly paranoid, but these things do happen.
 
 

konradh
Well, I had a virus twice in a row that set me back months and, having worked in IT for years, I knew not to open strange execs from unknown emails.  These were both (I believe) from innocent-looking links of Facebook.
 
A major corporation where I consulted just had a virus that shut down its entire help desk/customer operation for three days.
 
So, people may be overly paranoid, but these things do happen.
 
 

Sure but most of us have two computers, one that fits into our hands.  This is the computer I tend to open most Facebook links on and emails.  Your in IT so your bound to be more of a target too...those of us who aren't only need to avoid dodgy websites and emails.  I knew the email I was opening was dodgy, it was obvious, as I was about to open another email I clicked on the dodgy one...or something along these lines.  So again 14 years one problem, that I caused.
 
Ben