Jim Roseberry
 
 
First, Everyone should have an up-to-date backup image file of their DAW's boot HD.
That's the ultimate protection against infection (and many other issues).
The odds of being infected from visiting trusted audio specific sites for downloads/authorizations are minute.
Sending and Receiving Email is a whole different ballgame.  That increases odds of infection exponentially.
 

Not to belabor the point but, even a safe site can be a target of an attack resulting in malicious software finding its way onto a visitor's PC. It's happened with major sites such as Yahoo!. I don't go online for a minute without AV running. The back-up image you mention is really important. If the stuff hits the fan you can go back in time so to speak.