MSE isn't infallible.
 
My laptop was infected with a huge amount of Malware a month or 2 ago and MSE just let it all in.
 
Makawarebytes picked it all up & removed it from my system.

I have MSE and a paid avast. A computer technician told me that MSE only gives you a limited (basic) amount of protection. You do need another anti virus for more "complete" protection coverage. The good news is that MSE is happen to coexist with another antivirus. I had tried another antivirus and happen to like avast the most.

I agree that MSE doesn't do a complete job...just last week I had a virus get thru MSE from a photo editing program I downloaded..it hacked up my computer pretty bad, causing me to have to do a complete fresh install...my answer was to also install avast...now it seems to be better protected.

So there you go- MSE is perfect for a DAW which should never be used for surfing the net or downloading software!! If your prone to surfing and downloading then you defiantly need a stronger AV. And you should use some old beater of a computer for that anyhow, not your DAW. 
DAW- your best newest computer- mostly never on the internet.
Office- your second best computer - regular browsing of safe sites for banking and ordering stuff
The old beater - Use this for experimental downloads and trying out freeware first before transferring to the other 2 computers. Arm it to the teeth with AV anti malware, peer block and CCcleaner. 

Well I can't afford three computers, so I have to make do with one. I'm constantly downloading stuff for my DAW, so being off the web isn't an option for me. My solution is to have better AV protection and be very careful of what I download. MSE alone doesn't cut it, so I'm trying out Avast because of many recommendations. I may go with the paid version if it works out well over time.

Avast works well on a DAW, with either the free or the paid one.  I have used both, and both work well.
 
Bob Bone
 

Cactus Music
So there you go- MSE is perfect for a DAW which should never be used for surfing the net or downloading software!! If your prone to surfing and downloading then you defiantly need a stronger AV. And you should use some old beater of a computer for that anyhow, not your DAW. 
DAW- your best newest computer- mostly never on the internet.
Office- your second best computer - regular browsing of safe sites for banking and ordering stuff
The old beater - Use this for experimental downloads and trying out freeware first before transferring to the other 2 computers. Arm it to the teeth with AV anti malware, peer block and CCcleaner. 

This is exactly the setup I have.  My DAW will only be connected to the Internet to download updates to Windows (thanks for that advice, Bob, I was avoiding the Windows updates as well…) and SONAR, so unless SONAR servers get infected, I should be alright with Windows Security. I am about to upgrade to SONAR X3, so I'll update my Windows, Uninstall McAfee and then purchase/upgrade to X3.
 
Thank you all for chiming in.  I feel much better now about uninstalling McAfee from my DAW and look forward to launching SONAR without disabling real time protection every time.
 
Best to all and Happy Valentines Day.  Remember, if your wife/girlfriend/partner tells you that Valentines Day doesn't mean anything to them…they're lying
 
Rob

I just reformatted a customers computer (Dell laptop) that had mcafee on it.
she didn't want it in here registry anymore, she had problems once she uninstalled it.
I didn't ask or look in to it, I just re installed windows but I know its garbage AV.
 
I use free Avast. forever.

@rcrees - just to be clear, on my computer, I NEVER have to disable Avast to run Sonar.  The only time I ever suspend it is if I am downloading a full release of Sonar, or when I do a Sonar install.
 
It does its thing quite nicely in the background, with Sonar just as happily doing its thing concurrently.
 
Bob Bone
 

And, isn't the MacAfee guy the one that is wanted for allegedly murdering his neighbor, over a barking dog?
 
Bob Bone