I also believe this virus thing to be in part a scam..But if the system goes network connect to use x..and forces all to have to use that connection, then it is up to the developers/peoples to do the due dillegence to ensure the consumer/ the system/ is 120% safe to download and use...Seeing as some of these hackers are employed by shadow governments...secret service nsa,cia, and others...hacking a company's web site , and infecting millions, to sell a product sure is a capitalistic mindset to do...just to make money, to sell, they break things or put in a detrimental...(bug)...people do things, just for that...in said system, or worse....So , yah how does one protect that?....wrte a new codex...os, and library...would be the best way to thort the ones trying to bake our systems, or use a good form of protection...which in truth none exist for what is current...so the game plays on....disconnect ..do not let mail servers run to log in to mail and download files automatically., read, delete, and choose your downloads well, and stay off the bad sites/pirate bay and such...or trying to obtain illegally something that cost....for as it is, entrapment is also profitable games played by guberment..(government/police/military).and are just waiting on those willing to try...as it is setup to entrap all.
 
now I see reason for some of this hacking and spying...as somethings needs be exposed to the light of day...so we see the whole picture, and are not deceived via propaganda, to fuel, hate towards one side or the other when it comes to making war...murder, and false judgements, using or planting evidence on certain mediums...back door trogens can do to set up a fall guy, or misdirect intelligence.....
 
be careful people....there is evil in the machine now?...yah gremlins!....cheers!

I don't use client e-mail programs now and mainly use webmail. Why should I bog my machine down with unwanted prevention software? So I use Google Mail, Outlook.com and my ISP mail. 
 
Antivirus software needs to be reinvented if you ask me where malware and online checkers would be better in the face of the usual software tools.

then it is up to the developers/peoples to do the due diligence to ensure the consumer/ the system/ is 120% safe to download and use..
 
Reasoning the situation doesn't change the situation.
 
You are talking about Microsoft. Face it the Windows operating system has far too many security holes. Go Linux if you don't feel the need to cover up/patch these holes with a virus scanner.
 
By the way, if anybody believe MS is part of the conspiracy to make their own software insecure you gotta be kidding me! Most of their market is servers and "insecure" is a word that frightens them.
 
do not let mail servers run to log in to mail and download files automatically., read, delete, and choose your downloads well,
 
In other words - guess well.... If you believe you will always 100% guess right each time then think again, one day you will make a mistake (that's when the virus scanner comes into play). But even if you guessed wrong maybe you won't even know you are infected without a scanner.
 
and stay off the bad sites/pirate bay and such.
 
Good advice but believe it or not "good sites" can get infected as well.

Sir Les
...hacking a company's web site , and infecting millions, to sell a product sure is a capitalistic mindset to do...just to make money, to sell, they break things or put in a detrimental...(bug)...

No, it is not a capitalistic mindset. It is a malicious, antisocial mindset. There is nothing inherent in Capitalism that causes people to be dishonest or unethical. This is criminal behavior, not honest business.

In answering an earlier comment about how do I know I haven't had a virus unless I had a virus scanner? Too long to explain. Bottom line is I'm sure this is the type of thinking anti-virus vendors pray we have. Sorry, I'm not biting. I've had virus software in the past and it just slowed me down. Got some good advice in case I ever decide to use it and I appreciate it. But to imply that is should be a crime "not" to have it.... You can't get me with that logic.

Whatever the reason for threats, security is a good idea.
 
How you achieve it is up to you. I use MS Essentials only.
 
If you don't know about Pidgin, you might check it out. If you couple it with OTR, it makes privacy convenient and simple.
 
Unencrypted online messaging gives away tons of personal information if you aren't careful, making Facebook, Google and Yahoo the most serious invaders of privacy. Monsters compared to any virus creator.

I never used to access the Internet on my DAW machine however with recent developments (e.g.-the "membership model") it's a lot handier to be able to do so.  I run Norton 360 on all of the other devices in my house, so I installed it on my studio machine.  Big mistake.  It totally messed with SPLAT.  I immediately uninstalled it.  Since then I have installed BitDefender Free and it is working very well.  It's very lightweight in terms of processor requirements.  I shut it off (from a user GUI window and disable the WiFi when I'm not on the internet).  I only go on to the net to run updates or make purchases that are to be installed on the DAW.   No surfing or email of any kind on the DAW! The process seems to work very well for me.
 
Dave

All I'll say is this.

There are viruses and worms which can infect a PC without the user doing anything. They propogate on networks, including the internet, and look for vulnerable computers. You don't have to find them, they come looking for you. Blaster in 2003 was an early example. Once one infects a PC it will most likely download a rootkit. You no longer own that PC, someone else does and will use it for their own ends.

If you don't want to run AV software, that's your decision. If you want to be safe in that situation don't connect to even your home LAN if any computer on it ever connects to the internet, and never let any disks or USB drives that have been in contact with anyone else's PC near any of yours. It's a big, bad world out there.

jeff oliver
In answering an earlier comment about how do I know I haven't had a virus unless I had a virus scanner? Too long to explain. Bottom line is I'm sure this is the type of thinking anti-virus vendors pray we have. Sorry, I'm not biting. I've had virus software in the past and it just slowed me down. Got some good advice in case I ever decide to use it and I appreciate it. But to imply that is should be a crime "not" to have it.... You can't get me with that logic.

So it's a myth apparently .. Well OK then...

'Too long to explain'... Oh go on... Do you have a medium or something that tells you if you are infected or not?

And of course viruses are only in peoples heads..

Trying not to laugh right now..

'Can't get me on that logic'....

Well of course viruses just happen to spread viruses...Or maybe it's a myth.. From 'them'. BTW this is reality it's not even logic...

Btw yup antivirus does slow your PC down... And? Heard of Moore's law? CPU really that important to you or are you running a PC from 1991?

Thanks for a most amusing post anyway.. Right now on my head I have this idea you must be riddled with them.. Go on install malwarebytes tell us the count... I swear you will be gobsmacked.. I have a slight feeling you are way too far away from reality. Honestly not an aggressive comment, it's true I promise you... xx

I guess it's a good question how do you know if you don't have a virus scanner. I have 2 music PC's and 2 laptops, everything is connected to the net, although the 2 PC's don't surf or have email etc, the only thing they do is things similar to Cakes CC, you know, stuff that I trust that connects and updates at my say so, never automatically, unless there is no choice, but I don't think I have anything like that. The 2 laptops that do do all the net work both run avast and that's it, nothing else. Anything that I download that isn't done from within any app/plugin, whatever on the music PC's gets scanned on the Laptops, then I pass them on to the PC's.
 
Now I don't know much about this, but As far as I know, no outside connection can be made to anything on my side of the router, without me initiating contact first, you can check whether your computer is visible on the net through sites such as Shields Up etc, and it tells me that nothing on my end responds to any of it's probes from the outside, so to anything looking to get in somewhere it appears there is nothing to get into because it gets no response. That is my simple understanding, and again I don't know much about it, don't really want to know, I am happy with that.
 
How do I know the PC's don't have a Virus ? I guess I don't because they don't have any Antivirus stuff on them, and any Windows stuff is deactivated. But I can if I choose scan them from one of the laptops, either all files or individual files, but I don't bother. I guess everything runs like clockwork, money isn't disappearing out of my bank accounts, well not unknowingly anyway ? nothing is stealing the serials and install codes for all my software (it's all encrypted anyway) if there is any virus, it's certainly not making itself known, nor is it causing me any problems that I am aware of, and that has been the case for nearly 20 years, apart from the once back in '98, which was caused by transferring an infected file of a friends zip drive, I did learn from that.
 
So, like I said, don't know much about it, know what I need to know, don't really care to know anymore until I need to, but I do know that I feel safe and comfortable running the way I am, I feel confident I don't have any nasties, and if I do they aren't causing me any problems, and haven't been for 20 years.
 
If you feel comfortable having antivirus, malware stuff, firewalls whatever, that's great, go for your life, If you feel comfortable with just an antivirus prog, that's great, go for it, and if you feel comfortable with nothing, more power to you. 
 
Everyone's situation is different, each person should know there own situation and what they need, it's up to the individual to do what they see fit. We are all responsible for our own protection on the net, so it's no good blaming Joe Blow because he doesn't have an antivirus, you are responsible for yourself, besides, NO product picks up everything, not even close.