1 in 6 Windows PCs Have Zero Antivirus Protection

[mobrocket]

i dont understand the point of viruses anyways
if u wanna steal someone's information

just make a social website and they will post it on there freely

 

[madooo12]

[citation][nom]bin1127[/nom]5 in 10 have zero antivirus installed or are using norton.[/citation]
actually orton makes your PC so slow that viruses can't function properly

 

[Hupiscratch]

Just try not to enlarge your penis and you'll be ok.

 

[jojesa]

[citation][nom]stinkyfax[/nom]I am one of those "1 of 10", having computer science degree I find having antivirus useless and only resource consuming (both money and performance wise).[/citation]

Antivirus and common sense should work together.
Nowadays a user could get malware just by mistyping common website addresses.

 

[zeratul600]

use linux for browsing and working, best "antivirus" ever, go back to windows when you want to do something that it's actually fun like gaming

 

[gm0n3y]

I haven't used an antivirus program for at least the past 6 years, no viruses to my knowledge. I tried MSE when I first picked up Windows 7 but it caused my PC to reboot every 10 minute or so.

 

[NuclearShadow]

I met a bet with a friend a few years back about the importance of anti-viruses vs common sense. I took the side of common sense and went without a anti-virus for a entire year. After that year was up I installed Avast, and had 0 infected files. Was challenge by him to use another anti-virus so I installed Norton (his demand not my choosing) and again nothing.

It goes to show you that the only people who really are at risk are those that put themselves in it to begin with due to ignorance. While I would recommend a anti-virus it certainly does not beat common sense. The best twist is during this year my friend is the one who had to deal with viruses despite having Norton.

 

[A Bad Day]

My parents still use McAfee OAS 2007, my mom still uses vanilla Windows xp (no service packs), and my entire family thinks SP3 is a massive malware, so my sister is still using Windows xp SP2.

And they still don't understand how hackers can modify legit websites (such as Tom's Hardware) to load malware onto visitors' computers.

[citation][nom]jojesa[/nom]Antivirus and common sense should work together.Nowadays a user could get malware just by mistyping common website addresses.[/citation]

Gone are the days of, "This is an offer from the prince of Nigeria..." or "You're the 1,000,000th visitor to the website! Click here to get a free Xbox!"

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

1 in 6 Windows PC bring in more profits then the other 5.

 

[Guest]

It would help if MSE were installed by default, and when updates come up they are marked as critical instead of optional. That way it gets taken care of automagically.

I don't know how many computers I have to fix because everyone is surprised that it doesn't update automatically.

 

[SchizoFrog]

Um, can someone explain how this is possible when windows has basic virus protection built in with 'Windows Defender' and 'Windows Firewall'? I know they are not the best, don't cover everything and most basic users don't ever bother with updates, but that still doesn't count as zero.

 

[koga73]

Woooooo I'm 1 in 6 !!!

I don't NEED anti-virus and my computer is virus free. Its about common sense. I also have several layers of protection. I have UAC set to require credentials on the secure desktop and as long as I know what I give admin privileges to I will remain safe.

Also check suspicious files with virustotal.com and run them on a virtual machine before your own.

 

[Guest]

That's better than 4 out of 5 dentists recommend.....

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]zeratul600[/nom]use linux for browsing and working, best "antivirus" ever, go back to windows when you want to do something that it's actually fun like gaming[/citation]

Many (perhaps most) games, even things such as WoW and other popular games, can be run on Linux if you know what you're doing.

[citation][nom]ddpruitt[/nom]It would help if MSE were installed by default, and when updates come up they are marked as critical instead of optional. That way it gets taken care of automagically.I don't know how many computers I have to fix because everyone is surprised that it doesn't update automatically.[/citation]

Automagically? Are you sure that you're not using a Mac? That sounds like Apple's malware protection.

[citation][nom]schizofrog[/nom]Um, can someone explain how this is possible when windows has basic virus protection built in with 'Windows Defender' and 'Windows Firewall'? I know they are not the best, don't cover everything and most basic users don't ever bother with updates, but that still doesn't count as zero.[/citation]

Neither of those are antivrus programs. Windows Firewall is a weak firewall and Defender is more of an antispyware program than a full antivirus program like MSE and the other antivirus programs. Also, many of those computers in this survey were said to not have them enabled or installed (XP and older didn't have Defender installed by default), so even if they're there, they might have not been enabled.

 

[thethirdrace]

Did I just see someone advertising to NOT get an anti-virus while bragging about his computer science degree!!! You should be stripped from you degree man, you're a shame to this profession.

Nothing is unbreakable. Even if you practice safe-surfing, you could still land on a perfectly legit web site that has been hacked and get infected. It could happen on this very site. It's not common, but it happens.

You should always have at least the bare minimum protection (MSE or any other minimal AV) and practice safe-surfing. You should restrain yourself to ask a computer advice to anyone telling you the contrary, they aren't as smart as they think.

 

[nebun]

windows had an application called Windows Defender....if you ask me that's an anti-virus/anti-malware program....this is standard with every version of the OS beginning with XP if i remember correctly

 

[iam2thecrowe]

[citation][nom]RADIO_ACTIVE[/nom]I guess I am one of the 1's. You don't need AV lol just don't be an idiot, gotta stay away from the free hermiporn sites lol[/citation]
no, you just have spyware and viruses all over your PC, you just have nothing to alert you.
Speaking of this topic, what percentage of MAC's dont have antivirus. It would be up around 70% i think

 

[lp231]

Common sense rules all AV softwares. If a person has all the AV softwares installed and they still click on stupid crap, they will still get infected.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]nebun[/nom]windows had an application called Windows Defender....if you ask me that's an anti-virus/anti-malware program....this is standard with every version of the OS beginning with XP if i remember correctly[/citation]

No, Defender is antispyware and it only came standard with every OS since Vista. For XP, it was an optional download that most people probably didn't get.

[citation][nom]iam2thecrowe[/nom]no, you just have spyware and viruses all over your PC, you just have nothing to alert you.Speaking of this topic, what percentage of MAC's dont have antivirus. It would be up around 70% i think[/citation]

The percentage is probably higher than that.

 

[beardguy]

I'm one of them

Haven't had a virus in over 10 years either. And I can confirm this because everyone once in awhile I'll install AV, run a scan to make sure, then uninstall it. I would rather deal with the risks of getting a virus then have an AV software slow my rig down.

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]thethirdrace[/nom]Did I just see someone advertising to NOT get an anti-virus while bragging about his computer science degree!!! You should be stripped from you degree man, you're a shame to this profession.Nothing is unbreakable. Even if you practice safe-surfing, you could still land on a perfectly legit web site that has been hacked and get infected. It could happen on this very site. It's not common, but it happens.You should always have at least the bare minimum protection (MSE or any other minimal AV) and practice safe-surfing. You should restrain yourself to ask a computer advice to anyone telling you the contrary, they aren't as smart as they think.[/citation]


He's right, you're wrong, and you probably don't have a degree in CS.

If you manage your data correctly, you don't need AV. If you get a virus, for whatever reason, you can always redo the machine easily enough. A computer with sensitive data should not be on the internet very often, and everything should be backed up.

It's the risk/reward. The reward of not having to deal with some annoying software that is intrusive is worth the risk for a lot of people. It is for me. I have never had a virus. It can happen, but if it does, no biggie. Reformat the hard disk, reinstall the OS. Pull data from a good backup. Life goes on.

 

[danwat1234]

[citation][nom]stinkyfax[/nom]I am one of those "1 of 10", having computer science degree I find having antivirus useless and only resource consuming (both money and performance wise).[/citation]
Agreed.
Turn UAC up all the way, be smart and run a virus scan once a month or so but no realtime protection unless downloading an iffy torrent or something like that.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]danwat1234[/nom]Agreed.Turn UAC up all the way, be smart and run a virus scan once a month or so but no realtime protection unless downloading an iffy torrent or something like that.[/citation]

I would prefer at least some real-time protection. As has been stated, even legitimate sites get hacked and you'll never know until you (or at least some others) get screwed over by it. For all we know, Tom's has had an infection for the last year or two and has been spreading it ever since then and any day now, it could activate and bam, everyone without real-time protection, smart or not, could have problems. Granted, even real-time protection isn't absolute, but it is oftentimes pretty close. Without activating, any malware scanner might not recognize it as being malware unless it's an already known strain.

Also, are you really suggesting that UAC be turned all of the way up? That could be more annoying than having anti-malware programs.

 

[11796pcs]

Does Windows Defender count? It's an antivirus bundled with Vista and 7 (I don't know about XP) so there really shouldn't be that many people COMPLETELY unprotected. I bet most of these people unprotected are Mac users. Also I refuse to use the garbage that is UAC. It's the first thing I turn off when I install Windows.

 

[CaedenV]

[citation][nom]DRosencraft[/nom]It's unfortunate that so many people buy into the false assertion that "safe browsing" habits will protect them from all threats out there on the web. While I don't doubt McAfee is trying to sell more products, antivirus protection is like car insurance - you can do everything right and think you don't need it, but someone else's ignorance/slip-up/stupidity will expose you to danger and then you'll wish you had it.[/citation]
The biggest problem is not that people do not have protection, it is that those with protection think that they are... well... protected... which they are not.
Antivirus may protect you from some things, but if you really want a virus, you will find a way to get one. I work for a local refurbisher and I see computers come in all the time, and the owners complain that the protection we installed (MSE and MBAM) "was not good enough". I then have to explain that I have been without viruses, and without antivirus for nearly 10 years, and only recently started using MSE simply because it has no performance impact on the machine, and it is free, and it stays out of the way, so I figured it is better to have 'something' rather than nothing. It is their responsability to put in a password. It is their responcibility to not browse every dirty site on the web. It is their responsibility to not download files that say "install this to make your computer 500% faster!", or e-mail links that they get to help 'transfer funds to other countries'. In fact we have a class that explains all of it... and only 1% (not a made up number) take us up on this FREE class

Safe browsing habits prevent viruses. Firewalls prevent viruses. Up to date software prevents viruses. Antivirus merely gets in the way, and helps clean up the mess after the fact.