I don't want to use an antivirus program

[theisrafil]

I don't want to use firewall or antivirus I find them useless. I use windows 7 and lets say somebody wants to hack my computer. What I mean hacking by accessing my HDD (can see my offline files, photos etc.) All I'm doing is playing cs go, using steam, reddit, facebook etc. I'm not newbie to computers I don't run random .exe files. Can he hack me?

 

[engineer5261]

The best antivirus is an informed user

 

[Paul NZ]

Dont install one then. I dont use a 3rd party firewall or AV program either.

Most of them will crash sooner, or later anyway

 

[why_wolf]

you're connected to the internet, you're vulnerable.

 

[Paul NZ]

It's all hype. All these fancy AV programs and firewalls. Dont do anything stupid you wont get infected

 

[jsmithepa]

My people!

No Antivirus and software FW turned off since 1999. I do have SonicWall Internet appliance (hardware firewall).

But everybody think "hacking" you is always frontal attack, somehow breaking through your FW, but these days that's too hard, there are easier ways to hack you by going through the "back door" They entice you to click a LINK, that's all they have to do, CLICK AND THEY ARE IN!

So they WILL get in, no doubt. Is matter of when not how. So what u gonna do about it? (1)Backup Irreplaceable Data, and my recommendation is (2)Maintain OS Image backup, that way you don't have to deal with antivirus. At sign of trouble, just restore your OS image backup, in 15 minutes, you are back in business and cleaned.

YMMV.

 

[engineer5261]

My people!

No Antivirus and software FW turned off since 1999. I do have SonicWall Internet appliance (hardware firewall).

But everybody think "hacking" you is always frontal attack, somehow breaking through your FW, but these days that's too hard, there are easier ways to hack you by going through the "back door" They entice you to click a LINK, that's all they have to do, CLICK AND THEY ARE IN!

So they WILL get in, no doubt. Is matter of when not how. So what u gonna do about it? (1)Backup Irreplaceable Data, and my recommendation is (2)Maintain OS Image backup, that way you don't have to deal with antivirus. At sign of trouble, just restore your OS image backup, in 15 minutes, you are back in business and cleaned.

YMMV.

Some good pointers there but be aware that backing up will do nothing to protect your financial data or passwords in case said link is clicked

 

[jsmithepa]

Some good pointers there but be aware that backing up will do nothing to protect your financial data or passwords in case said link is clicked

Ah.

I have a well developed 3 solutions procedure:

1. DATA BACKUP. My music, media, photos, stuff and I would hate to lose and would take too long to re-construct, but they are not life or dead.

2. OS IMAGE BACKUP. This is my Disaster Recovery. My employer would say Business Continuation (after an incident).

3. FINANCIAL DATA. The item you just mentioned. The amount of data is very small, passwords, bank logging, account# etc. I HAVE THESE PUPPIES ENCRYPTED. Can my encryption be broken? Anything can be broken but I think the people who have that kind of resource are not after me the little guy, they are after the big cheeses of this world.

No (software) FW, no AntiVirus. Not an Ad for Symantec. 🙁

 

[Chicano]

LOL... you guys have an antivirus running, you just don't know it...

 

[theisrafil]

LOL... you guys have an antivirus running, you just don't know it...

I'm 100% sure I don't have one.

 

[Chicano]

I'm 100% sure I don't have one.

Unless you have disabled or removed Windows Defender,.. you have one... The version in Windows 7 has realtime protection and scanner, I'm not sure how well it protects but I've read many people saying they depended on it alone, and were convinced it was all they needed... so it must be good enough specially since most online infections are not viruses but malware and are easier to block and remove.

I personally have stuck with Avast antivirus because it's very dependable, very light on system resources, has online protection and has served me well through the years.

Check what this page says about the version in Windows 8... and the one in Windows 10 is supposed to be even better.
https://blogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2014/01/16/do-i-need-anything-besides-windows-defender/

 

[theisrafil]

I'm 100% sure I don't have one.

Unless you have disabled or removed Windows Defender,.. you have one... The version in Windows 7 has realtime protection and scanner, I'm not sure how well it protects but I've read many people saying they depended on it alone, and were convinced it was all they needed... so it must be good enough specially since most online infections are not viruses but malware and are easier to block and remove.

I personally have stuck with Avast antivirus because it's very dependable, very light on system resources, has online protection and has served me well through the years.

Check what this page says about the version in Windows 8... and the one in Windows 10 is supposed to be even better.
https://blogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2014/01/16/do-i-need-anything-besides-windows-defender/

Yes I disabled windows defender and I think protection is for computer noobs.

 

[jsmithepa]

LOL... you guys have an antivirus running, you just don't know it...

As long as it's not intrusive, doesn't require me to babysit it, defend away. I just have no patience running viruscan/virusclean for hours on end and asking "how do you clean virus xyz?"

 

[Chicano]

LOL... you guys have an antivirus running, you just don't know it...

As long as it's not intrusive, doesn't require me to babysit it, defend away. I just have no patience running viruscan/virusclean for hours on end and asking "how do you clean virus xyz?"

Windows Defender can go unnoticed for years.. or any antivirus for that matter just disable its notifications, voice messages, etc.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

I'm 100% sure I don't have one.

Unless you have disabled or removed Windows Defender,.. you have one... The version in Windows 7 has realtime protection and scanner, I'm not sure how well it protects but I've read many people saying they depended on it alone, and were convinced it was all they needed... so it must be good enough specially since most online infections are not viruses but malware and are easier to block and remove.

I personally have stuck with Avast antivirus because it's very dependable, very light on system resources, has online protection and has served me well through the years.

Check what this page says about the version in Windows 8... and the one in Windows 10 is supposed to be even better.
https://blogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2014/01/16/do-i-need-anything-besides-windows-defender/

Windows Defender in Windows 7 (and Vista before it) is NOT an anti virus scanner, it's only a malware scanner. Windows 7 has NO native anti virus capability built in. MS renamed Security Essentials to Windows Defender and built it in starting with Windows 8.

Running without at least minimal AV and malware protection is ill advised in this day and age, no matter how careful you think you are.

 

[Chicano]

Windows Defender in Windows 7 (and Vista before it) is NOT an anti virus scanner, it's only a malware scanner. Windows 7 has NO native anti virus capability built in. MS renamed Security Essentials to Windows Defender and built it in starting with Windows 8.

Running without at least minimal AV and malware protection is ill advised in this day and age, no matter how careful you think you are.

I's not me you have to quote... You should read the full thread before jumping to conclusions and direct your comments to whom it may concern...

I may have said "You guys have an antivirus running, you just don't know it.." but it was just an openning comment.. to crarify that, I made it perfectly clear Defender has minimal protection against viruses (acording to the Microsoft article) and malware are most frequent, so it's (Windows Defender/Security Essentials is) better than nothing. Besides, Windows 7 is still receiving Security Updates that should include Windows Defender updates up to Windows 8/10 level... that should be obvious.

Windows 7: Security features
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/safety/pc-security/windows7.aspx

Defend your computer against viruses, spyware, and other malware
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download for Windows 7 that helps protect your computer from viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans, and other malware. For more information, see

Help protect your PC with Microsoft Security Essentials.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/safety/pc-security/microsoft-security-essentials.aspx

Windows 7 also includes Windows Defender, software that helps protect your computer from pop-up ads, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. For more information, see Using Windows Defender.

Note: In Windows 8, Windows Defender replaces Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows Defender runs in the background and notifies you when you need to take specific action. However, you can use it anytime to scan for malware if your computer isn’t working properly or you clicked a suspicious link online or in an email message.

 

[william p]

I use a program called Rollback RX. It reverts the HDD to it's original state every reboot. It runs outside windows. To save updates etc. you have to create a new revert image.