Using an Anti-Virus Program or Not

[JordoR]

This might seem a silly question to most, but who among you actually use a program for anti-virus?

I was reading an article awhile ago how most experienced computer users don't even bother to use an anti-virus. Why? Because a lot of anti-virus programs (Norton especially) can bog down your computer and use a lot of resources. They defend, that as long as you are careful which sites you visit, what you download, and what firewall you have in place... there's really no reason to use an anti-virus.

Personally, I am of almost the same belief. I stopped using an anti-virus about 5 years ago on my old build, because I only had about 1GB of ram and honestly Norton would just grind away and use most of it up. I was careful about what sites I visited and I had Firefox adblock and I used anti-spyware programs regularly. Fast forward to do, I guess I am still in my old habits and don’t use an anti-virus. I have had people challenge me, and we would install an anti-virus to see the results… and surprise, surprise I would have 0 infections. I realize that anti-virus programs have advanced and now with my 8GB of ram I wouldn’t notice it running in the background… but I guess you just get stuck in your old habits .

Anyway, just wanted to start a discussion and see what some opinions were. Obviously I can see both sides of this… but it’s still nice to get opinions.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I use an antivirus and two spyware programs,because even legit sites can be infected

 

[ksiemb]

The newer AV APPS are pretty efficient in memory resource usage. Norton has always been Notorious for high usage, and IMO, doesn't do a good job of protection; much like useless Mcafee.
Coupled with a good realtime Antimalware APP, provides excellent protection.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

The Norton products of the past 2 years are fantastic!

 

[al man]

Thing here's simple.

Think of AV as car insurance.

Yes, you pay to get it, & pay a fee for it on a regular basis.
Yes, you get what you pay, so it's a good idea check all of the options.
Yes, that means a bit less of $$ (this would be the amount of disk space, CPU usage & memory it takes for working), but...
...Yes, it's useful when issues arrive

No, it's not a 100% effective, having it doesn't guarantee your PC will be clean & uninfected,
the same way having car insurance doesn't guarantee not being involved in a car collision (sorry for the analogy).
No, it won't help if you browse risky websites, the same way if you reach high speeds in downtown
w/your car or if you go to a bad nighborhood (no disrespect to anyone).

But -Big But-, it helps a lot.

JordoR, you mentioned that, you got rid of your AV before, 'cause it was slowing down your PC.
Yes, they do, but that's RAM for. If you have 1GB, consider an upgrade.

Current entry systems should have more than that so you could get the AV
(well, better do AV+Antispyware) running in your PC (I'd recommend a full AV suite)
w/o getting a huge performance impact.

Hope this helps!

 

[JordoR]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Yes that 1GB of ram as mentioned was with my old build, and I have 8GB now so memory usage isn't as big of an issue as it might have been in the past. Good to also know that Norton is notoriously bad for memory usage. Gives me hope that current (and other) anti-virus software will be much better than what it was.

The general consensus seems to be that most people are using an anti-virus. I think it's time I get out of my habits, and finally look into installing one. As you say Al Man, it's not crucial to have... but when that infection does come (or car accident as you say ) I'm going to be glad I installed it.

Thanks for the responses everyone, just wanted to get an overall feel for what people were doing in terms of anti-virus.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

The Norton products of the past 2 years are fantastic! One of the Best paid versions on the internet.They overhauled all their products a couple of years ago,now they have a world class lineup ! 😀