# I never used antivirus software, and now that I do I know why I didn't. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 10, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653 "2007-09-10T07:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/1 "2007-09-10T07:15:46Z")
Because they fucking treat every fucking single thing my computer tries to do as ‘suspicious activity’ and fuggs me about it. ftr I did the total scan and didn’t find a single virus. I’m obviously doing something right in my 18 years of using a computer. So why are you treating everything it does as suspicious and giving obscure information every time (so I have to think about whether the ‘action’ is in fact perfectly safe) ---
**Author:** ![Juggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/juggler/32/3194_2.png) [@Juggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juggler)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/2 "2007-09-10T07:37:02Z")
What software are you using? I like AVG free which haven’t had that many false positives and doesn’t slow down my system. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/3 "2007-09-10T07:41:24Z")
Kaspersky. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/4 "2007-09-10T07:56:01Z")
Running Norton are you? Dump it and get AVG. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/5 "2007-09-10T07:57:43Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] So why are you treating everything it does as suspicious and giving obscure information every time (so I have to think about whether the ‘action’ is in fact perfectly safe) [/QUOTE] Could you please give an example of the ‘obscure information’? ---
**Author:** ![SpaceDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spacedog/32/9932_2.png) [@SpaceDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpaceDog)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/6 "2007-09-10T11:32:25Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] ftr I did the total scan and didn’t find a single virus. I’m obviously doing something right in my 18 years of using a computer. So why are you treating everything it does as suspicious and giving obscure information every time (so I have to think about whether the ‘action’ is in fact perfectly safe) [/QUOTE] A) Go through the settings on the software, it should be tweakable to change the warnings. If it isn’t then get AVG, it’s free, it works and it’s unobtrusive. B) A full scan of an infected computer may still show up clean. Since the machine may have been infected before you installed the anti-virus then there’s a chance the virus may have disabled the software as it was installed or is otherwise concealing itself. This is what the ho-hah with Sony was about, because their anti-piracy software provided a really easy way to completely conceal a malicious program. Once you’re infected it can be difficult to find and remove. That’s why you should have anti-virus software (and all the latest OS patches) installed before you connect to the internet. I’ve seen an unpatched windows machine get infected minutes after I connected it (while I was trying to patch it). Booting from other media and using that to run a full scan is normally safe. SD ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/7 "2007-09-10T11:38:36Z")
Are you sure that, _during all that time you didn’t use antivirus software_, your machine didn’t become hopelessly infested with malware, which is only now coming to light? (i.e. are you sure they’re false positives?). ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/8 "2007-09-10T20:25:20Z")
my antivirus software is currently claiming I need to renew my subscription (after the 1 month free one) because in the past 2 weeks it’s making the outlandish claim that in the last 3 weeks it has protected me from 70000+ viruses ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/9 "2007-09-10T20:28:07Z")
Nor have I ever used any anti-viral software. Not because of the constant harassment, but because most of them take over your operating system. They’re a gimmick. ---
**Author:** ![wendigo1974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@wendigo1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wendigo1974)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/10 "2007-09-10T20:36:34Z")
[QUOTE=enigm4tic] my antivirus software is currently claiming I need to renew my subscription (after the 1 month free one) because in the past 2 weeks it’s making the outlandish claim that in the last 3 weeks it has protected me from 70000+ viruses [/QUOTE] Well it isn’t lying to you. It has provided protection against the 70000+ viruses it has in its signature repository. Anyone of those that had come along would be toast. I use Norton and after initial install I haven’t had a peep from it other than its ritualistic Friday evening full scan and occasional file quarantine. I P2P alot so I take its word over it. I pay £24 a year and I’m happy and bug free. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/11 "2007-09-10T21:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Nor have I ever used any anti-viral software. Not because of the constant harassment, but because most of them take over your operating system. They’re a gimmick. [/QUOTE] They’re not just a gimmick - antivirus programs that incorporate a resident shield of some kind can and do protect people from malicious software - and not all of this malicious software gains entry through the stupidity or negligence of the users - on Win9x, for example, there were viruses that, once running on one machine on a network, could infect other machines without the user having to click anything or become aware that it was happening. WinXP wasn’t vulnerable to those, specifically, but there are and have been plenty of other holes. ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/12 "2007-09-10T21:52:47Z")
I too have never used antivirus software nor encountered a virus. I suspect the threat is a bit exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/13 "2007-09-10T22:01:52Z")
I’m liking NOD32. It’s what I got after hearing Leo Laporte digs it. Pretty comprehensive, not intrusive. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/14 "2007-09-10T22:06:18Z")
I use Avast!, which is free if you register it. The only time it makes a noise is when it updates its database - it gets rather excited and screams gleefully about the successful upate. Other than that, it has caught a couple of downloads or email attachements it didn’t like and dealt with them. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/15 "2007-09-10T22:08:28Z")
If you only have one PC, statistically, you’re unlikely to get affected, but I’ve looked after thousands and I’ve seen plenty of viruses. A virus infection is Not Fun. They’re a right pain. For example, I remember many years ago a virus was doing the rounds of the schools. Not only did we have to clean every single machine and floppy disk at HQ, but we had to visit each and every school that had a computer. This took an immense time and our mileage expenses were impressive. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/16 "2007-09-10T22:16:56Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] They’re not just a gimmick - antivirus programs that incorporate a resident shield of some kind can and do protect people from malicious software - and not all of this malicious software gains entry through the stupidity or negligence of the users - on Win9x, for example, there were viruses that, once running on one machine on a network, could infect other machines without the user having to click anything or become aware that it was happening. WinXP wasn’t vulnerable to those, specifically, but there are and have been plenty of other holes. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I know all about them. It began with “Code Red”, the self-propagating WORM (not a virus). Then Nimda, then Melissa, and so on. If you run a firewall (an external appliance, not the “Windows Firewall” crap that can be hacked rather easily) with a tight security policy, worms can’t propagate. WinXP IS vulnerable to them, it’s just that security administrators in various corporations became smarter with their security policies (Active Directory GPOs helped a LOT) and architecture. Just the sheer number of “security updates” from Windows Update says XP is STILL full of holes. If you don’t go to bad web sites and don’t open e-mails from people you don’t know, anti-virus software will do nothing but tax your system resources. Besides, what people get these days are NOT viruses, they’re usually just nasty scripts created by kids which mostly exploit bugs in operating systems. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/17 "2007-09-10T23:47:28Z")
OK… however, in my experience, about half of the people who tell me they don’t need antivirus software, because they don’t open suspicious emails etc, turn up later and ask me how to rid their system of something nasty that they have _no idea_ how it could have got there. IMO, ‘you don’t need AV software’ is just bad advice, in practice. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/18 "2007-09-10T23:51:16Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Running Norton are you? [/QUOTE] This made me laugh because, upon reading the thread title, I said aloud, “Norton, eh?” ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/19 "2007-09-10T23:51:49Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] OK… however, in my experience, about half of the people who tell me they don’t need antivirus software, because they don’t open suspicious emails etc, turn up later and ask me how to rid their system of something nasty that they have _no idea_ how it could have got there. IMO, ‘you don’t need AV software’ is just bad advice, in practice. [/QUOTE] In your novice opinion, sure. I’ve been using PCs for, shit, 25 years now. I’ve never had a virus. If I did get one, I’m pretty sure I’d be able to rid myself of it. Like I said, and I’m not going to repeat myself, but protecting yourself and your network goes far beyond some $30/year “virus scanner.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653/20 "2007-09-10T23:52:26Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] In your novice opinion, sure. [/QUOTE] I do it for a living, thanks. (fix up people’s computers when they screw them up, that is). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-used-antivirus-software-and-now-that-i-do-i-know-why-i-didnt/418653.md?page=2)