by loftar » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:09 pm
Well, to begin with I don't use Windows. ;)
With XP SP2 and above, it is far less of a problem even with Windows, though. The firewall blocks all the remote-infestation kinds of worms like Sasser, and you can avoid the rest by not downloading Russian mobile porn. My family has three or four XP SP2/3 laptops, and all of them lack both viruses and A/V programs.
EDIT: As for my critique of Antivirus programs, it consists partly in the fact that they bog down a Windows computer to what seems like a third of its ordinary performance, while performing services that are, at best, only slightly helpful; and partly in their own behavior as crapware in various aspects, such as their "Warning! Your computer is not fully protected! It may explode unless you pay us protection money!" messages, or their apparent wish to be involved in every little aspect of the system (from filesystem scanning to browser plugins to mail scanning to phishing filters to firewall implementations and what not). Even if you were to catch a virus, formatting and reinstalling is a small price to pay for not having had to stand the A/V program in the meantime.
"Object-oriented design is the roman numerals of computing." -- Rob Pike