Poll: Do you need an Antivirus or a Firewall?

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

Ever since the media has shrouded our minds with that security is such a big thing, lets see what people really have to say on this topic...

Keep in mind this is for the average residental user, not the big microsoft business people.

And if you vote one way, please explain.
I say no, because:
No antivirus...I have never 'accenditally' downloaded a virus, thinking it was something else. Hell back in the day when kazaa was big, I downloaded plenty (not admiting to downloading copyrighted material), and not one virus. Although, everyone that I knew that used kazaa always complained on how they downloaded viruses, when I never get one. Ironic isn't it?

No firewall....Most residental users have a router (if you use or used to have broadband), and if you are using some type of broadband most routers will block traffic on certian ports, unless you tell it not to. If you are on dial-up most ISP's come with anti-everything. Personally, I used to have AOL and I disabled everything because I feel that anti-viruses and firewalls create more problems than they help.

[gigemboy]

How would you know if you downloaded a virus? Most viruses dont come out with a messagebox saying "hey! you just installed me!"... i would love to see how many spyware/trojans/adware/malware you have unknowingly on your system... because this is the third thread you have created that includes very bad advice...

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

http://sandbox.norman.no/live.html
http://virusscan.jotti.org/

Acctually, latest Spybot scan came up with nothing but cookies. Which is harmeless on a computer fyi.

[gigemboy]

Of course you will say that it pulled up nothing, because you would feel really silly if it did pull up something, and it would hurt this insane point you are trying to make... but no one really knows for sure, its just what you tell us it is, and judging by the advice you are trying to give, who is going to believe it anyway... and no one knows how many times you have ran this, and removed things in the past...

[thegreatone]

I would have to say no, they aren't needed.

I have a router, "true firewall" w/e that is... All i know is, i've never had my PC behave stupidly, and whenever i do actually run a damn check out of paranoia (SP?) it always turns up nothing, oh, except for MsgPlus! and DSO exploit.

I don't care to argue right now Gigem, i'm feeling too good to be brought down.

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

Of course you will say that it pulled up nothing, because you would feel really silly if it did pull up something, and it would hurt this insane point you are trying to make... but no one really knows for sure, its just what you tell us it is, and judging by the advice you are trying to give, who is going to believe it anyway... and no one knows how many times you have ran this, and removed things in the past...

Should I do a scan right now and prove it to you? Or would you just call it a photoshop job (or w/e). And ask yourself why would I lie? What would I gain if I lied? Have I lied at this forum in the past to make myself look good? For arguments sake, at any other forum? (even though you probably can't answer that, just think about it).

[gigemboy]

lol I was predicting that would be your next response... that isnt the issue ... what has been done has been done.. youve already done a scan... so its pointless regardless...

How bout this:

I have never recevied a virus in my life.... so HA. I am telling the truth...
Come to my house and check my pc...

I promise...

So im better than you

[k1ll3rdr4g0n]

lol I was predicting that would be your next response... that isnt the issue ... what has been done has been done.. youve already done a scan... so its pointless regardless...

How bout this:

I have never recevied a virus in my life.... so HA. I am telling the truth...
Come to my house and check my pc...

I promise...

So im better than you

When did I say that? I don't ever remember saying that.
If you read my post I said I never downloaded any viruses from kazaa.

[gigemboy]

I am saying that

[dark_shadow]

Of course you will say that it pulled up nothing, because you would feel really silly if it did pull up something, and it would hurt this insane point you are trying to make... but no one really knows for sure, its just what you tell us it is, and judging by the advice you are trying to give, who is going to believe it anyway... and no one knows how many times you have ran this, and removed things in the past...

there is no point in k1ll3rdr4g0n arguing this bc no matter what he says right or not your not gonna agree with him. your gonna put stupid things saying that he would have the balls to lie to you? come on are you that unsecure that you think everyone is gonna lie to you just to prove a stupid point?

[gigemboy]

Just continuing on what was said here http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=386766

[visualAd]

I use a hardware firewall and Clamwin. I don't scan often. IMO, vigialnce is better than any virus scanner and software firewall.

[GaryMazzone]

Sorry but I think an Anit-Virus is absolutely required on any computer that connects to a network. My wife constanly gets messages from her AV software about block one virus or another from friends of her's that do not think they need it. I personnly would not run my computer without a firewall (I use ZoneLab). I want to see if any thing on my computer is tryuing to talk outside the local machine. I allow sone things unrestricted access (Browser and e-mail if I press send and a couple of others only).

[Valleysboy1978]

I would say the average user would need both as they rarely realise what is going on whilst on the net and how vulnerable they really are.

I myself just have two firewalls, the windows firewall on SP2 and McAfee 2003 Personal Firewall

[sevenhalo]

The reason you might think you don't need a firewall/antivirus is because the new generation of windows has alot of those features built in. They may not be the best solutions out there compared to products from Norton (I intentionally didn't mention McAffee ).

It all boils down to "what is a virus?" It's a flaw in software, wether it's configured wrong or it allows you to "smash the stack"/"overflow the buffer." 4/5 of the virusi out there that is directed towards windows attacks the windows OS directly. If you're up to date on your patches, you're "defended."

Antivirus is really for that other 1/5. While antivirus companies will take credit and say they defend against the windows issues (which they do, but you're technically double protected), it's really just a way for them to increase their numbers for boasting and marketing purposes. Does that mean you shouldn't have antivirus software? No, you deffinitely should.

Look at the AIM fiasco. You can't even look at a link in someones profile without worrying about the consequences. This isn't a windows flaw, it's just really really bad development by AOL. This is where antivirus software kicks in. It will do a check on the file you're downloading and will tell you "Warning: Downloaded file contains W32.PandaCuddler, download cancelled." (before windows personal firewall) Windows had no way to protect against this. It would see that you requested the download and continue on with it.

This leads us to firewalls. Windows XP has a built in firewall, which is nice for the average home computer with no LAN and no VPNs. If you're on a home network, this can get to be a pain. Windows Firewall was designed to be a stand alone "install it and leave it" program. The main interface is nothing more then an on/off switch (with a couple extra [I]advanced[I] configurations, but stripped down). If you use windows firewall, it's basically turning each computer on your LAN into its own network. You're installing a redundant service on each computer that could be controlled from one location. Dealing with network security is a beast in itself. The best solution is always to leave a firewall right behind your gateway and have the computers behind it be subject to it.

Quick example. Sammy Script Kiddy starts doing a port scan on your network. He could hit every computer on your network because the only thing blocking him is the computer he's scanning. If you had a firewall behind the gateway, you would see him as soon as that first packet came through, block his IP and prevent anymore obstructions.

Bottom line, get the antivirus. Windows is more secure, but it doesn't protect you against everything. Also, if you have a LAN at home, get an external firewall. Keep the battle at one location and save yourself ALOT of time and effort.

[damasterjo]

ok I have one only because someone said i should, I have never had a virus either, but one time I was looking for a crack for a program. And it was "legal" cause I had just lost mine. So anyway im on these crazy crack sites, and my antivirus woke up and screemed that there were like 3 viruses, and then it killed them, but because of that I will always keep one.

[si_the_geek]

Not having a virus scanner/firewall is like crossing the road with your eyes closed - just because you haven't had a problem yet doesn't mean that you are safe to do it.

You can avoid most problems if you are careful, but it only takes one 'accident' to cause a huge inconvenience to you.


I recommend having both just to be safe, but if you choose not to then that is up to you.

[penagate]

If you don't run unsecure software then you don't need AV software. Many people do not take the time to research exactly how secure a product is, that makes them vulnerable. Viruses are simply exploits of software vulnerabilities. On the same note, if there is a fix for a security vulnerability, whether it be a patch, update, whatever, it is essential that you apply it. Better software will assist you in this and some will do it for you.

I have a router, but no antivirus software at all. I might have some hidden nasties somewhere, but I consider myself familiar enough with my system that I would know if I had malicious software, because I have had them in the past - also removed them without using AV software.

As for firewalls protecting you from port scanning - use a router, and don't turn port forwarding on...

[penagate]

Not having a virus scanner/firewall is like crossing the road with your eyes closed - just because you haven't had a problem yet doesn't mean that you are safe to do it.

I crossed a major road half asleep once... let's just say it woke me up