Why I don't run many security apps.

As most people know, anti-virus and anti-spyware apps make your computer slow down. A lot.

But maybe people don't really realize just how much.

Check out this article, providing extensive real-world testing of various security applications (And other apps) and their impact on the speed of your computer. http://www.thepcspy.com/articles/other/what_really_slows_windows_down/5

It looks like AVG leaves a very small footprint compared to the others.

-J.

Yes. Although it's a bit misleading because they test AVG free, which does a lot less realtime monitoring than the pay version or other anti-viruses.

Also, the other AV options are firewall + anti-virus where avg is anti-virus only.

Anyway, all of them suck, especially when it comes to disk I/O performance.

Anti-virus software is selling you fear. You don't really need anti-virus software. You need to just back up your stuff if it is really important (there is a time penalty here as well, but it happens when you schedule it, not all the time).

If you have a firewall on your router, and you make a backup of your important files fairly regularly, there is no reason at all to get anti-virus applications and run them in real time.

People who use Norton should be shot. Until 2002 the suite was essential, since that it has become the worst piece of bloatware imaginable.

I have no virus protection. Surfing the internet bareback is the only way to go!

All i have is windows defender and the firewall.

Even Microsoft is more consumer-friendly than Norton nowadays Norton won't even let you choose which 'bits' to install anymore. Though at least they seem to have gotten rid of that TOTALLY IDIOTIC monthly 3895275928579287529578 TB 'Dangerous URLs' download.

Getting rid of Norton is like unhitching a fully loaded horsetrailer from your pickup truck.

Personally, I have a hard time going completely bareback, although I am using a hardware router in lieu of a Firewall. I'm also still using AVG 7.5 and that strikes me as a reasonable compromise.

Memory footprint isn't the real performance hit for most people.

What is really the killer is the disk I/O penalty. And, disk I/O is an issue for EVERYONE because, even if you have the best disk in the world, its still too fuckin' slow.

This is why, I recommend that everyone get a badass hard disk. Everyone.

When you get a new PC, don't skimp on the disk speed, even if you are building a cheapie. In fact, especially if you are building a cheapie.

Don't worry about raid striping or anything though. The speed increases you get there aren't the kind that make a difference for normal use.

While a tech head might be able to get away with that I can't imagine worse advice for the general public.

Norton Internet Security is something else then just Norton Antivirus...

Norton Internet Security is teh evil

I use a software firewall mainly to keep programs from phoning home. Call me paranoid but I don't like that, period. Nobody sends stuff from my computer without permission. I mean, what business does WinDVD 8 have to send out ... something? You uncheck 'Yes I want to send you all that I'm doing' twice during the installation and it still attempts to send something And it's by far not the only one.

As for antivirus, dunno. Saves my ass once a year or so.

Let's see, deal with a little performance loss, or reformat my fucking hard drive every six months to clean out some kind of registry infestation. Decisions, decisions.

So, limit your browsing because you can't be bothered to lock down your machine.

Yup.

I think getting regular viruses is a sign of mental retardation.

Option 3: Don't be a retard and open every single file you come across.

And it's not a "little" performance loss. Even the ones that hurt your performance the least (generally the apps with the least realtime protection), slow your disk IO by > 50%.

Guess what bud, I haven't had an anti virus program running for 1.5 years now and I haven't had a single virus or reformatted. Last time I formatted (1.5 years ago) was due to major hardware upgrades, when formatting is generally a good idea.

I'm sorry you can't be bothered to think for 2 seconds before opening every single file and allowing every activex control that you come across.

Oh, and heres the funny part, most anti virus apps won't even do anything to help you. You still get infected, and your shit gets damaged. They just let you find out about it and remove it later... something you can use 1 of several free browser-based virus scans from reputable companies.

Most of the shit you get these days is going to adware or spyware, not viruses anyway. There are a number of great free tools to scan for this stuff, and you don't have to leave it running all the time.

UA you have been taken in hook, line, and sinker by the scary messages you see on the box of the anti-virus. "If you don't buy me, your computer will be destroyed!".

Let me guess, you also bought the necklace from the street vendor when he told you it would keep away evil spirits?

or use some common sense, like avoiding activeX - either kill it in IE or use a non-IE browser.

i've visited any number of dodgy and dubious sites over the years sans antivirus, and only ever picked up two infections over the course of some 12 years online - one in the early 90's (a javascript worm) and one a couple of years back whilst my freshly installed 2003 server got shredded whilst installing security updates from windows update.

Ok, I have a few suggestions/pieces of advice.

1. Most people do not realize or care that their user account they log into their WindowsPC with has administrator privs. This is actually a very bad thing, unless you really know what you're doing. If your account doesn't have admin privs, you are less likely to bypass built-in Win security and install every little piece of bloat, active x, vb or whatnot you happen upon on the 'net. A microsoft software developer I worked with not too long ago, said this is about the single biggest mistake people make when it comes to security on their WinPC. Not logged into your admin account when you come accross some malicious spyware? Most likely, it won't get installed, because it won't have privs.

2. What's great about AVG Free is you can turn it off and it doesn't stay loaded in memory. I do not ever have it running, except to run a scan or sometimes when I'm checking pop3 mail. Other than that, it's off and not wasting resources.

3. Windows (if you use auto-updates) automatically scans itself every month for spyware and cleans it. I've not had a single problem with spyware since MS started offering this. I also run Firefox, but relating to point 1, one of the reasons IE is so full of 'holes' is because people are logged in with admin privs, scouring the web.

Anyway, just my ramblings and what I've found particularly helpful when it comes to security and memory management.

agreed with the admin point, however M$ don't exactly help with the default account being admin

it was something i'd hope they'd change in vista... alas no.

...
So, if I want to not be automatically logged in with admin privileges... how would I do that?

This thread is a giant trick. Powaqqatsi is trying to hack us.

No, I've had my PC infected with adware more than once, for doing nothing special but loading web pages and images. I am also not in total control over what is done with our home machine. What I need is something that prevents this kind of bullshit without having to put every fucking web page, control, and plugin under a fucking microscope beforehand.

I've got AVG, Ad-Aware, Spybot, and Windows firewall running. They seem to prevent anything new from getting in, but there's still this browser hijack adware that none of it will kill after it's loaded. Only way I've gotten rid of that before is with a reformat. And yes, I've tried "hijack this" and all of the convoluted instructions for ferreting out these registry edits and whatnot. There's always some little piece I miss.

It's okay. You can say it. I broke it, huh?

I can't say that for sure, but I think the most recent infestation is from something being disabled because it was annoying. Popup blocker or something.

Oh fercryinoutloud, just PAY for your porn!