I think im ready to go AV free, or am I?

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by MrGump, Jan 14, 2012.

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  1. MrGump

    MrGump Registered Member

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    Windows 7 now. I tried Fedora and loved it but found Win7 worked better for me, probably because I'm just accustomed to it.



    Thanks to everyone for the continued opinions and advice :)
     
  2. Carver

    Carver Registered Member

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    Better safe than sorry:D It is more often than not the "safe website" where you get infected.
     
  3. mercurie

    mercurie A Friendly Creature

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    I would not do this. However you titled the post '...ready to go AV free...' I am for the most part going with free AV...LOL
     
  4. BrandiCandi

    BrandiCandi Guest

    Ah. If you were on Fedora then I wouldn't hesitate to say go without an AV. But on Windows, I guess I don't understand the concept of "ready to go AV free" as if it's a right of passage. If you have implemented other measures that would prevent malware/viruses from successfully executing on your machine, then no AV could make sense. Using an AV is always an option that anyone can ignore. I can't think of a scenario where it would be actually advisable to remove a layer of security (except maybe if it conflicts with software you use frequently, but even then there are probably work-arounds).
     
  5. Doraemon

    Doraemon Registered Member

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    Those *cough* "friends" *cough* that heavily use porn sites... :D :D :D

    An easy way to go AVless is to use add-ons like AdBlocker (or Ad Muncher) / NoScript / Ghostery. Plus the router of course. And maybe a DNS service too, WinPatrol.

    I know things like AppGuard should be more professional, but I still find them too difficult to understand. I used Sandboxie with FF once and I was getting tons of errors so I gave up.
     
  6. larryb52

    larryb52 Registered Member

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    the only way I would use a pc with out protection would be if it was unplugged, I have seen some friends get malware from some of the safest sites , you just never know & I still say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...just my 2 cents...
     
  7. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    I'm in the minority here but I put more stock in good system backups than I do in A/V products. That way, if something does manage to make its way onto my computer, I just reboot with a recovery disk and I'm back in business. Honestly, I've found that it the long run, it's just much less of a hassle all the way around dispensing with an A/V running in the background. It's been years since I've had a single intrusion on any of my computers or laptops. But obviously, you need to make your own determination.
     
  8. BrandiCandi

    BrandiCandi Guest

    I'm curious. Do you test your system periodically? How do you know you haven't had any intrusions?
     
  9. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    I test it frequently, most definitely. Multiple on-line scanners over the years. And never a problem. But I do not suggest that anyone else do what I do; I'm simply sharing my admittedly off beat approach since that was the question the OP asked.
     
  10. KelvinW4

    KelvinW4 Registered Member

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    I just use an anti-executable/usb protection and avast web, network, script, behavior shields. Really light.
     
  11. berryracer

    berryracer Suspended Member

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    People are looking into adding multi-layered protection nowadays and having more ways to secure their PCs and you wanna get rid of your antivirus? I think that's insane

    So if you've never had a virus, rather than being happy that you are a smart user you would remove your shield and have doubts in the back of your head if some nasty virus one day starts deleting stuff or submitting critical data from your system? Hey, you'd never know! since you don't have an AV :rolleyes:

    Plus, with today's fast computers, it is not in the past days where an antivirus could render a system useless due to being very heavy on the resources, now we all have at least 2 GB RAM and a Core2Duo 2.2 GHz +
     
  12. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    slightly off topic but I'll chime in anyway......one of my pcs has 1gb ram and a atom 1.6 ghz......I think many of us have one of their pcs similar or lower in specification .....and so to say that specification is the least we use is a little too far too tight......
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2012
  13. LoneWolf

    LoneWolf Registered Member

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    Insanity is merely a state of mind. :D
    Serious though, there are ways to protect yourself online without an AV running in realtime.
    I have done so myself for about 4 years. (not including the occasional testing)
    Although going without an Anti Virus is not for everyone (and I would not recommend it for everyone) but it is preferred by some.
     
  14. KelvinW4

    KelvinW4 Registered Member

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    Yes so there is no need for a program to scan everything writing and deleting on your disk :D :D
    PS if you know what you are doing with a HIPS program and recovery software then there is no need for antivirus :thumb: :thumb:
     
  15. noone_particular

    noone_particular Registered Member

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    As a general rule, if you're asking the question, you're probably not quite ready.
     
  16. carat

    carat Guest

    I second that ;)
     
  17. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    +1........
     
  18. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    Good point. :thumb:
     
  19. MrGump

    MrGump Registered Member

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    okay :(

    hahaha!



    I decided on, Prevx, Avira and Windows firewall + my router firewall. (pay versions)

    Superantispyware and Malwarbytes as well (on-deman)

    I like the idea of cloud based Prevx, so I went with it.
     
  20. Narxis

    Narxis Registered Member

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    I'm ready to go to real-time AV free. I dont want to pay hundreds and hundreds of euros for an AV that is just sitting in the background looking good and eating my computers resources.

    I think if our system and softwares are up to date then we have to just look after what we are downloading.
     
  21. elstupido

    elstupido Registered Member

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    How about Win 7 64, Chrome, standard user, UAC on max, 7 firewall, and DEP for all. Would this be enough protection to go A/V free?
     
  22. blasev

    blasev Registered Member

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    should be enough if you don't run any suspicious thingy

    but why don't you install on demand AV
    EAM(Emsisoft Anti Malware) are my favourites. :thumb:
    Since you can always install it as on demand, if you don't need real time scanning.
     
  23. elstupido

    elstupido Registered Member

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    My bad, i do use Malwarebytes for on demand, and ESET on line free scans. I was mostly curious about what could get by this set up.
     
  24. Narxis

    Narxis Registered Member

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    Almost nothing.
     
  25. carat

    carat Guest

    There are several free AV which don't eat your computers resources ;)
     
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