Why the paranoia?

A question for those who run several protection software:
Did you become security conscious because of some direct experience with being infected with malware, or is it a case of "better safe than sorry"?

I mean, I just don't get it.

Some of you have Anti-virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Trojan, Firewalls... like 5 different security softs, and even then, some are still trying out new versions, as if you can never be satisfied.
Fortune 100 companies with billions of dollars at their disposal only use Symantec or McAfee Anti-virus, but some here with a little family PC have all these processes running.

I went for years without Anti-virus, then started using Symantec Anti-virus because I could get it from work, and then I stumbled on your site, and soon I was worrying about firewalls and leak-testing, retrospective antivirus tests, keyloggers, trojans, sandboxes... the list just goes on and on!!

I mean, jeez, sometimes I feel like I wish I never discovered this site!!
15 years of PC experience and I have never caught a virus, and I go everywhere, and I do mean EVERYWHERE.

Really, I am beginning to feel silly getting caught up in all this hysteria.

 

I have to kinda agree with the OP statment , when i first came here i got caught up in installing like 10applications lol, as time went on i realised there's no perfect AV or AS, however i did upgrade O/S to Vista only then did i calm down a little because i havnt had half the problems with vista as i did with xp, xp was always getting blasted. Now i just run 1 AV and spybot and defender built in... so im happy, but yer i think u can get paranoid and to overprotective

 

I am pleased you posted a link to my earlier thread, to show how silly I was then.

I am also pleased that you provided sufficient clarification through the use of the term, "hobbyist"; thank you for putting my mind at ease.

 

I will say this. I don't expect to be infected anytime soon. The only time I did was when I was trying different Antispyware apps that I later found out through this forum were Rogue. MY wife, my son, my daughter, her husband , and many of my friends have never been infected while using only an AV. A few of them had to go on sites that promote malware. And finally they all have one thing in common, they use Firefox. So why do I like to know which programs are better? I don't know really other than that I enjoy trying out new security programs. Call this a hobby, but I have read in this forum that many are addicted to doing this. I will also say this. I have been coming into this forum silently for a long time before posting, and have read many of the verses threads. And it not only helped me to use safe programs that ran well, but also feel like I was using the best ones. Of course none of the threads ever really gave me a solid conclusion as to which is really the best, but it did add to the excitement of trying what ever programs seemed to come out on top. The kicker is this. I have also tried out some of the programs that weren't always deemed the tops and liked them too, providing they were legit and safe to use. However now threads are closed the minute someone starts voicing there favorite choice of software program and this more than anything in my opinion reeks of some type of paranoia. If what most of us in here know is true that we are most likely not going to get infected, and it really doesn't matter what we use. Then does it really hurt to have fun by debating which program is better, as long as the people debating have used the programs in question and are only stating their personal preferences? Sure I understand a few members get nasty and make it a personal attack, but that's still happening over other topics in here. And as far as any arguments starting is concerned. I see more of them now than I ever did before the verses threads were stopped, and now worry that a thread about something that may not even matter will be closed before it even gets interesting. I do see some hysteria in this forum, and it's not coming from the hobbyists who debate which program is better.

 

Amen, my brother, Amen.

In my country our leader is a buffoon in control of the most powerful army in the world, and I have less fear that I will be told to keep quiet if I have a dissenting opinion than in this forum.

I have never seen so many mods in a forum in my life, where you can't question anything without the secret police mods pouncing on you, closing threads and telling you policy is not open to debate.
Everyone is cowering in fear, in the end to be told that many here are hobbyists.

So if we are hobbyists, why the draconian tactics?

This entire forum reeks of megalomania.

 

Seems another purpose was intended for this thread than the original topic.

Gentlemen, maybe a re-read of our forum's Terms of Service is in order. You do recall agreeing to it when you registered here, I'm sure.

Thread closed.