Vista users, do you bother with anti-virus?

When I first got Vista in February 2007 I immediately got an anti-virus program to go with it. I kept it up to date and ran a full system scan every few days. It never found a single thing. Sceptical, I also tried other antivirus's and ran a few more scans. Nothing found. I never even got a prompt that my anti-virus had stopped or even automatically cleaned anything. The logs confirmed this too. My antivirus was just sitting there, waiting to stop an infection that never came.

My antivirus then expired in February 2008 and I haven't used an anti-virus since. I didn't see the point. My computer is behind a hardware based firewall, I have windows firewall and UAC running, and the anti-virus wasn't doing anything.

I have just downloaded a free antivirus and clamwin portable to see whether I am in fact Virus free - nothing found. I have looked at my running processes - nothing suspicious.

So, could it be that Microsoft have finally built a secure system that doesn't require anti-virus as long as the user is being sensible? (Everything depends on the user after all, no matter how secure an OS may be)

I wouldn't dream of doing this with XP, but with Vista I seem to be having no problems.

So Vista users, do you bother with antivirus on Vista, or do you keep the default security features enabled and act sensibly like I try to?

(Btw mods, I was tempted to put this in the anti-virus forum, but it's not really about that, it's about Vista, so I posted it in the Windows OS forum )

 

Despite having the same uneventful experience as you as far as viruses are concerned, I continue to have antivirus software and keep it updated. I would rather have it there and hope that it will do what it's advertised to do should the need arise than to disregard it simply because it doesn't seem to be doing anything. It's like any type of insrance (auto, health, home, cell phone, computer, etc.) that you can think of. How often does one ever really use it? However, most people pay for it every billing cycle in the event that they actually do need to use it one day. Whether or not they're willing to pay up when it's time is a different subject.

My luck has always been such that when I don't purchase the insurance/coverage for an item, something always goes wrong. So, if for no other reason than peace of mind, I keep antivirus and any other type of insurance I can.

 

TRUE in some instances. Maybe.
Its all because of UAC + Vista Firewall + Anti-spyware.
(Bad News for Both Virus Writers and Anti-Virus Companies)

Did you Check your IE, Google Chrome/Firefox Temp Files for viruses?

 

I use a manual scan virus, but do not use a realtime antivirus program that sits in memory

 

Vista + avast + Widnows Firewall & Defenders + Spyware Blaster

happy surfing so far with zero attacks

cheers ...

 

Yep, same here!

 

Vista (nothing disabled) + Avast! + Threatfire + SAS

I've never got a virus, ever (and I used Win98/ME until mid-September, XP too), but peace of mind is worth a lot.

 

I use Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 with Windows Defender, NOD32 x64 and COMODO Firewall. I've never found a single virus or Spyware/Crapware on any of the machine's that I use either, even with XP when I used it. It all comes down to the person using the machine.

But I still have one installed and updated, because there are times when I have to use someone else's DVD or USB stick etc, and I can't take any chances.

 

i personally only use vista, disabled defender. no antivirus. for all others that are not my systems, i install avast antivirus and leave defender enabled.

 

I think it depends on what you do.
As far as I'm aware I never had a virus on my laptop (XP or Vista)

Antivirus - first very outdate etrust, then CA and Kaspersky 7 on XP and Kaspersky 7 & 2009 on Vista

However it is wise to have an antivirus software running, just in case.
Especially if its very light overal (Kaspersky is for me!!)

 

.Vista without A/V: No problems
After that, I installed Eset Smart Security, disabled Windows Defender, Security Center, UAC, etc. I know I could live without it but sometimes, I don't think about what I'm doing, clicking links everywhere so the A/V helps there . I still prefer to say that the best antivirus is the one behind the keyboard

 

i have a firewall in my router, i turn all the rest off...

 

Same here.

 

I use Avast on Vista 64

You may not need AV installed for everyday work but one day a friend may just send a link that you click on or a website you use every day may get hacked and a spyware loaded banner get placed on the site. On that day you will wish you had AV / anti-spyware installed.

 

I run AVG Free Edition on my laptop, but I pay for the AVG Internet Security suite on my desktop since it has my vital information on it. It's added security, so I can sleep at night.