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I was just wondering how many viruses people have picked up on their current machine...I've never (I don't have an anti-virus either). I have picked up some crappy "when-u-save" adware, but that was removed without difficulty.

None.

Regards Howard

Current machine, never. Only time I caught a virus was way back in 1997 when I was new to the Internet.

BTW - cfitzarl, you know better than to go without some kind of AV software.

I haven't had a real virus infect my system since probably 98 or 99, I think it was some virus that got in when browsing network files, man I'm not even sure if I ever got infected then, because I specifically remember Norton making my system speaker screech and dropped it to a red screen, similar to the BSOD of 9x, saying that norton had caught a virus trying to infect me. So maybe never?

I'm going to put Media Center on my main comp this weekend, I dont' think I'm going to put any AV on it. Why? Because I use Opera, don't visit shady sites, and don't use email outside of gmail, and I don't click on links I'm not expecting that get sent from "friends" on IM.

I got once in 1998, but ZoneAlarms caught it immediately. It was a trojan in a game demo off download.com.

I install Fecure once a month, run a scan, and then uninstall. I don't open attachments, look at pr0n, or download stuff of shady sites, so I've been fine for 9 years now.

I have Fix-It on guard,
But i still do regular scans that always produce "none found"
But as for Firewalls,i never used or tried them.
Let the Government use this protection.

I suppose that depends on your definition of a virus.

I've had my share of "infections", but nothing major. I purchase a yearly subscription to Spyware Doctor which has saved me from many nightmare-ish "infections" (it removes viruses, trojans, and all other forms of malware, spyware, and adware). spyware doctor is great and IMHO is worth every penny).

I wouldn't recommend anybody go without some form of AV/malware protection. the free programs are better than nothing but just don't compare to the paid (and fully supported and updated) programs.

you don't have to visit shady websites or open blatantly fake emails to get a virus/malware/etc. the people that write and distribute those things are very clever when it comes to finding ways to spread them around.

cfitzarl, if you don't use any AV program, then how do you know that there are no harmful or invasive programs running on your computer?

I do use Ad-Aware SE Personal for all of the malware and adware stuff that can accumulate. My parents have Norton on their computer, which I hate with a passion. It decided to search for updates or scan right when I'm in the middle of a heavy application. Argg .

I'd have to agree with the Norton updating thinger. When it's updating it has tons of processes running, and it takes like ages to check for updates; plus, sometimes, when done updating, it gives a msgbox that "says some of the stuff installed requires restart. close all unsaved work and then click OK"
I had the Sony DRM Rootkit, I think. I might have had a file that had a trojan in it, but I don't think I ever ran it; when I figured out it was bad, I deleted it.

Unless, you know, you're running linux

Anyways, I get none. My AV (AVG Free) does everything on it's own so I never worry (updates itself, scans my pc by itself, etc.). I only figure out it was actually scanning for viruses once it comes up with "No Viruses Found".

I've never had any serious infection on any of my computers. The last time I had a non-serious infection, I was using Windows 95.

I keep Teatimer running in the background, so I can see what registry entries are being created/deleted/modified, and AntiVir Guard.

But if you are sending files to PCs running Windows, it's still a good idea.

I've gotten one, and that was one too many! By network sharing through my university when I lived in the dorms, I gained access to a particularly fun little bugger: nimda. Oh the joys of having to batch move and delete the garbage files it spews out all over your harddrive, all the time trying to locate where the offending file is located. Two years later I think that system STILL gets occasional nimda files, though it's quarantined to 2-3 folders.

I never use the system anyway, but it definitely taught me my lesson!

My current and next gen rigs none.

My last Rig probably over 50 a week. Why because I used to ****** software. I also used to go to seriall and crack website to get games to work. Oh yeah and p2p networks. Not to mention the many "korn" sites I visited.

Edited to keep the post within the rules.

Sorry about my last few posts.

Again, Techspot does not condone the use of piracy.

BTW, I now use AVG Free

Illegal downloads are one of the main sources of infections. Also Techspot does not condone any form of piracy.

Regards Howard