Does anyone here actually surf the internet without an antivirus program?

Oh no that was silly of him lol I have always had an Antivirus on mine and the one I have is free and works great I also have other Protection on here I hope he has learned his Lesson

It is a learning experience for everyone who has a laptop or PC and who surfs the internet, to have reliable anti-virus protection. Some people learn it the hard way, or become victims of virus attacks before they realize that protection is a necessary thing. One thing I realize is that some people, even when they have anti-virus programs installed, think that they are well protected when in fact, they don't even have virus signature files updated regularly. Some people don't even have signatures updated since installation of the anti-virus programs, and that can be a year or two back. Now, even anti-virus programs alone may not be adequate, because spyware, adware and other malicious programs also lurk around and can be even more dangerous than viruses. Whatever programs installed have to be able to take care of not just viruses, but also adware, spyware, trojans and other such potentially destructive programs.

i have to say that i have never done it. where did your friend get their laptop? most new ones will come with some sort of antivirus software installed when you purchase it. now, i will say that i may not always have the protection that i need. i was completely oblivious to adware and spyware and the different scans that you can do for those until about a year ago.

well, it depends on ur pc.. i keep dual os.. so no worrries.. vista i got antivirus, but on xp no such things.. But i'll tell u one thing..surfing is damn dast without antivirus and firewall...

I do use Anitvirus software on my computer but they are all pirated. I don't think I have seen many people using a registered software in my country. I know a lot of them in my country who do not use Anti-virus software because they use something called PC HEAL once a month.

I did tried keeping my computer safe without antivirus software. but eventually i had to buy a antivirus. The worst threat is data loss. I had to format my full hard drive and then reinstall OS. Now i use kaspersky. kaspersky has hiest detection level of all the antivirus as kaspersky claims, but now sure though but kaspersky is very light. i would recomend kaspersky internet security. Because i don't want to take any change for my data. so better be safe then worry.

i have been using my computer surfing the net for 2 years now and i didnt have any anti virus installed....but eversince i havent had any problem with viruses (knock on wood!!!) or maybe i just dont download anything frrom any sites except songs on my limewire....but so far so good.

Hi, I must admit that I did the same thing. I was using the Internet for over a year without virus protection. I ended up having to take the computer in to a repair shop to get it wiped out and redone. I can't say it has ever really been the same. You really need anti virus on it. cheers,

Surfing the web without protection? That's either really brave or really stupid. I should know because I learned that the hard way. Up until a few years ago, my computer was without any sort of protection. Plus, I had the program 'Limewire' and that did not help at all. I had to restart Windows over and over. And I had to redownload programs and stuff. It was kind of like repairing your stuff after a natural disaster; I had no idea where to start.

Well, if I am not downloading anything then it is okay if I turn off my firewall and/or antivirus program... but when I am downloading something... have to scan it first just to make sure.

Yes when I first got my computer back in about 1998 or something when I was not as aware of things like virus's and firewalls etc. Ever since then I have used virus software. I have Norton on my desktop computer and McAfee on my laptop.

I surfed for about 2 years without antivirus protection. It's not very smart, but if you only go to trusted sites, and are very careful, you can do it. That was about 4 years ago, and I would not advise it, especially now. There are many more viruses and trojans, and untrustable sites today. If you do not have antivirus protection, there are free programs that you can use, that offer close to the same protection as programs you have to pay for. A good site to some at is www.filehippo.com

Well, one thing, your friend must be visiting porx sites or warez site rite? Or maybe open suspicious e-mail? Based on my experience, if you use Internet in a "right way", you should not get such problems. I notice we usually find viruses and trojans in warez site, or in porx sites, along with spyware. So if you want to visit those sites, it's better to "arm" yourself with appropriate defense software:)

You'd be amazed at the number of people who aren't defined as stupid or crazy who just don't realise what's out there. Worse yet many people think that running the free version of something will really keep stuff out. Often it's really a question of getting what you pay for. If it costs nothing you can bet it won't do much or be as good as a paid version. What really amazes me is that people will gladly pay a lot of money for a computer and then be stingy in making sure that their expensive equipment is safe. Let's put it this way: If you have a computer you also need to take out insurance in the form of a firewall/antivirus/spamblocker and then learn to use themA friend of mine called once about something and over the phone I was able to advise what she needed and also help her install something. At the same time I also gave instructions how to configure the firewall her dad had running. He had it on there but had never bothered to configure it so he was still getting a load of nonsense. The lesson here is that if you have something running on your pc then don't assume it will do the job unless you know what it does and have configured it correctly!

Yes, I knew someone who surfed without an antivirus. The computer came with Mcaffee and when it expired he didn´t do anything about it. I´ve noticed that he had no antivirus when I had to use his computer once. He wasn´t even aware how dangerous it is to use the Internet without any protection. It was his first computer, he basically used it to receive and send mail. Needless to say that his PC collapsed after six months. His technician said that he´s never seen so many viruses, malware a.s.o. on a computer before.

I don't use anti-virus but that is because I have a Mac. I don't know how Mac is able to make a machine that doesn't require protection, but I have to wonder why Windows hasn't copied their methods. When I had a PC I used AVG freeware. But I don't know if they are still offering that or not.

Yes, I've been surfing the web for years without any security. (I run linux :)) Your post is a good reminder to windows users, though.

Are you kidding? That's too dangerous for your computer. There are too many virus and trojan of interent. What the worse , a hacker will broke into your computer system. May be you will lost your account of your E-mail or bank account keys .

I have been doing so for about a year without any trouble. I suppose this depends entirely on what you do on the net. I mostly visit a few regular sites, although I do download occasionally. I guess that if you do download a lot, especially from some of the more shadier sites, then an antivirus would be essential.

I do it with Linux but not with windows and even with Linux i will use the online scanners once in awhile just to make sure!