Windows 7: Tips for NOT using an antivirus?

hello all. it's me. me. me. me..



i'll get straight to the point, here. I've been using MSE as my antivirus, i was quit happy with it. but, as of late, i've been noticing A LOT of issues with it.
Being, that whenever i do pretty much anything, the program scans any file that opens, closes, pretty much any activity. this isnt really a bad thing, i understand that much. but when it comes to day to day things like installing a (trusted) program, or uninstalling for that matter. MSE fires up, and boggs my system down to a crawl. I've actually had to terminate the scanner, just to uninstall a game. but that made it worse. the scanner then restarts itself, runs it's "startup" scan, overloads, forcing me to hard shutdown (via 5 second pwr button). Not being a very patient person, i uninstalled MSE, and have been not useing any antivirus for about 2 days. I actually like how things have been running. application (any of them) start up times are cut in half, downloads of small files dont throw my PC into a state of panic. so on, so forth. This comes with pretty much every A/V I've used. I'm really just liking how much faster everything is without one. O.K., i guess that wasn't the point of this thread. so here it is...


Can anyone recommend anything to NOT do, when NOT using an A/V? I get the basics. no pr0n / warez sites, trusted apps, and such. But, anything else? like general use no-nos, and vulnerability issues, stuff like that. I have not, NOT used an A/V before, and would like any tips to keep my pc clean and clear. thanks in advance.

i have named the contraction of getting a computer virus "HePC" (get it?)

Disconnect from the internet.

Or, use a giant HOSTS file. Immunize with Spybot S&D and SpywareBlaster. Turn on UAC. Set firewall to really intrusive mode.

Any combination thereof.

You are your best defense against HePC.

On the other hand, you have a moral responsibility to not infect others. If something gets past your best efforts, you might become a propogation source.

I haven't run anti virus since the first year I had Windows 95. Do as you say....stay away from cracks, keygens or run them in a VM or sandbox, stay away from shady porn sites and patch your OS and applications when a security vulnerability is discovered and you should be safe.

In all this time, I've had minor infections that did no real damage 2 or 3 times...non since W2K. One was a virus that added "support Greenpeace" or some other political statement to the end of every file and one was an IRC trojan before I new my way around IRC.

Don't listen to the fear mongers.

It's not really all that hard.

1) In IE (don't know exactly about FF but the procedure is the same and yes even in FF this is the #1 recomended "hardening" method) make the "internet zone" set to maximum safety (turns off all scripting etc). Then, as you encounter sites like amazon.com or whatever that you decide to trust, put those in your trusted sizes zone one by one as you need to.

1a) Stay away from warezy or prony sites :/

2) Turn off preview in any/all mail programs. DECIDE to open a piece of mail, don't let the app do it for you.

3) Don't accept programs or drivers from people ever. Always go to the source. Also don't just go installing every new gizmo that comes down the pike. After a while you develop a list of good trusted tools and generally stick with them.

4) Yes have the windows firewall on and your router/cablemodem firewall on. Punch holes only as necessary.

Not getting a virus is more of a mental attitude than anything. Mostly it's just don't do anything dumb. If a friend wants you to go to a dodgysite with a .ru address, just say no.

In almost 2 decades of following those simple rules I've never been infected.

Lastly, the big one: Outsiders... If you let friends come over with their machines and plug into your network, that's the biggest risk you will take. If you are going to allow this then you have to be more proactive with internal network security and that can get a little tricky. I rarely have to deal with this myself. If you don't your better off already.

*Points so Sig*

Or...

Just get a faster machine with some more RAM and install Nod32 and relax.

I don't even know Nod is there.

The only thing i can recommend apart from this is dont open suspicious emails and attachments. I've seen people NOT using AV since years and has nothing happened to their pc because they use it for general purpose like emails, internet surfing(safe sites), and so on.

thanks all. i wasnt expecting much or a response, than people saying im a dumb**** for even trying such a thing (who'da thunk it?)

I actually have been "behaving" on the net, most of my apps come from the freebie list in the software section, and all of the games and stuff are all legit and/or store bought. so far, things look good. i think this may just be one of those "experiments" i put my machince, and me, through. but it's goin well. .... i seem to be missing a kidney, but other than that ....

thanks again, i'll have to print out all the "rules" and staple em to the side of my monitor, for quick reference

However, it costs nothing to keep an AV. There's always a risk factor involved in running Windows without an AV.

im aware. i keep a handy Anti-HePC boot disk for if i think im coming down with something