Its the season we all await so eagerly, some just to get over the year, others to start the new year and most to make money from the sales of themed merchandises. Its even a pity how people get away with vices in the name of being in the heat of the moment with the holidays.
however this post is not about my indifference to the season but how anti-virus software have been marketed just like the holidays. Its true that one can survive without one and operate just fine. consider this; server operate without the AVS. Recall that the servers are designed to receive requests from all over the internet and every request is a potential threat. Now consider a laptop which is under the careful eye of the owner. There are only two main points in which malicious software can be introduced.
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Removable media
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Online sites visited
About removable media there are enough utilities provided by windows to thwart any transfer of malicious content through the use of removable media.
As for online sites, this is solely based on the user’s discretion. Visiting “funny” websites and downloading stuff that cannot be shown publicly means that one is exposing themselves. A case in point where are people frequenting most these days.
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social networks – These networks are all on SSL powered which authenticates their identity. Whether it’s twitter or Facebook or the photo sharing one like Flickr and Instagram one doesn’t need a web scanner to enjoy their services.
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Downloads – The need to use pirated software is the greatest reason why people will go sites like PirateBay. Am not saying that these sites don’t serve a greater good.However if one needs to obtain software its always as simple as going to the manufacturers website and browsing to the downloads section. Right there even one has a proof of identity.
The description above is an endeavour to try and show that however antivirus software are good, they are mostly over emphasized and we can survive without them to some extend. I usually hate it when my machine has to slow down simply because the AVS is initializing at startup.
Happy holidays to all.