Wired:
When it comes to computer security, Jeremiah Grossman, Chief Technology Officer at security consultancy White Hat Security, is paranoid — and for good reason. He’s seen what the bad guys can do. But when he met with Wired at the RSA Conference in San Francisco this week, he said something surprising: He doesn’t use antivirus software.
As it turns out, many of his security-minded peers don’t use it either. The reason: If someone is going to try and attack them, they’re likely to use a new technique, one that most antivirus products will miss. “If you asked the average security expert whether they use antivirus or not,” Grossman says “a significant proportion of them do not.”
YES.
Windows from 1997 to 2005. One virus. I stupidly clicked on “I love you”. Too complicated to explain why. Thank the gods I shut down (i.e., pulled the plug) before I lost every JPEG in it.
YES.
Mac OS X since 2005.
What is a virus?
To answer the question of the article title: Yyeeeeeeeeeeeppp!
I would share my experience about never using antivirus software both on Windows and OSX, but I’d probably jinx myself. On the whole, yes, not worth it. Just exercise common sense.
This is problem. Most users in companies aren’t smart enough and that’s a fact.
No. But it’s only truly effective in conjunction with training and and administered systems. I’m talking windows here of course. I got a virus on my OS 9 G3 PowerMac from an infected CD once. Have had several viruses in 20 years of Windows use, have cleaned hundreds if not thousands from other Windows users machines. Scolded many users on the need to run and maintain anti-virus. All you can do is automate the process as much as possible to remove the need for user interaction.
On Mac OS X, which I have slowly gone completely back to, and now pushed to relatives and those friends who will listen, none of this stuff is a concern anymore.