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Comment by elorant | Hacker News Reader

If you don't download warez you don't need an antivirus. Just follow good old fashioned policies, like not opening executable attachments in emails, don't install codecs from companies you don't know etc., and install a firewall to monitor outgoing traffic.

I have a Windows 7 desktop and occasionally I might run a scan from an antimalware software. That's as far as I'm willing to go, I don't install special av software because they consume a lot of resources especially with real time analysis.

EDIT: Furthermore, if you’re a tad paranoid you can enable AppLocker in Windows to eliminate any chance of an unwanted program wreaking havoc on your machine. Anything that’s not signed by a company you approve doesn’t run.

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That might have been true a few years ago but it just isnt these days. Malware is being injected into ad networks on a semi-regular basis (I see Adblock as a defensive mechanism morese than something to get rid of ads). Sites also get hacked and can infect you that way.

Its like saying people only care about NSA spying because they have something to hide -- its faulty logic.

> If you don't download warez you don't need an antivirus

this is just plain false with all the other attacks out there today.

There are many methods of malware delivery which are easily accidentally triggered, even if you're following the basic rules

Drive-by downloads, clickjacking, having java installed, etc can get you infected even if you're a savvy user

> If you don't download warez you don't need an antivirus.

That works most of the time, but it's not the only attack vector around: browser exploits (e.g. via ads), malevolous attachments sent by known contacts, direct attacks over networks and so on.

In any case, it only takes once if you lower your guard; I'd run at least a lightweight one if I were you.

Trying to give out this type of help is counter productive, visiting a website could get you infected. Antiviruses won't tell you when you have been infected with a zero-day but they will help you out later. It's best to have or to run files in a sandbox before you use them on a production system.

I'm going to say that's not true, because that opens you up to being exploited through methods you trust. You might not think a PDF can hurt you, but without AV you don't even stand a chance.

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