Antivirus: do I need one?

Howdy folks!

I have been a computer user since 1994. At that time I was a 6 years old kid in possession of a cool monochrome laptop running DOS. I still remember the smell of that thing, I even happen to possess a little rubber part of that laptop still smelling like it did back in the day.

So now it makes me a 21 years of experience computer user. And you know what: it has only been once or twice that I fell victim to something close to a computer virus. And I have never used any sort of antiviral software.

Secret to this is to safely browse web and not to visit suspicious sites or click unreliable links in your email as 90% or more of virus threats are web-based. Another 10% falls under media sharing using removable drives. Even if you are sure in your safe browsing you may never be sure with that USB Drive from your friend who’s PC might had been infected and now he might be sharing infected data with you. So I do recommend sharing files through cloud-based services which are in abundance these days as they scan shared files for potential threats.

Reasons for not using antivirus software are simple: antivirus puts a lot of pressure on your computer’s processor, when benefits it gives you are very few taken that you browse web safely. In fact even virus threats are over-exaggerated by antiviral software companies to increase marketing and revenue. Some of the lower profile antiviruses are viruses themselves trying to infect and at the same time cure your computer from various worms while having you pay monthly fee.

So my best recommendation is to stay safe and enjoy your computer’s full potential without an antivirus as modern operating systems are already packed with protective tools and defenders that keep you safe without the need of installing third-party protection.