Interesting argument.
https://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2017/01/antivirus-is-bad/
I've thought about it. So much of the processing power of a computer goes to AV.
My sister-in-law who is very techno abandoned it long ago in favor of restrictive policies. If you're like Bill and just run a VM when you surf, that might work too
>>unless you use Microsoft's Windows Defender
Which I do because it's the only one that is halfway reasonable in terms of resource usage.
>abandoned it long ago in favor of restrictive policies
>unless you use Microsoft's Windows Defender
Same here, though my restrictions are mostly limited to avoiding trojan files like .exe's. I don't do FB games, rarely open attachments, etc.
I also heed the 'bad site' warnings of Chrome.
I used to run AVS & Spybot S&D but moved away from them 5 or 6 years ago as I gained more & more confidence in Win Defender.
I've been without anti-virus for 14+ years on my main work computer.
> I've been without anti-virus for 14+ years on my main work computer.
Similar for me too. I'm of the very firm opinion that for most AV and FW style products to be thought of as effective they have decided they need to flash and bleep to let you know how effective they are at protecting you. As such, they annoy the hell out of me, especially at telling me about random internet background noise that has no effect on me or my systems.
However... I do install Windows inbuilt Defender stuff on my parent's machine(s) as that seems to be light on resources, doesn't annoy the hell out of me, and they're idiotic at clicking dodgy ads disguised as warnings etc
For the vast masses and kids computers: No!
For me: no for now, as I believe in defending in depth and an AV program is another line of defense. But pick and choose what AV matches your OS. Avoid MacAfee and Norton. I use AVG free on the Mac and its saved me from something dodgy a couple of times.
For most of the Core: I'd think you folks can get away without it.
I'd sooner recommend something like Sandboxie and a firewall. I'd suppose that the vectors of attack are too fluid for one company to keep on top of it, it really becomes a question of accepting the extra electricity/slowness for the percentages gain in protection.
>Sandboxie
Sandboxie and Chrome don't get along, IIRC. But back 5+ years ago, it was the only thing that we could install that worked for an extended family member who simply could not refrain from clicking/downloading every damn piece of socially-engineered malware out there. If it still works with MS Edge, I'd highly recommend it as one of the best methods of protection. It's been a long time, and I'm fuzzy on it, but I believe you could set preferences so that it spun up when EI booted.
It's been a while since I used it too. IIRC it worked on Windows 7, that was a few years back. It looks like they're still actively maintaining it: https://www.sandboxie.com/index.php?VersionChanges
Version 5.12 mentions 'Chrome 52 is now supported.', Chrome latest version is 57.