I’ve been without anti-virus software from the past three and half years. During this period I’ve regularly surfed the net and have least trouble. If you can believe, the past three and half years were much more comfortable than the time, when I used to ensure the presence of anti-virus software on my PC.
So “Is there any need to have anti-virus software installed in one’s computer, especially if the person visits the net regularly?”
For me the answer is a big NO!
Why? Because I’ve parted ways with the anti-virus utilities about three years ago and to this day I’m having no problems with this arrangement.
First of all let I tell you the reasons why I discarded anti-virus softwares. The reasons are:
i) As per research about fifty new viruses come in the world daily, while the anti-virus companies manage to develop anti-virus definitions for only four of these. Thus forty-six of the viruses still go unbeatable. So what is the use of installing something, which blocks four and is ineffective for the remaining forty-six.
ii) Although skeptics spread the dangers of venturing in the cyber space unprotected, they when asked, fail to answer a simple question
“Why do computers in world’s most secure places get infected, when they afford to have the best protection against viruses?”
The Answer is simple no anti-virus is secure.
iii) It seemed to me (this is just my observation) that if viruses do attack PCs, then there are more chances of getting one’s computer infected, if it is protected. It has more to do with the working of the entire anti-virus industry than with anything else. To understand this, let’s assume a working model:
“Viruses are made by anti-virus companies (not all but a few), these companies also make their anti-dotes or virus definitions. The motives behind such a working are: to make new customers and retain the old ones. The old customers or the ones that already have the company software are retained by giving them the virus definitions that are developed by the company against the viruses made by the same company. The new customers are made by infecting those PCs that use an anti-virus from the rival company.”
Look, this model is actually working!
So based on the working model put above, the whole business runs on two ideas:
1} Making a question and then answering it. (To retain the old customers)
2} Attacking the machines with software from the rival (to make new customers) Both these methods make the exercise easy.
So what is the use of keeping an anti-virus?
iv) If a person wishes to un-install an anti-virus of a certain company and then wishes to install another one from another company, he or she has to face all sorts of troubles in removing the former. Even downloading an anti-virus from the rival company via internet becomes an impossible task, as the former one blocks the copying of some crucial files of the new one.
So every time a PC owner wishes to install new anti-virus software, he or she is left with no option but to format the master drive.
What a waste of time and money.
v) Last but not the least, I found FIREWALL- an inbuilt security in Windows operating systems more effective than any anti-virus software.
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