I'm a computer science major....

[sld72382]

Guy calls in to cancel the trial of his antivirus so it doesn't renew. In typical fashion, I ask him what he's going to replace it with....

SC: Nothing.

Me: You might want to put something on, otherwise you leave yourself at risk to be infected.

SC: That's okay, I don't need any antivirus.

Me: Well just so you know if you don't want to pay for one there are good freeware alternatives available.

SC: That's fine. I'm a computer science major. I don't get viruses.

Me: Anyone can get a virus.

SC: Well I come from a computer background so I know what to watch out for.

Me: Okay but just so you know if you end up getting a virus we do charge for virus removal, either $200 instore or $300 inhome.

SC: okay.

Me: The auto renewal function has been canceled, here's your case # have a good day.

I was tempted to tell him this: "That's like a motorcyclist saying 'I don't need a helmet because I don't plan on crashing'," but I figured he might complain about it so I bit my tongue. In my experience many computer science majors are clueless when it comes to basic stuff like this.

[Midorikawa]

In my experience many computer science majors are clueless when it comes to basic stuff like this.

Sadly enough, mine too...it makes those of us who know what we're doing look bad, and especially removes credibility when I MUST contact support. More than once I've cleaned viruses off my CS major friend's computers, or walked them through simple things like a RAM upgrade.

[Hyndis]

Depends on the tone he used. He very well may not need an antivirus. Viruses tend not to be that big of a threat to computer savvy people. Viruses have relatively predictable attack vectors, and most viruses can be removed without too much fuss, particularly if the user is familiar with computers.

There are a few nasty viruses, but these are relatively rare.

It mostly comes down to if he's confident enough he can take care of himself or if he comes back later crying for help.

If he actually can take care of himself I don't see a problem with declining to pay those exorbitant rates to have his OS installed.

[Broomjockey]

There are a few nasty viruses, but these are relatively rare.

And those ones generally circumvent AV software anyway, making it useless. No, AV software is far from necessary if you know what you're doing, I ran with no active scanner for over 2 years, didn't get a thing.

However, being a Computer Science major doesn't really mean crap in this regard. You can fuck up your computer just as easily with it as without it.

[Mystic]

This computer runs with a free scanner and I've not had a virus in many years. Still, better safe than sorry.

My other computer runs with no virus scanner because it's a waste of resources on a computer that doesn't go online very much when those resources are needed for other things.

[Chromatix]

On my Windows machine I have an effective strategy for avoiding malware:

- Never use it for e-mail.
- Never use Internet Exploder; use Firefox instead. Don't go to obviously-dodgy websites anyway.
- Keep it permanently behind a NAT firewall. The LAN does have a wireless bridge, but that uses WPA encryption with a reasonably strong password, and youd have to work hard to receive it from outside the building. The firewall itself is a computer running Linux.
- Don't install random crap on it. Only install trusted, high-quality crap.

And finally:

- Install antivirus anyway. Avast works well enough, is sufficiently lghtweight, and doesn't cost anything.

[Eric the Grey]

I was tempted to tell him this: "That's like a motorcyclist saying 'I don't need a helmet because I don't plan on crashing',"

It's like saying you're not going to use precautions during sex because your a doctor....

The last time my AV alerted me to something bad on my computer was well over a year ago, and that time I was downloading something I knew was risky, and had fully planned on scanning before moving it to a virtual machine to run.

Beyond stuff like that, I don't get virus' or spyware very often (the last spyware detected on my system was well over 3 years ago).

I still run an AV program, just to be certain, as well as running an anti-spyware software on a regular basis.

It's just sensible practice to be careful.



Eric the Grey

[tropicsgoddess]

Me thinks the SC is a armchair computer science major. You have to be a complete moron to not have any kind of anti virus protection on your computer!

[Broomjockey]

You have to be a complete moron to not have any kind of anti virus protection on your computer!

I ran with no active scanner for over 2 years, didn't get a thing.

Thank you.

[sld72382]

Just want to share this tidbit for you.

About a month or so ago I clicked on a thumbnail someone posted on a forum and when the image loaded (the image was hosted by ImageVenue or something) my anti virus software immediately detected a trojan and got rid of it. Thank goodness my antivirus software (VIPRE) actually removes things it finds.

Now, I wasn't using IE. I was using Firefox with Adblock Plus and NoScript, considered the safest combo to browse with. Proof that even with a great "front line" defense a virus can still get through.

[Hyndis]

And those ones generally circumvent AV software anyway, making it useless. No, AV software is far from necessary if you know what you're doing, I ran with no active scanner for over 2 years, didn't get a thing.

However, being a Computer Science major doesn't really mean crap in this regard. You can fuck up your computer just as easily with it as without it.

Yup.

So if you get a virus, either its just one of those trivial infections that can be removed within a few minutes that AV software will actually prevent. Or if its one of the real nasty buggers it would nuke your AV software anyways so your AV software provide no protection to begin with.

I have two machines. One is a junk machine with AV software that is used for most of my, err...image and video browsing.

The other machine is the much nicer one, used for both gaming and for work stuff that involves sensitive data, like my bank account info. There is no AV on this one to streamline the machine, but its been going 2-3 years strong with no virus attacks on it at all. I do periodically scan it, but every time it comes up clean.

[Kiwi]

I haven't had antivirus on my computer for years, I do have spybot S&D on my computer but rarely use it.
I do a format every 12 weeks and the BF and I have a totally seperate HD for any important storage, I dont store anything on the computer that I can afford to loose without it being backed up at least once.

If you are careful you don't need it, if you are like some of my family members you can have 2-3 different antivirus programmes running and STILL murder your computer every month.

[Midorikawa]

You have to be a complete moron to not have any kind of anti virus protection on your computer!

Thanks...I haven't used antivirus in about 10 or so years, but then again, last time I used windows as a main OS, Windows 98 was brand new and still all hyped up. No need for AV on Linux/OS X. :-)

[Blade_Raver]

If a computer science degree is the magic bullet against virus infections, anti virus companies would be out of business.

Ah well, it was pretty ignorant on behalf of the person who called you.

[Hyndis]

Thanks...I haven't used antivirus in about 10 or so years, but then again, last time I used windows as a main OS, Windows 98 was brand new and still all hyped up. No need for AV on Linux/OS X. :-)

Viruses exist for Linux and OS X too. Do not think that just because you are not using Windows you are immune to attacks.

Windows is something like 90% market share though, so 90% of viruses (number pulled out of my arse, but its probably a good guestimate) are written for Windows. But that means that the other 10% of viruses are written for Linux or OS X.

Its just because that so few people use Linux or OS X that you really just aren't worth the time of most virus writers. Most, but not all.