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<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT size=2 face=Arial>hi friends, talk back.
what's your opinion, in your voice? do you agree with this writer? can we really
rest assured that our PC will be absolutely safe without anti virus programs? by
the way, I am using Avast anti virus and Iobit Security 360 anti malware
programs. I found they were good enough, not causing my computer slow down. in
fact, some of the software recommended by this writer are not working as good as
he sounds.</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kyychoo@streamyx.com href="mailto:kyychoo@streamyx.com">Choo Kim
Yoon</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=mabelderlyclub@googlegroups.com
href="mailto:mabelderlyclub@googlegroups.com">mabelderlyclub@googlegroups.com</A>
; <A title=share@ncbm.org.my
href="mailto:share@ncbm.org.my">share@ncbm.org.my</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 31, 2010 12:12
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Share] Do you really need
it?</DIV>
<P><FONT size=2 face=Arial><BR></FONT> </P><FONT size=2
face=Arial></FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<H1 class=articleheading>Antivirus software: Do you really need it? (Feature)
</H1>
<DIV class=articlecoll>
<P class=date><!-- Author Start -->By Jay Dougherty <!-- Author End -->Jul 31,
2010, 3:06 GMT </P></DIV>
<P> </P>
<P>Washington - Do you wish you could do without antivirus software? There are
certainly plenty of good reasons not to like it. After all, antivirus programs
invariably slow down your <A
style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" id=KonaLink0
oncontextmenu="return false;" class=kLink
onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);
onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);
onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);
href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1574535.php/Antivirus-software-Do-you-really-need-it-Feature#"
target=_top><FONT
style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
color=#008000><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>computer</SPAN></FONT></A>, annoy you with false positives or
status pop-ups, and of course most of them cost money - often on a recurring,
yearly basis. But can you just say no to antivirus software and still stay
safe? The short answer is 'yes' - if you adopt some security-savvy computing
practices. </P>
<P>--- Know thyself </P>
<P>If you only use commercial software and never install programs you've
downloaded from the internet or copied from a friend, then your main sources
of concern for contracting a computer virus will come from <A
style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" id=KonaLink1
oncontextmenu="return false;" class=kLink
onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);
onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);
onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);
href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1574535.php/Antivirus-software-Do-you-really-need-it-Feature#"
target=_top><FONT
style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
color=#008000><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>web </SPAN><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>sites</SPAN></FONT></A> and e-mail. Common sense - and following
the guidelines below - will protect you the rest of the way. </P>
<P>On the other hand, if you're addicted to free downloads, shareware, and
'warez' sites that purport to offer commercial software at no cost, then you
have no viable option. You must install antivirus software - and perhaps even
use a couple of programs - to make sure you don't fall victim to malicious
software or phishing attacks. </P>
<P>Most people, however, run just the few programs that came with their PCs
and don't venture into dangerous territory on the web. For them, the
guidelines below will provide adequate protection. </P>
<P>--- Web sites </P>
<P>Today's browsers have a lot of security controls built in, and these tend
to do a fine job of preventing phishing attacks or the automatic downloading
of potentially malicious software. Antivirus tools add little to their already
robust protections. </P>
<P>So if you want to be free of antivirus software, be sure to use to latest
versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Chrome, and keep those
browsers up to date through your operating system's automatic update feature.
Also, do not disable or alter the default security settings of the major
browsers unless you know what you're doing. </P>
<P>If you attempt to access a <A
style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" id=KonaLink2
oncontextmenu="return false;" class=kLink
onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);
onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);
onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);
href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1574535.php/Antivirus-software-Do-you-really-need-it-Feature#"
target=_top><FONT
style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
color=#008000><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>web </SPAN><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>site</SPAN></FONT></A> that's known to be harmful, most modern web
browsers will warn you before the site is displayed on your screen. If you'd
like to feel even more secure when you're surfing, consider installing the
free McAfee SiteAdvisor tool (http://www.siteadvisor.com), which adds small
site rating icons to your search results and a new browser button and optional
search box to your browser. These controls together do a good job of alerting
you to a potentially dangerous site before you reach it. </P>
<P>--- Clean e-mail </P>
<P>Most of the generalised warnings you hear about virus-carrying e-mail
messages are misleading. You can't get a computer virus merely by receiving an
e-mail message. You would have to click on a link within the message that
downloads a harmful file onto your <A
style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" id=KonaLink3
oncontextmenu="return false;" class=kLink
onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3);
onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3);
onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3);
href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1574535.php/Antivirus-software-Do-you-really-need-it-Feature#"
target=_top><FONT
style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
color=#008000><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>PC</SPAN></FONT></A>, or you would have to open or run a malicious
file attached to a message. </P>
<P>So don't do either one of those things if you receive an e-mail message
from someone you don't know. Combine that common sense approach with the
latest patches or updates for your e-mail program of choice, and you should
have no use for additional protection offered by a bloated security package.
</P>
<P>You can add yet another level of security by configuring your e-mail
program so that it displays incoming messages as plain text. Doing so will
turn off the display of graphics, which, when clicked, may unleash a
virus-carrying file. If you use a traditional e-mail client such as Outlook or
Outlook Express, add a good spam-blocking like Cloudmark Desktop
(http://bit.ly/7zrVeU) to your toolkit, and chances are very good that any
potentially dangerous messages will get routed automatically to your Spam
folder, where you will never see it. </P>
<P>--- Periodic scans </P>
<P>Just because you decide to run your <A
style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline !important" id=KonaLink4
oncontextmenu="return false;" class=kLink
onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,4);
onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,4);
onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,4);
href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1574535.php/Antivirus-software-Do-you-really-need-it-Feature#"
target=_top><FONT
style="POSITION: static; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
color=#008000><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; FONT-FAMILY: arial; COLOR: #008000 !important; FONT-WEIGHT: 400"
class=kLink>PC</SPAN></FONT></A> without antivirus software doesn't mean you
shouldn't check for viruses occasionally. You can do so, however, without
installing anything if you stop in occasionally at one of the free online
virus scanners. Among them are Eset Online Scanner
(http://www.eset.com/online-scanner), Avast Online Scanner
(http://onlinescan.avast.com), and TrendMicro Online Scanner
(http://housecall.trendmicro.com). All of these allow you to initiate a system
scan without installing a permanent antivirus package. </P>
<P>--- Giving in </P>
<P>If you don't like the idea of initiating a virus scan from a web sit or you
just don't feel comfortable going without antivirus software, you can keep
system slowdowns to a minimum and annoyance at bay by opting for one of the
security applications that are known to be effective at detecting threats,
relatively easy on system resources, and reasonably priced. Titles that meet
all of those criteria include Microsoft's Security Essentials
(http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials) - which is free - PCTools'
Spyware Doctor with Antivirus =(http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor), and
Norton Antivirus 2010 (http://www.symantec.com). Each of these will provide
the background scanning and on-demand protection that you might need, and each
can be configured not to bug you unless absolutely necessary.</P></FONT><PRE> </PRE>
<P>
<HR>
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