Follow up Question Was: Re: Virtal Machine preferences?

[Patton Echols]

On 09/16/2009 10:19 AM, Chris G wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 11:55:59AM -0500, Preston Hagar wrote:
>   
>> On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 10:55 AM, Patton Echols <p.echols at comcast.net> wrote:
>>     
>>> Thanks Derek, and everyone else who replied.  The Windows applications I
>>> will use are not properly "internet" applications, but get grumpy if you
>>> "unplug the wire."  I guess I'll search around for a lightweight scanner.
>>>
>>>       
>> I know this might be almost blasphemous to say on a Linux mailing
>> list, but a properly updated Windows install really isn't as
>> susceptible to vira (thank Amedee) as a lot of people think.  I run
>> Ubuntu as my main desktop OS, but have a Windows XP Pro VirtualBox
>> install to use to compile things in Visual Studio and to check/use
>> websites in IE.  I don't use it as my primary OS whatsoever, but just
>> on occasion when those "Windows only" things come up.  For a while, I
>> ran AVG on the system, but it never really found anything and just
>> took up system resources.  I uninstalled it and have been running it
>> with no Anti-virus installed for quite some time.  I keep it up to
>> date with patches and about once every week or two, run an updated
>> Spybot and Malwarebytes scan just to make sure.  Those usually, at
>> most, just catch a few tracking cookies, but since I don't really use
>> the system for the majority of my web browsing, they usually find very
>> few of those.
>>
>>     
> Very similar to what I do.
>
>   
>> It has really been my experience of late that pretty much all
>> anti-virus software is more or less worthless.  At best, it will
>> detect a virus after you are already infected, or give so many false
>> positives, that you can miss the real virus for all of the non-virus
>> files.  General good guidelines like "don't use pirated software",
>> "don't download or install anything you are not sure of", and "don't
>> visit shady sites, especially in IE" will protect you from the vast
>> majority of infections.
>>
>>     
> Also exactly my experience, anti-virus software is the worst virus
> there is!  :-)
>
>   
Yes, especially in a vbox that only has 256mb of memory allocated.  I 
really don't want to use a bunch of that for AV.  I  may take that 
suggestion and "run naked." Probably better to inventory my dual boot 
and see what I realistically think I will need.

As for the "Pirated Software" thing, I  have not been using linux for 
very long, only a couple of years.  But I have yet to find something I 
wanted to do where there wasn't a FOSS solution readily available, most 
of the time in the repositories.  My only need for a windows machine is 
to run a few proprietary things for which there is no substitute.  
Precious few of them.