Since others are pluging payware programs, I thought I would plug a couple of 100% FREEWARE programs.1) Grisoft AVG Antivirus, I've been suing this for a few years now.Link Here:http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php2) STINGER virus Checker. If you suspect a virus.http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/Bookmark them.I also leave my firewall. Kerio personal Firewall (FREEWARE) turned on, as well as my virus Software.Regards,Joehttp://aboutpolitics.net/images/bannerav.gif.About Politics.net - FORUMShttp://pub162.ezboard.com/baboutpolitics.Contribute to the Richard Harvey Scholarship Fund.http://www.avsim.com/pages/scholarship.shtml

here. The other day I had visited a few sites online, my Mcafee running..no warnings of potential viruses onboard my system, MC always tells me when something has been found.Did an online flight using MS wx..no sb or other utilities and about half hour into the flight Mc Afee opened up and showed me 8 files infected, steps were taken auto to remove virus.My question, I figure I got it on line real wx only as Mcaphee did not pick it up earlier while browsing the web or checking e-mailI wonder !!?? Is anything possible!MB

How's that lawsuit coming? ;-)I use avast antivirus (www.avast.com), if anyone cares. It is FREE for personal use.

Ok, you got me, I hit the post button as I was heading out to pick up my boys from school.For the record, I have never sued anyone. :-lol :-lolhmmm...Self-Induced Chuckle...Regards,Joe

Hi Ray,Once you've downloaded and installed the Nasa Mars Exploration Rovers ScreenSaver just create a shortcut to it and place it on your desktop. I always have my ScreenSaver set to 'None' preferring instead to start it manually if or when I want. I now have a couple which I use regularly for either their visual entertainment (EctoSaver) or educational(?!)(Mars Rover) value. In practice, if I'm going to be away from my PC for a while, I either:1) Power down my LCD TFT Flat Panel using a PowerStrip Hot key combo or,2) Switch off the monitoror,3) Put my system into Stand ByAll work well and reliably.Cheers!Mike

I'll take this opportunity to thank everyone for their contribution to this thread. It's fascinating to read how others are protecting themselves and their helpful comments on the subject. I hope those other casual readers have learned something from the experience.Thanks again and :-beerchugMike

I would NEVER be online without the firewall installed. The AV coould be desactivated as I am not loading anything except the ActiveSky data. But not the firewall. Regularly some Trojan Horse is trying t get into my PC even while flying FS9. I also have the broadbanded line.Roger

I always leave my A/V running while flying. Don't notice any real performance gain from having it off... seems the same on my system either way. I have Broadband.

What I've found. Correct me if I'm wrong.-Anti virus software would only cause performance problems and stutters if they use some kind of "real-time" protection, scanning every file as it's read. Having a scan scheduler running shouldn't cause any problems as long as it doesn't start scanning in the middle of a flight. So, if the progrma is properly configured, there's no reason to disable it-In order for viruses to be transmitted through the real weather downloads, someone would either have to first plant a worm on your computer, or there'd have to be a serious security hole in FS, in which case an antivirus program wouldn't help anyway. FS is programmed to connect to a specific server and download a specific, non-executable file. The kneeboard "browser" is using your installation of IE, make sure it's patched up. As long as you don't point the kneeboard browser to any suspicious sites, it should be OK.

>Regularly some>Trojan Horse is trying t get into my PC even while flying FS9.>I also have the broadbanded line.>Is that on Norton? I heard that a lot of these so called attacks are actually something to do with the pc contacting itself. Not sure if that is true or not though.Victor

I believe they are genuine attacks. Norton specifies the type of Trojan. Often the same but they do vary. I very rarely have it with my portable connected to a normal line.Roger

Norton firewall trojan messages aren't always necessarily attacks.http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nip.n...src=bar_sch_namVictor

I agree with Ken and others: I disable my AV program while flying. The real-time protection does reduce FPS a tiny bit. I feel comfortable behind my firewall. The only files I am downloading are weather updates. This brings up the question, does anyone know if the major weather programs run virus scans on the downloaded weather files? While it seems unlikely these files would be infected, it is always a possibility.

Viruses can only exist in executable files (not counting document macro viruses and such). The most common are .exe, .com, .scr but there are a few others like the ActiveX applets such as spyware and dialers, that plague Internet Explorer users visiting "certain" sites :)The weather files are just data files and as such they can not contain viruses. The only way to get a virus through those would be through some "backdoor" that would have to be opened by a Trojan (you'd have to run an executable), or if there was a serious security hole in FS2004 or your OS.

Mike, Ray, Ken etc.Thanks guys for an awesome thread - truely valuable info!!I'll second Ken on the freeware/registered Avast4 antivirus - betters any payware out there!Cheers :)Josh