Dangerous statement...Many people have integrated solutions of firewall and AV.When they shut down the AV they also shut down the firewall without even knowing it (unless they're techsavvy, which the average user isn't, at least not enough).And even if they shut down the AV only, there's the very real risk of forgetting to turn it on again or keeping it off "for a while longer".Next thing you know they're infected "but I always run an antivirus program"...A GOOD background AV program will take very little system resources. Keep it running at all times. My Panda is down only when absolutely necessary and then only for the minimal time needed (and during that time the Panda control panel is constantly on top to remind me).

Well if they use FSAutoStart it will start the AV back after you are done flying ;-)I agree with what you say - but it is still my opinion that antivirus software is not necessary while using MSFS.Caveat emptor!

Heh, I'm going to rock the foundation a bit. I haven't made regular use of any AV software since about 1998. Not only that, but with the exception of about the first week after installing XP (which is the length of time for me to notice my online gaming wasn't working like it did under 98 and to realize XP had a firewall running which I promptly disabled and immediately had my games working properly again) I have never run a firewall of any sort. :) I've been online since about '95, online gaming since about '98, had cable for more than 2 years during which my PC and my internet connection have been active pretty much 24/7, and I've never had a virus of any sort. Thats right, you read correctly. Not a single virus or worm or trojan of any sort. Now how do I reconcile that fact with the suggestion that our PC's (as has apparently been shown by the firewall logs) are under constant, unsolicited attack by all manner of nefarious viruses? I mean if its true that not running a firewall means I'll have a virus within 5 minutes, how have I gotten through more than 5 years without one? Luck? Maybe, but you have to admit thats pretty darned lucky. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting there are no viruses. Obviously there are lots of them. I am however a little doubtful about the idea that you're going to get all sorts of viruses by simply not using AV software and firewalls. I'm a knowledgeable PC user and I'm careful about the files I D/L, I'm aware of the file extensions I need to be wary of, and I am extremely ruthless with the delete key when it comes to email. I've taken the time to make sure my wife (who is not PC savvy at all) understands the importance of not clicking on that little paperclip in the corner of her emails. I delete most of the cute little joke emails her friends send her ("10 Reasons Women are better than men") before she even sees them. I also make sure I"m current with the constant stream of MS security updates. I don't leave file sharing software and messaging software running and I make sure the system is clean of spyware. Just out of curiosity after reading this thread, I went and ran Trend Micro's online virus scan...the results of which are in the attached image (blurry but readable)...So what about all those warnings the AV software and firewalls are spitting out? Who knows. Maybe I have just been unbelievably lucky. Otoh, the cynic in me would note that [paranoid conspiracy theory]it's in the interest of those who sell AV software that their products appear to be crucial to the safe operation of your PC[/paranoid conspiracy theory]. Now, I'd never suggest that the software might be designed to produce false positives. However, it is certainly possible that it might be designed to err on the side of caution. Anyway, just an interesting counterpoint to the predominate theme of this thread. ;)

It's never happened to me, however yesterday one of my clients was hit by MyDoom.F.For my client, it was a disaster--the virus randomly deleted hundreds of Word, Excel, Access, and graphics files from their network and connected desktops and laptops. As they hadn't backed up their network since last December, they're really SOL. Once the virus was contained, the best I could do was help them recover the deleted files via a file restore utility, but that only recovered about 75% of their deleted files. They're left to recreate everything else.I also received several e-mails with MyDoom.F as a zipped attachment. McAfee Pro didn't catch it, even though my virus definitions were less than a week old. A quick update and McAfee immediately identified the virus.Nasty. Don't let this happen to you.-- Walt

At the risk of sounding like another heretic, I am in total agreement. I have found essentially the same scenario as you have. Yes, there are virii out there but there is a LOT of paranoia and misconception about them. With a little care, the odds of getting as virus are infinitesimal, but that's not the hype the anti virus software companies put out. I know for a fact that one major virus scare was started many years ago by someone hwo has now made millions in the anti virus software area.Contrary top popular belief, there isn't an army of evildoers out there just waiting to download a virus to your computer.I ran a port scan logger on my system for many months. Got hundreds or thousands of hits - none of which were "evil" or virus related. A few were commercial type spyware like those search engines that take over your system but nothing even remotely serious.I run AVG simply to scan email attachments and file downloads which can be the major source of attempted virus attacks.That said, if someone feels more comfortable with an AV running - go for it - it's your system and you do with it what you want. Vic

@zevious: The fact is that on a fresh XP install you simply won't have the time to d/l not even the one update that deals with Blaster before you are infected by it if you have no firewall protection (I should know...I tried it three times). I would be interested to hear how you managed that. As regards AV, I concur that it is not all that necessary.Kind regards,

He may THINK he's not infected and serving as a zombie, but he's wrong.Current generation trojans, once installed, have means of hiding their presence from most AV tools and firewalls or they just hack the firewall to open a port and prevent their activity from being logged...The ONLY protection is to prevent infection in the first place.

I've been on the internet since 1998 and I have never encountered a virus. I also think that virus software publishers have a vested interest in exaggerating the threat posed to the home user. However, I still have anti virus software and a firewall. I know that it is most unlikely that I will ever need it and it is probably money that could be better spent but many of us buy insurance which we will never claim on.

>He may THINK he's not infected and serving as a zombie, but>he's wrong.Ah. my friend - are you ever out of panic mode? Do you still run around screaming that the sky is falling? >>Current generation trojans, once installed, have means of>hiding their presence from most AV tools and firewalls or they>just hack the firewall to open a port and prevent their>activity from being logged...Unless you know what you're doing - it seems that I do and you don't based upon your rather inane comments.>>The ONLY protection is to prevent infection in the first>place.Agreed - shut your computer off forever and you'll be free from infection.you can prevent infection by a little housekeeping and care - A firewall, router, etc are helpful but user interaction is the main key. A *dedicated* and *experienced* hacker can get by most firewalls with a little effort. Fortunately. most dedicated hackers are not interested in us small fry individual users.Look at the latest virus attacks - all those BIG systems that got stung had very expensive firewalls with people who knew how to maintian them. WHat caused the problem? Some dumb user who blindly opened an infected email and let the cat out of the bag. And it spread to other dumb uisers who continually ignore warnings and click on attachments from friends - and so on, and so on.EDUCATION OF DUMB USERS is the main preventative not an automated virus checker.V

Vassilis - I don't know but I've installed hundreds of XP systems with and without hardware firewalls and have NEVER had a problem. Maybe I'm just lucky - or as JW thinks, maybe all my systems are secretly infected but no one knows about it. :)I'll say it again - IMHO - AV protection is only necessary to scan downloaded files. This works ONLY IF the user is taking additional precautions. For the majority of users, an AV program is a necessity.Just MHO,Vic

LOL, sorry but I have to disagree with that suggestion for several reasons. There are no signs whatsoever of any virus or trojan or worm activity on my system. No unusual HD activity, no complaints from friends that I've exchanged files with that they got warnings of any sort from their virus protection or that they've recieved odd emails from me, no problems with my connection of any sort (I can count on one hand the number of times I've disco'd from an online game session in the past couple years), no issues like "microstutter" which are such common complaints on forums like this one. In fact, judging by what I read at forums like this one, I'm getting considerably better than expected performance from my system. Surely if there were cleverly hidden trojans operating on my system (and if things were as bad as posts in this thread would indicate, there should be hundreds of them infecting my system after five or more yrs with no firewall) I'd have noticed something by now. And frankly, if they are so innocuous and cleverly hidden that their impact on my system is less than that of the software designed to protect me from them, well I think I'll maintain the status quo thanks. :)

er, how bout you leave the firewall on till you have all the updates downloaded, then turn it off. ;)But I'm by no means suggesting everybody should do what I'm doing. I'm just disputing the suggestion that if you turn yr firewall off for a couple hours (or a couple of minutes as some have said) while you fly flightsim online yr gonna get a virus.

>I'm just disputing the suggestion that if you turn yr>firewall off for a couple hours (or a couple of minutes as>some have said) while you fly flightsim online yr gonna get a>virus. Thank you! That was/is my main point. It pays to be careful but not paranoid.Vic

But, ZZ - you miss the point. Because they're there and undetectable by us zombies, we MUST run out and buy the latest and greatest AV checker so it can prevent us from getting any more undetectable, unseen, unknown things. Hmmm -sort of reminds me of an old joke;A man walks by and see's another man spreading talcum powder all over his lawn. He asks the man, "What are you doing?"The other man replies "I spread the talcum to keep the elephants off my lawn.""But there aren't any elephants within a hundred miles of here!""Works, doesn't it?"V

LOL :)