Well, how long is a piece of string? I can answer this question only from my point of view. Other people might have other opinions. First of all, I am using McAfee Virus protection. And I am not exactly a person who actually pays for a lot of software. I just had a look at Task Manager. McShield is idling along at between 2 and 5 % CPU. I have a P4 with 1 GByte of ram. I do not really feel that the virus scanner is running in the background. This might be different if you use a P3 with 256 MByte of ram!

My second point is, how much would it cost you if you would loose all your data? Are you a gamer? Do you use your computer for business? Are you a programmer? I once lost all my private data - not through a virus though! It really hurt because I lost a couple of email contacts from friends and people overseas. Think about what would be if someone would steal your computer. If you wouldn't get it back! If it is not a problem to you then the risk of catching a virus might not be a big issue for you.

Next point: I believe people who do not protect their systems against virusses actually support the spread of virusses. If your scanner doesn't filter out email worms and sends it to your 100 contacts in your address list, you are partially responsible for the spread of a virus. It is the same as leaving the car open and your wallet on the passenger seat.

You say you have a firewall and run a freeware scanner from time to time. And you don't open any files downloaded from the net. But do you have all the information you need in order to protect your system? What about a virus hidden in a jpg? Do you open pictures sent by you in an email? And did you know that jpgs can contain a virus BEFORE McAfee knew? Or Symantec? I am not only paying for a piece of software which runs on my computer, I am paying for a service I get from them to know about virusses before I read about them on Slashdot. I expect a virus file update from them before I even know that there is a new virus out there! And a virus protection system which isn't updated on a regular basis isn't worth the money. That's why I signed up with a bigger company instead of using freeware! A freeware scanner doesn't update itself automatically.

It is an ongoing challenge for the idiots developing virusses. And believe me, they will always come up with something new! Big companies get infected by virusses. They run all the latest software and firewalls, you name it. They still get affected by virusses. And the online world is changing as well. Some years ago I was connected via a modem and had to build a connection to the internet. Nowadays my computer is connected via DSL and I don't even know what's going on. I lost control almost completely over the data getting send to and from my computer. Do you have control?

So it all comes down to how do you use your system, how important is it to you? Do you run regular backups? Are you permanently connected with the web? Are you the only user? Do you donw;oad softawre from the wbe? Obvously you do since youuse a freeware virus scanner ;-)
I am sure people can come up with more questions and parameters.

I would answer your question with: Yes, virus protection is absolutely necessary.

I am not sure if this helps you, but this is my point of view!

Cheers

Peter

Sorry, one addition. You said: "I obey a strict policy of not opening any files etc. from people I don't know". But you might open a jpg or mpg etc. sent to you from a friend. Is he/she using an anti virus scanner? See!!!

Cheers

Peter

Yeah, I get your point, Peter.
Especially about not scanning outgoing emails in case of a virus getting into my system.
I'll wait a little before I close the question, to see if anyone else has an opinion about this.

That's the beauty about Quomon, it makes you think about things. I wasn't thinking at all about my Virus protection. It was just there and worked. But your question made me actually think about the whole process.

Cheers

Peter

Thanks for your opinion, Peter, my conclusion is that I will install an antivirus software.
Points to you... :)

Right now I have a version of Norton Antivirus that will last for 3 months. But I know that some free antivirus programs exists as well.
Can you recommend something?

Thank you for the points. I use McAfee and pay for it. As I said in my answer, the reason is, that I get regular updates, sometimes daily. I would be surprised if you would find a freeware which provides this service as well. But if you find one, let us know!

Cheers

Peter

norton and any other programs are all a bunch of crappola that the owners of those companies just want you to buy their products. they really don't actually do much. if a virus comes into your computer, then it stays in your computer, the antivirus programs don't do anything about them. they search for holes or possible entering points for a virus to infect your computer and block the holes. so, antivirus programs aren't worth the hassel.