Not sure what sites you go to Paul, but I haven't had a virus in years
on my XP box..  It's what I use for browsing and email.

I never (well, maybe once per year) use Internet Explorer.  Chrome is
pretty much it now.

I use Spybot Search and Destroy which pops up any time something tries
to change the registry.  If I don't download crap, it never pops up.

I never click on anything on a site which has anything flashing or
flying around.  Maybe I've just gotten trained enough by experience.


Matt-

I get a 100 emails or more per day so an attempted virus comes in at
least once a week or more. Some are filtered by earthlink.
Linux ignores the vast majority. It usually gives some kind of
indication it is a virus.  Any real time virus checker either
outgoing or incoming will slow your computer. A lot of people got
fed up and switched to the Mac which runs a form of Linux/Unix. Many
don't realize one can run a "terminal" in the Mac and all the Unix
commands work exactly like Linux. My wife included :)

One reason she switched to the Mac rather than Linux was for it's
support of the Blackberry. Recently that has appeared to self destruct
and she is thinking of dumping that. I'll have her using pure Linux
sooner or later :)

Paul Lamar


The way Spybot is setup, it doesn't scan all of the incoming/outgoing
files..  It just makes sure nothing is making changes to your computer
without your approval - essentially a stripped down version of what
Vista does..  A much more sane approach.  I don't care if there's a
virus in my email just so long as none of the applications that work
with it don't actually run the virus.  And if something does try to
run the virus, the big target for windows is the registry because
that's what controls much (all) of the system behavior.  If the
registry isn't being changed, the virus won't likely cause you a
problem.

I maintain that a real time scanner would need to have dedicated
hardware.  The router manufacturers are missing an opportunity in this
regard.


Matt-