Will Windows Vista still need antivirus?
November 10th, 2006EMail this article
Yesterday BetaNews quoted Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin as having said "My son, seven years old, runs Windows Vista, and, honestly, he doesn't have an antivirus system on his machine." What's your take on this?
I can't help but believe that there isn't just a little bit of hyperbole in that statement.
Antivirus is part insurance and part protects the user from themselves. I know some people who manage well without antivirus but it's not a course I'd advice that anyone takes unless they really know what they are doing and understand fully the consequences.
What works for Jim and his seven year old son can't really be applied universally - after all, it depends on how computer literate his son is, what he does on the PC and a whole lotta other factors (let's face it, this kid could be a Windows genius!). My feeling is that Vista hasn't been out for long enough for the bugs to appear and having the extra peace of mind that antivirus software (and a software firewall) is comforting. After all, you can't take security for granted.
My stance will be that, along with regularly applying patches and service packs, a comprehensive security suite (antivirus, firewall, and antispam) are going to be a must for Windows Vista just as much as they are for Windows XP.
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