Here’s my two cents. I’m sick and tired of everyone trying to tell Micro$oft what to do. People need to realize that these products are not designed and released specifically for “you”. Microsoft has to cater to billions of people around the world, and that means that they have to find a common ground for every feature of their OS. If you don’t like what their doing, or specific features they’ve included, find another operating system (there are plenty to choose from). Security vulnerabilities exist in every OS and they always will. Microsoft controls the majority of the user market; which is the reason they are targeted more often.
It’s not up to Microsoft to force a user to do anything. Just like it’s not up to anyone else to tell me not to smoke, or to tell the fat guy over there to not have that second doughnut. Don’t get me wrong, I am in now way condoning what they’ve done with their new OS; in fact, the thing that irritates me the most is Microsoft telling me what my computer can, and cannot, do. You want a safer computer, then setup a non-admin account yourself, but don’t force me to use a user account that is useless to me. Let me decide how I want to run my computer. And if anyone want to argue that the average user doesn’t know anything about security, well then it’s time they become proactive and do some research. What are they gonna do if they get a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere and can’t get a signal on their cell phone. They better learn how to change a flat real quick. Quit being lazy and expecting people to do things for you. Google isn’t that hard to use, so use it. You don’t want a virus or spyware, then don’t open that email that claims to have nudey pictures of Brittney Spears, and don’t click on that porn ad.
As far as anti-virus software goes, of course you’re going to take a performance hit. If you think you’re safe just because you can use system restore to recover those corrupt system files. Think again. Some viruses are capable of corrupting file contained in the system restore folders. It may not have happened the last time, or today, or tomorrow, but it will one day. Think one AV software is better than the other, well then your wrong again. Different AV software may detect viruses that other won’t, and vice versa. No one AV software will ALWAYS detect everything, no matter what they may claim. Sure one may run faster than the other, and detect more viruses more often than another, but there will always be that one time when one virus is left dangling in your system32 folder. If you don’t want to run AV software well then that’s fine too, but don’t think that you’re not vulnerable to losing everything on your computer because you run an online virus scan once every couple of weeks. Who are you to tell Joe Blow over there that he doesn’t need to run AV software, because you don’t know what his surfing habits are. And if you’re using a separate backup, well then kudos to you because you’re in the small percentage that do.
To the System Administrators out there, if you don’t have some sort of virus protection on your network because “it slows thing down”, then I must tell you that you’re a fool. People can flame me all they want, but it only takes one idiot to open that email from the hacker in Thailand and you may never see daylight again because your too busy trying to remove the viruses from every computer in the office. Don’t want to run AV on the computers themselves, then put it on the router separating your LAN from the rest of the world, but have something or you’re just asking for it.
Well my venting is over, let the flaming begin!!!