Running without Internet Security

I remember asking a former boss of mine about what anti-virus software etc he had installed.

The basic answer was none - he didn't need it as he didn't download anything he considered unsafe and steered well clear of attachments from people he didn't recognise - that is, he used the computer in a fairly cautious way when it came to inputs and outputs.

I've followed this methodology by uninstalling commercial AV and firewall software. The net results have been a faster computer - in fact, a fairly disturbing lockup problem disappeared completely when I removed SIS (Symantec Internet Security) from my computer - and generally happier usage.

I left the Windows XP built in firewall on, but again, I probably don't need it - I am connected via ethernet cable to an ADSL modem/router (with wireless off) and that has a perfectly good hardware firewall built in. NAT (Network Address Translation) is the icing on the cake.

I tend to play games on the 360 these days so don't download the demos I used to.

Spyware would possibly be a problem but I run IE in limited mode and a Spybot scan found nothing a few days ago (one month in). Or I just use Opera (which beats Firefox in my estimation anyway).

Anti-spam software is still essential though.