As I said before, if you have no chance of getting infected with a virus without browsing the web or downloading stuff then why do they put anti-virus on servers? Just to spend money and for the hell of it? If you can't get viruses (like everyone here is saying) then why do they make so much money off anti-virus software?
I have seen computers become infected without doing anything, just for sitting there after a Windows install. They were connected to the internet but had no anti virus but were not touched for a few hours and both time they became infected until the drive was reformatted and windows was re-installed. I can't believe that anyone here who is actually in the computer field and not just pretending to be would say anti virus isn't needed.
"The speed with which PCs can become infected has now shortened. If your Windows computer is not properly protected, it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected, according to London-based security company,Sophos. Sophos has detected 7,944 new viruses in the first half of 2005, a 59-percent increase over the same time span last year."
This was an exact quote from an article I read. What you guys are saying is just plain ignorant and ill-informed. I'm shocked to be hearing it.
Are there any actual IT people out there that want to jump in and say anti virus isn't needed?
P.S. You are correct Don in saying that 192 and 10 are IP addresses found in internal networks usually behind switches, firewalls, routers, etc. I realize that this is not a public IP address but those computers can still be connected to from outside the network. I connect to computers in my work's internal network from home all the time. And what you are saying "Your nat firewal (Nat= Network Address translation) firewall TRANSLATES the non-routable ips into another address that is routable." is correct but is basically the same thing I said by saying it translates the IP address on your comuters internal NIC to the outside, or public, IP address of the router you are connecting through. Just because your computer is 192 or 10 doesn't mean it is behind a NAT firewall, it just means a router connected to the "outside" internet is also serving DHCP to the internal network, at home or work, that you computer is connected to.
I would like someone to try something. Take a machine without anything installed on it and install a fresh copy of Windows. Make sure your are connected to the internet (if you have to install your network drivers then do so after installation because you do have to have internet connectivity). Then after installation leave the computer connected and dont touch it for a few hours, maybe overnight. then go back and try to install your other programs and just use the computer. See if it is just normal or if it is noticeable slower than normal or acting funny like freezing up during installations or programs going into a "non responsive" state. I'll be willing to bet you will notice something, what do you think that "something" is?
Another quote for you guys out there that still need more proof:
"Computers communicate together through what's known as network ports in technical jargon. Processes running on any one machine can also communicate among themselves using these mechanisms, meaning that some ports have to be open for the machine to operate normally. This said, most ports left open on a machine are intended for other machines to use (for sharing files and printers among other things) in the event of several being connected together in a local network.
The problem is that the Internet is an enormous network of interconnected networks which all use the same mechanisms. This means that you can expose the content of your hard disks or even allow someone else to take complete control of your network if you don't protect the machines in it correctly. This particular problem was thrust into the limelight in August 2003 when the "Blaster" worm was released into the wild. Simply connecting a computer to the Internet, without attempting to use a browser or to read e-mail, was enough to make it a target. Having removed this particular worm from a client's machine and installed the necessary software to protect it from future infection, I reconnected it to the Internet. It was under attack again within 15 seconds."
Notice the line that says "Simply connecting a computer to the Internet, without attempting to use a browser or to read e-mail, was enough to make it a target."
That one is my favorite.
