Firewalls, virus protection, etc.

[Roto13]

I'll always maintain that antiviruses and firewalls are unnecessary evils if you're careful and sensible about what you run. I don't use any and I've never had a virus on my machines. :p

I'm sensible. :P But yeah, better safe than sorry for me.

Avoid Norton, it likes to hose your CPU too,

My warranty actually won't cover me unless I keep Norton on my computer. xD I'm going to disable it, though.

If you're behind a router and not modem where your computer's IP address is 192.168.xxx.xxx when you double-click your network icon in the tooltray and look on the details tab, you should be fine without a firewall too unless you want excessive control on the machine :p Besides, I find the in-built Windows firewall acceptable for average users anyway if you choose to enable it :p

I guess I just won't worry about it, then. I am behind a router.

Or better yet, use Linux, unless you have PC games (i.e. FFXI) that need Windows.

Too much effort. xD