I have never had a problem using Norton--

No problems with McAfee, either. And as for internet specific protection, ZoneAlarm Pro presents no problems once you introduce it to VV.

I will give the big tip - Sophos (www.sophos.com)
Sophos will not slow your machine down by nature of how it works, unlike most others.
Mcafee is just total crap, simple as that (Years of experience with it professionally)
Depending on your operating system, most other have a host of quirks. Locking files etc. – I have paid the price!

I have no relationship with any vendor, just years of experience – go with Sophos!

I've heard of some trouble with a recent AVG update. Last I heard was they were going to release a fix RSN.

Unless you're downloading files (including email and web browsing) you have little to fear from the internet. I sometimes turn off AVG (and everything else) when outputting from VV3.

DrWho,

I went to the Sophos site and got the distinct impression that its antivirus software is being marketed for corporate networks. As a home computer user, I have never seen Sophos AntiVirus offered as a product. They don't give a price for a single user and, in fact, apparently they don't even sell the software. They lease it for one year, two years, etc. It does look like good software, though.

-- seeker --

Seeker

I am unsure about that, I have only used it in the corporate sence, I though as a home user you could download it for free. Email them and ask!

Good luck
DrWho

Laurence,

Most viruses enter the PC via E-mail, you must actually run the attachment and allow the virus to attack your machine. This has nothing to do with whether your machine is hooked to the Net via an "always on" connection like DSL or a cable modem.

The main risk you face with DSL or a cable modem involves someone hacking into your computer, or hacking out, as is the case with trojan software or spyware. Anti-virus software does nothing to prevent this, you need to be running a software firewall. Perhaps the best of them also happens to be free for the basic version. It's called ZoneAlarm and can be obtained from ZoneLabs.

Running firewall software won't interfere with Vegas in any way. Running anti-virus software is an issue because the background scanner portion of the anti-virus software will scan all files loaded from disk and this process eats up CPU horespower and will interfere with video transfer.

The background scanning portion of the anti-virus software can be temporarily shut off while you are running Vegas. The firewall software will continue to protect your PC from hacking attempts, which is really the only risk you face as long as you don't check your e-mail AND launch an infected attachment with the virus scanner off.

Install the firewall on your PC and edit away. And please stay away from Macs, they are vile and nasty devices that will turn you into one of those total losers that Apple is featuring in their new TV ads. :)

John

DrWho,

"...though as a home user you could download it for free."

Sophos apparently does not have free single user software. It is questionable whether they have single user software of any kind. On their website they say, "In addition, if you are considering buying our software you can evaluate it for a 30-day trial period."

Their software is designed to run on a corporate server, and I have some doubt that it would even run on a home system. And there would be no point in running a 30-day demo if I can't obtain or afford a single user license and loadable software. Also, I am not too wild about the idea of buying a 1-year license unless it is quite inexpensive. I don't want to have to re-buy my software every year. A lot of the software that I use is several years old.

Do you see any applicable pricing information anywhere on the Sophos website? So far I haven't seen any basis for recommending Sophos AntiVirus to users here on this forum. Also, I am wondering why, if you think it is so good, why aren't you using it on your home system? What are you using on your home system?

I am currently using Ontrack's SystemSuite 4.0 and my wife is using Norton's SystemWorks and we both are quite satisfied with the antivirus protection that they provide. I receive virus updates every few days, sometimes as frequently as three times a week, and my wife gets updates from Norton on a weekly basis. Both of our systems recently successfully thwarted virus attacks, so we need the protection. Ontrack's SystemSuite also includes a very serviceable NetDefense software firewall, which I use on a daily basis, and it frequently blocks attempted unauthorized accesses.

-- seeker --

Or instead of ZoneAlarm, you can get a DSL/Cable Gateway Router. They are very simple to setup and you can basically forget about it an not get the annoying pop-up messages from ZoneAlarm.

John,

<< And please stay away from Macs, they are vile and nasty devices that will turn you into one of those total losers that Apple is featuring in their new TV ads. :) >>

I had to laugh at this. When I read this, I thought of that girl whose family got a Digital Camera and they couldn't hook it up because it asked for drivers. What boneheads!!!! I've neaver had a problem hooking up a USB device in my life!

I like f-prot for windows. Small and fast. Used to use NAV2003 and although it worked fine and I had no problems with it, it was the bloat I couldn't stand.