I asked once which programs you used. You replied that you were careful and did not use an antivirus etc. But which other programs, other categories, do you use or don't advise using. For instance, do you use an instant messenger, email client, browser, of course, and programming editors?

I am trying your way, without antivirus  or software firewall, but with one of my email addresses using Mozilla Thunderbird and using the Firefox browser on another computer. I will surf and email an hour each day with that system; it is on my broadband account. I do have these addons in Firefox: Cookie Safe, Cookie Culler, and Noscript. I have the Allow HTML Temp addon in Thunderbird.  The OS is a hardened XP Pro; you know, unneeded features and Services disabled. I'll report back occasionally what happens with my experiment. The system is behind a router. Should I do the experiment with it outside the router?

   My uses may be a letdown, but I am a simple man.  If something works, I use it.  If I have a need for something, I usually end up writing a program to meet that need.

   Instant Messengers - I have tried different instant messengers and they all seem to have similar features.  Yahoo Messenger is the most popular and is the one that I use.
   Email Clients - I use Outlook Express.
   Browsers - I use Internet Explorer 7
   Programming - I use Delphi 6

   If others have other preferences feel free to post them here.

PC World magazine recommended Avast as the best free antivirus program out there about 8 months ago.  I've been using it effectively ever since without problems on both XP and Vista computers.  It's available free for home use at:  http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html

I've used  (Free for home use) AVG 7.5 for along while now and have had NO problems. It comes with a great firewall and other security features too.

onemaddude