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[W5JD]

I am going this afternoon to purchase a replacement for a failed harddrive in a Dell desktop to be used as a dedicated host for an internet remote station.  I will be using a static IP internet address at the remote site.  I would think a static IP would be more vulnerable to attacks.  But, if the computer is never used to access the internet for other purposes besides Skype to pass the audio, LogMeIn to provide remote desktop control, and HRD for rig control, would antivirus software be required?

The reason I ask is that I never realized how much of a hog Norton Internet Security is until my subscription ran out once on my laptop.  The laptop booted up several times faster and did not seem as sluggish.

[KB0HMP]

It is a matter of personal preference.

I do not run any anti-virus software on my remote system but I also do a few other things: 1) I lock it down so that only I have access with a strong password 2) I turn the IE and Firewall setting up to max 3) I set up the system for auto updates (Windows 7) with reboot upon install.  With all of that you reduce your attack surface, keep the system up to date and you don't have to take on the anti-virus software.

But, this still leaves you at risk - but to me, it was a risk I was willing to take because my remote station is the only thing on that network.

One other consideration for you is to setup the system so that all of the software is running for a "low privilege" user... don't have yourself as part of the admin group.

Hope that helps,
KB0HMP

[N3CSA]

Unless you need some Windows-specific software on the PC, consider dumping Windows and switching to Linux.  No need for antivirus and you won't have any virus problems.

[W8JX]

Your biggest concern is not the best Anti Virus software as it is a good firewall. Also create a new admin account with a random name and delete default one as it provides a path to try to password hack and make sure you use a mixture of letters (upper and lower case) and numbers in password if you want it secure for remote admin.

[K5UNX]

Static vs dynamic IP won't matter much. My dynamic (DHCP) IP does not actually change very often, as I am constantly reissued the same one.

Norton is a hog! I use Microsoft Security Essentials. Install and forget. It's not near the hog Norton is, in fact I don't notice it running at all.  Also enable Windows firewall.

Now if you have that PC on the open net, it's a goner without security software. If it's behind a router and you have not turned on any port forwarding, it's a lot safer to try it without firewall and security software as it's not visible  from the Internet directly.

[K9IUQ]

The reason I ask is that I never realized how much of a hog Norton Internet Security is until my subscription ran out once on my laptop.  The laptop booted up several times faster and did not seem as sluggish.

Been using this for 2 years, it gets updated frequently, the Comodo Internet Security Suite which I use includes a good firewall,it is not a hog and it is FREE.

http://www.comodo.com/home/free/free-protection.php

Stan K9IUQ

[K9AQ]

You MUST MUST MUST have antivirus softare even if you are not using a static IP Address.  I can speak from experience.  I wasn't and the computer that I only use for remote control and occasional web browsing, got badly infected.  It was so bad that it was using 100% of the CPU when ever I was connected to the Internet.  If I unplugged the ethernet cable, the CPU utilization would drop to 10% or less.  They consumed so much of my computer CPU and memory that Skpe won't answer in-coming calls.

I had numerous services running that shouldn't have been there, and I had constant high volume network traffic.  I tried to download anti-virus software but all 3 of my web browser applications had malware that blocked me from the commmon antivrus sites.  I talked to several computer repair facilites and was told that most likely my boot sector on my hard drive was probably infected and the best fix was to wipe the drive clean and reinstall the OS and all of the applications.  Since my computer was older and still runnning XP, I didn't think that was worth the effort, so I installed a new computer.

I know have made sure that my firewall is working and I run antivirus/malware software.

Don
K9AQ