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Originally Posted by SameOldStory
My wife thinks that you get a virus from porn sites.
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They aren't all virus ridden, but a number do host exploits of one sort or another. The most common attack vector is a claim you need a special codec to watch a video on the site. Download and install the codec, and you are
pwned.
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I had an anti-virus program on her computer but for whatever reason it was turned off. One day she's pounding on her keyboard yelling that I had to get her a new computer, hers was too slow. Needless to say, I couldn't connect to, or download from, any anti-virus web sites. I downloaded one from my computer to a USB drive and installed it on her computer. It found more than 350 pieces of spyware, malware, and viruses. 
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I presume she now leaves the A/V software turned on?
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I now use the free version of Avast. It'll give you a pop-up when it detects a web page that tries to sneak something nasty into your computer.
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I use Symantec Corporate, courtesy of an employer site license. There are an assortment of capable A/V products out there. You simply have to
use one.
I treat viruses and malware like diseases. Diseases enter a system though a vector, and the simplest way to avoid problems is to ward the vectors. I have some simple rules of thumb when using Windows:
1. Don't use Internet Explorer as your web browser. Just don't. Most spyware/malware targets IE, and bounces off if you use something else.
2. Keep Windows fully patched. Turn on auto-update to get critical security patches automatically, and apply them.
3. Turn
off Windows default behavior of "Hide known file type extensions". In Windows Explorer, click Tools/Options. Click the View tab.
Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" box. Attackers use this to disguise malicious content. If it's turned on, you don't know that email attachment labelled "cute kitten picture.jpg" is really "cute kitten picture.jpg.
exe, and clicking on it executes the program.
4. Run a good A/V software package, and keep the virus signatures updated.
And on that line, viruses and spyware/malware are different kinds of threats. Do not assume protection software intended for one also protects against the other.
5. Run a firewall. There are an assortment of free firewall packages available for home users. If nothing else, make sure Windows Firewall is turned on. It does a decent job of stopping unauthorized outside access to your machine. Where it falls down is controlling outbound access
from your machine.
6. Don't open attachments in email unless you are certain of where they are from and who sent them. (See #3 above for one reason why.)
7. Only download from known good sites that scan files on their end before making them available for DL.
8. Remember that the Internet is like a big city. It has bad neighborhoods you don't want to be in. Be aware of where you are and what you're doing.
9. See Rule 1.
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Dennis