I could brag and say that since I use Linux/Ubuntu I don't have to be concerned about viruses, but even though I don't have to worry about viruses, I still have to keep tabs on my behavior and actions on-line. If I click on that wrong link I could get bombarded with spam. If one of my Yahoo or Google or ISP-sourced email friends gets hacked and my email address hits the web-waves, I could get loads of spam. If I'm not constantly observant and enter just that one little bit of private info on some untrusted or insecure login or some other form, I could get worse than spam, I could open the door for ID theft. Here's a recent addition regarding handling ID theft;
http://www.idtheft.gov/As far as computer speed goes, viruses would love to be able to use every bit of your computer's resources, and they can! The faster and newer your computer is, the better YOUR programs and THEIR viruses can operate. When your system gets overloaded and bogged down, that's when you know something's wrong. Either your Operating System is breaking, your hardware is breaking, or you're under the power of viruses that are stealing your power and probably worse than just your computer's power, they could be stealing YOUR power!
Although I can boast that I don't have to be concerned about viruses on my operating system and I don't have one single anti-virus program running, I still can't afford to let my anti-stupidity lapse! That's one subscription that can't be trusted to anyone else but ME!
