If I have a router, I don't need an anti virus program?

Question

I was told (by professionals) that if I have a router that I don't need an anti-virus program like Norton or Kaspersky and that my router has its own type of Anti Virus/Firewall. Is this true?
I have a NETGEAR WGR614.

"professionals" are the call centre guys at NETGEAR

Answer 1

You must be joking. You need a firewall, antivirus, and anti spyware. Without this your computer will be infected within minutes of going on the web.

Answer 2

Granted, a hardware firewall is a significant security advantage, but just because you have a door on your home, do you not need a lock? You should still install a software firewall and antivirus; and there's no need to pay for either.
Two of the three best firewalls available are free, Online Armor Personal Firewall, and Comodo Firewall Pro (see source.)
And Avast and Avira are two very good free antivirus.

Answer 3

You may not need the firewall since the router acts as a firewall anyways but the router's not going to prevent you from picking up a virus. I would put antivirus software on your computer.

Answer 4

Routers only eliminate the need for a software firewall, like Zone Alarm, because they do a much better job of protecting your PC from web intrusions.

All other Anti-malware tools are absolutely required.

Answer 5

It's still advisable to have an anti-virus atleast. You can have more than one firewall if you know how to configure them.

The router has a firewall so no need to bother, but anti-virus is still needed. you can try Kaspersky or McAfee.

http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/GWirelessRouters/WGR614.aspx

Answer 6

Most router have their own "hardware firewall". But is no more then a set of instructions that closes all ports and just open the ones that you request. Pardon me for the layman's terms. A firewall can stop just about all outside attacks, but it can't stop a virus that enters via other means such as e-mail attachments, and pop ups, etc. So you need to run some sort of anti virus software along with your routers firewall. Actually, if you are running XP a second, "Software" firewall, such as "Zone Alarm", is also a good idea.

Here is a list of "free" security software and their URLs.

All of the following are free.



Virus Removal

AVG

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free

Avast

http://www.avast.com/eng/free_virus_protectio.html


Sypware/Malware Removal

Adaware

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Spybot S&D

http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022-10122137.html?part=dl-spybot&subj=dl&tag=but


Fire Wall

Zone Alarm

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/trial_zaFamily/trial_zaFamily.jsp?lid=home_freedownloads

Answer 7

When you say "(by professionals)", I hope you aren't reffering to the kid earning minimum wage who works at Best Buy. You still need an Anti-Virus program and a firewall.

Answer 8

Yes you need anti virus all the router does is keep attackers and worms from connecting to your machine it doesn't prevent
you from being infected if you click on a malicious link or install a program with a trojan.

Answer 9

You still need an antivirus program running. You may inadvertently pick up a virus or spyware from a web site, a download, an email, or a shared file.

Answer 10

You still need anti virus program and anti spyware program.

What they told you is Wrong.