At home I have often used not fully patched Windows systems and not fully updated Browser/Plugin stacks. Oh and Java and Flash are always activated. This is the Windows 7 dual boot on my laptop. When really bad news arrives (HN, other tech news) I do updates or other precautions like avoiding crappy web sites, MSIE etc.
Until 2 years ago I even had a Windows XP VM with broken update mechanism and IE6 which I used frequently.
And guess what, never something happened. But speaking for me, I will keep Flash and Java activated for another few years. I'm no security expert but my explanation why this works is this: I don't install any toolbar, in fact I have only the bare minimum of Firefox add-ons. (Why don't they allow me to uninstall MS Office Live-Plugin anyway? Or this Ubuntu thing?) I hate to install Software on Windows, and if, I really make sure I understand what I install and how trustable the vendor is.
Two relatives of mine have been infected with some spam bot net thing more than once. Their systems were like 90% patched, but they were vulnerable through Toolbars. (I think in both cases it was the Yahoo Toolbar.)
This is certainly not meant as a general advice, but I guess the lesson is being minimal and careful is as valuable as keeping your system patched. Oh and yes, I do always have an up-to-date Virus scanner.
Until 2 years ago I even had a Windows XP VM with broken update mechanism and IE6 which I used frequently.
And guess what, never something happened. But speaking for me, I will keep Flash and Java activated for another few years. I'm no security expert but my explanation why this works is this: I don't install any toolbar, in fact I have only the bare minimum of Firefox add-ons. (Why don't they allow me to uninstall MS Office Live-Plugin anyway? Or this Ubuntu thing?) I hate to install Software on Windows, and if, I really make sure I understand what I install and how trustable the vendor is.
Two relatives of mine have been infected with some spam bot net thing more than once. Their systems were like 90% patched, but they were vulnerable through Toolbars. (I think in both cases it was the Yahoo Toolbar.)
This is certainly not meant as a general advice, but I guess the lesson is being minimal and careful is as valuable as keeping your system patched. Oh and yes, I do always have an up-to-date Virus scanner.