James, so what do you do about internet updates for your NLE?

Updates
 

You got me there. I guess you have to go online for updates if they are not on a CD. I should have said I would not leave it connected all the time, just for unavoidable situations. I wouldn't even have it connected to a network where other stations are connected to the net.

As for Mac users, I don't know anything about their systems or vulnerabilities.

Don't get paranoid about virus's, and the rest of the PC world's ill's. Mac's aren't immune to them, but there are very, very few of them in the wild. Relax and hook your Mac up to the internet and enjoy.

Macs have automatic updates turned on by default, and some of them have broken people's FCP setups. This is a much bigger problem than viruses, and the solution is pretty simply- let other FCP users 'beta' test updates.

Lets not have this become a debate on PC vs Mac. It is true to say macs are more virus free and care free than PC's and require less to maintain, but non-the-less, just be smart when using ANY computer when online...now go and enjoy the mac.

I can only tell you my personal experience.
 

I have had every NLE that I've ever used connected to the net. For me, it's just too valuable a resource to not have on hand. Besides software updates and general research, there are tons of images, fonts and sounds that I often grab when I get stuck for design ideas or need something in a hurry (while always respecting copyright, of course). There are also various boards like this one that provide tutorials, inspiration and quick answers to questions.

I've used Media 100, Premiere and Final Cut Pro on Mac OS 7,8,9 and X and Windows 95, 2000 and XP. I have never had a virus, adware or spyware that took down the system, or limited my ability to edit in any way. In fact, the only time I ever had problems have been due to my own errors, like letting drives get 98% full, or having extention conflicts in OS9 because I had too many different apps installed/running at the same time. Or on the PC, when I installed new hardware that had driver conflicts with other hardware. I've even had a few viruses when I opened up emails from family that had been spawned from their address book by some virus or worm. I usually run a free virus/adware/spyware scan whenever I have downtime - sometime not for weeks/months at a time. On OS 8/9, I think I ran McAfee Antivirus at one time, but after the 2-year contract where it never found a single virus, I figured it was a waste of money.

Be aware that the G5 has some system maintainance functions scheduled to run at night, so you may want to even leave it on 24/7. I have applied every automatic patch and update for Panther, and it has remained rock solid. As many others have said here, viruses are just not an issue for Macs in a big way.

My recommendation would be to put a small, inexpensive ethernet router with integrated hardware firewall between your G5 and the net, and call it a day. Of course, there are those who would say I've been an idiot for using my PC at home for editing, internet, email, games and P2P filesharing. I'd rather have fun using a computer than spend all my time trying to protect myself against vague "credible threats" that are always floating out there. There have always been dire warnings - it sure helps sell anti-virus software and security services. I just refuse to live my life at Terror Level Orange ;-)