Using Vista without a virus-scanner?

During a telephone conference with reporters yesterday, outgoing Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, while touting the new security features of Windows Vista, which was released to manufacturing yesterday, told a reporter that the system’s new lockdown features are so capable and thorough that he was comfortable with his own seven-year-old son using Vista without antivirus software installed.

This is quite a statement to make, but I hope it’s true. If regular users could use Windows without actually feeling like they have to purchase a virus scanner, then that’s a win. It would be hit to companies like Symantec and McAfee however.