BleepingComputer.com: Going Nekkid (av-wise)

I recently asked my uncle what AV he used and he said none. I said that seemed risky, and he said he'd talked to two Verizon tech support people who both use none themselves, contending that ISP-level protection and Microsoft's are sufficient these days.
Any comments? I'm still skeptical, but on the other hand, it's been a long time since mine (Trend Micro) reported intercepting anything. And I'd love to dump it anyway since it's a system hog (well documented that its process PcScnSrv.exe often occupies 50% of CPU).

Going without AV is extremly risky. You can go without AS, but not AV.

Verizon techs are likely behind several layers of routers and protection galore on their networks so they don't have to worry about it I suppose it's more convenient for them if you do nothing, because then they don't have to deal with individual firewalls and AVs people install and blame Verizon for bad connections.

Windows firewall is insufficient.

Having tested my connections without any router, I can tell you that Verizon does not block any ports (grc.com tests), nor applications (observation), nor any traffic that I know of. They do block some spam mails.

So unless your uncle has Verizon's new security system, he is vulnerable.

It may be that some experts can avoid using a firewall, but the general user cannot, and all security professionals repeatedly advise having one. All it takes is one virus to land on your hard drive tomorrow to convince you that having an AV is absolutely necessary even if it hasn't caught anything for a year.
Regards,
John