[eropple]

Acrobat Reader sucks, so I don't install it. I squelch Java's nags because it's disabled in my browsers and I only have it for running Netbeans. I am probably more lax in my Flash updates than I should be (because I don't see them, I squelched them as well), but I run FlashBlock in Chrome so I'm not overly worried. Microsoft Security Essentials updates through Windows Update and never bothers me.

I've gotten revalidation prompts, but never failures; I know they can happen but it's never been an issue for me.

Seriously, I honestly don't know why so many people have trouble with it, but I have had a pain-free experience since installing Windows 7. Even Vista was pretty much problem-free, although MSE wasn't around then and I did get occasional AV nags.