I use a dual boot machine, I download updates etc. to a location accessible by both OSs, 'don’t believe in Hidden partitions.
Steve, you have a pretty good point about minimising wear and tear. That’s about the only advantage (that I can see) in using two separate machines, like you do. Hmm…plus the fact that if your computer decides to take a major dump you lose your Internet, and your DAW at the same time 
.
Mauri.
I’m ambivalent, as I noted in the other thread (though it may have seemed like I was a proponent).
In a nutshell, if you’re careful with your Internet activities then there is no technological reason for prohibiting network / Internet access from your DAW. This assumes that your hardware is fairly competent from a benchmarked performance perspective.
The sole exception is if you are already pushing the limits of the technology by working on projects with hundreds of tracks. In situations like this, turning off non-essential Windows Services is key to eeking out greater performance. Of course, I could also argue that using ReWire plus a cheap, commodity computer to host your VST rack would serve you just as nicely, but I digress…
Since windows 7 my DAW has been online 24/7. I use MSE running in the background and have had zero issues. In fact NOT having my DAW connected nowadays would be a PIA.
Things have changed in the last 10 years 
Mc
I have a triple boot and (w7/w7/xp) where one of the w7 boots is the DAW.
Almost no surfing on the DAW and I don’t count updates with downloads, registrations and activations nor this forum as surfing.
Really surfing the seven seas of the web is done on the other w7 (which by the way is behind ISP bundled F-secure and that kills EVERYTHING! 
).
xp is like the DAW but it’s used less and less …
My old DAWputer I had off the internet and did my web stuff on a little laptop for a while, but this new Computer is connected since mid 2010. I thought “screw this! I’m connecting …” and so far no problems! Now I can download programs/libraries of any size that has no boxed version etc. There is no turning back!
I have a separate PC for the net, I only download Steiny/plugin updates to the DAW from the net, nothing else. I also have a laptop which is where I do most internet things.
Wish I had time to wear out the DAW! 
I use a second machine as well, I like to have my DAW as efficient and lean and mean as possible. When I built my new DAW I thought about using it for the internet and I know it could handle it but in the end I decided against it.
I think that a statement like “for Internet” is a little too drastic a choice, personally. I do believe that it depends on what you are using the computer for, while on the Internet.
At home I got my computers connected because I collaborate with various people through the Internet.
I have never had any my home network compromised (I am writing this on one of those computers).
Things have changed, it’s not 1993 anymore , there’s no need to optimise a current windows 7 computer anymore, same with Internet,if you’re not surfing dodgy sites and downloading unknown stuff there’s no problem.
You’ ve probably got more of a problem with clients bringing in USB drives and such so having antivirus etc is a good idea even if you’re not connected.
MC
What prevents the usb drive from being infected by a worm or virus?
I agree.
I think I see what your problem has been. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to do this?
That is a good point. Virus’ can migrate, i believe, on a usb stick. When people bring in sticks or prefer to take mixes home on sticks, they get scanned by a different computer.
Beware of autorun 
I’ve had a virus from a customers USB stick before, lesson learnt 
It’s good for obtaining authorizations, licenses (and updates) by whatever online processes software/plug-in manufacturers will dictate. Getting online is more cost- and time-efficient. It’s almost like you have no choice nowadays but TO get online for this purpose at least.
I will work with my DAW while disconnected to the internet, as paranoid as it seems, disconnecting to the internet seems to give me a ‘stronger’ connection to the work I’m doing and it also seems to add to my sense of solitude, privacy and peace.
^^^^^ And If you think that’s weird, I have a colleague who puts tape over his laptop camera lense. He says, “I don’t like the idea of anyone watching me when I’m on the computer.”
There was that thing in the news about a school viewing their student via the school’s laptop web cam that had been given to students. A month or so ago, tere was an issue with one of my Mac books where the isight light was constantly on. Freaked me out. I was wondering who was on the other side wondering who was watching.
Sorry, won’t happen again! Promise! 
Hmmmm… My colleague, in addition to being a fine guitarist was a public school teacher and had recently retired just at the end of the previous school year.
… so perhaps he wasn’t joking and merely observing one of his retirement clauses of non-disclosure.
I haven’t had an anti-virus solution installed on my computer in so many years that I couldn’t tell you when I did have it last installed. It has been at least 10 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times that malware made its way onto my machine. And since I started using Cubase heavily in 2008 I haven’t had a single incident, all in spite of the fact that my computer has always had Internet connectivity.
My point is that it can be done. If you have clients bringing you projects on a USB stick it almost makes more sense to have a separate, low performance computer or cheap laptop solely for having anti-virus on it to scan the USB sticks. Leave the AV off of your DAW but do leave it on the Internet. As it was noted, it’s easier for product activations, installing updates to your VSTs and Cubase, and uploading demos to Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.
Or take the free route … almost 50GB on a HD partition and a dual boot and you’re good to go.
Separate registrys and separate just-about-anything. No need to move downloaded files from A to B.
On my DAW boot most of the time the running processes in Windows Task Manager doesn’t even reach all the way down to the bottom of the WTM window. Sounds very computer scientific, doesn’t it? 
Not much of proof of anything, actually but my other win7 boot process list is at least one and a half windows long. Same computer. Some processes are of course the same, but say I had it all running on one boot, then I could maybe have a list of almost two windows? HA! 
If you don’t use hidden partitions, you’re always booting through the first to get to the others so it’s useless. If the first goes down so do the rest. Viruses seek out the C:\ drive which increases vulnerability no matter which you cruise the net with. 
I select what I want to boot into from some kind of DOS b/w screen boot manager when I turn on the computer.
Booting from Boot01 boots into the DAW partition which is DAW(C:) and the programs are on DAWPRGRMS(D:)
Boot02 then is WEB(E:) and nothing I need to touch. It just sits there.
Booting from Boot02 boots into the WEB partition which is WEB(C:) and the programs are on WEBPRGMS(D:)
For some peculiar reason then the DAW partition is DAW(I:). Don’t ask!
No need to hide anything?
Comes free with Windows. Install windows and check what is what on all your partition and take some notes. Try to install windows again and Windows detect there is a OS already installed and it asks you if you want to install over the existing installation or if you want to install on another partition. Select the latter, hit enter and a few minutes later you’re done.
BTW I also have a XP boot … Can’t help myself, can I?