you dont have to download it ... and for viruses there are things called ANTI VIRUS PROGRAMS ... i recommend AVG free for you ....
anyway .. im using it since i dont want to check webpages all the time .. im browsing / doing other things while this thing checks every couple seconds for me, and when the server goes on my pretty Windows (TM) voice tells me "SERVER UP!!!" and i log in .. vio la
oh and if you are affraid its connecting to anything else then the webpage ...
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb897437.aspx <== TCP view is your friend .. oh noes, its downloaded of the internet .. microsoft spreads viruses!