The average Windows user doesn't care about viruses or malware either. Without any protection, however, it would be foolish to connect such a system online.
Hate Windows because lack of privacy, but note how much security the system has built-in behind the scenes, to mitigate the constant attacks against the most popular desktop OS.
Used DELL 5310. Intel 10th-gen, 60Whr battery (goes 8+ working hours on a charge) often 16GB RAM and at least a 256GB SSD at that price range. Upgradeable (DDR4, NVMe) too.