[perihelion]

It's that time of the year again.  My AV subscription is running out and it is time to renew, upgrade, or switch to something completely different.

I got fed up with Norton and McAfee years ago when their software became so bloated I could hardly run anything on my computer, so don't even talk to me about them.  I've been using Trend Micro's PC-Cillin for the last couple years and have been fairly pleased with it, but I'm hearing a lot of complaints about the 2007 version causing endless reboot cycles.  The product is new enough that there aren't enough reviews out there to draw firm conclusions yet.  Still, makes me more than a little leary, despite my own positive experiences with the last three versions.

I've been reading up a little on some of the free AV software out there (AVG being the one I'm hearing about most).  I'm not so cheap I'm unwilling to pay for good software, but I do not want to install anything that's just going to send my system stability into the toilet.  I'd just renew my current subscription, but I'm going to need another copy for my wife's computer in about a month anyway, so I may as well get the same thing for both of us.  Makes troubleshooting later on that much easier.

Anyway, what are your thoughts?

[BlackDove]

NOD 32 is what I use. Works every time. I have Zonealarm's anti-virus and anti-spyware as a backup though running simultaneously.

[redsniper]

I use avast! and it has yet to cause me any trouble. Although I don't think you can schedule it to scan, you have to start it manually (in the free version anyways).

[Black Wolf]

I've never had a virus since using AVG and a decent set of E-Mail filters.

[kode]

avast!'s what I juice when in windows.

[achtung]

AVG for me. 

[Windrunner]

avast defently. it has'nt failed me yet

[BlackDove]

Avast failed me multiple times. That's why I've switched to NOD. It wouldn't register when I would purposely test it against viruses (I'd go to virus infected sites, get the viruses and have it try identify). It just sat there. Then I tried NOD on the same files, worked like a charm - in fact it didn't even let me get the file onto the computer. Just dismissed it outright and denied it admission.

[Setekh]

I got a free version of Avast with the USB drive I bought, but it expired. AVG Free works fine for me now.

[Taristin]

AVG doesnt work in 64-bit versions of windows, unless you pay for it.

[Tyrian]

I use Panda Platinum Internet Security 2007.  Excellent protection and very user friendly.  I keep Avast! around as a backup in case something gets through my firewall, which is really unlikely.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Kaspersky...

[perihelion]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.  Hmm.  I actually don't know if madame is running a 64-bit OS or not.  Never bothered to check.

Ech.  Well, the headache is starting to get bad.  I suppose it's time to actually eat something.

Keep the comments coming.  Positive or negative.  I'm particularly interested in whether anyone here has tried PC-Cillin 2007.  I can't tell if the rumours of its stability problems are true or just smear campaigns.

One of my friends at work also just related to me his woes with AVG 7.5.  He'd been using AVG for awhile and liked it very much, but he messed his system up something severe trying to upgrade to the latest version.  He'll probably need to reinstall windows.  I had been leaning towards AVG until that...

[Scooby_Doo]

Check anandtech's forum... theres a free version of Kaspersky from AOL now. (basically it's Kaspersky with an aol logo on it LOL).

Kaspersky's supposed to be one of the best ones.

[Shadow0000]

One of my friends at work also just related to me his woes with AVG 7.5.  He'd been using AVG for awhile and liked it very much, but he messed his system up something severe trying to upgrade to the latest version.  He'll probably need to reinstall windows.  I had been leaning towards AVG until that...

I am using AVG 7.5 and my computer still hasn't explode, though it has survived to norton...

[Nuke]

ive used avg for some time. its pretty simple and fairly fast. id avoid zone alarm, as it didnt catch a few viruses and was a pita. avg isnt bloated though its powerfull and only sucks up about 12 megs of memory. now i know that if you try to install a virus scanner on an infested computer generally tends to cause chaos. is it possible your friend tried to pirate the full version?

[Shadow0000]

is it possible your friend tried to pirate the full version?

Most likely he/she did it completely wrong ( runs away).

[Nuke]

it could also be that he tried to install the new version without removing the old one first. i just updated mine, i got a few warnings, so i uninstalled, rebooted, ran reg cleaner, rebooted, reinstall, reboot and it didnt *****. you just cant take shortcuts when dealing with antivirus software.

[Fury]

Don't forget that the best protection you can have is to prevent malware from getting into your computer in the first place. Anti-virus and anti-spyware softwares are the second line of defense at best. Anti-virus and anti-spyware softwares likely will be able to notify you of malware, but may not be able to remove it properly, resulting in somewhat broken Windows. Common sense and a firewall or two is your first line of defense.

As far as firewalls go, I truly recommend either a broadband modem a router with built-in firewall which supports UPnP, these will protect you from incoming connections even if and when your software firewall is not running. And trust me, your software firewall will not be running at all times which will make you vulnerable. UPnP makes it a breeze to open ports when needed.

If you need a free software firewall, take a look at Comodo Personal Firewall. I've heard it is quite good while I haven't personally used it, as I have valid subscription for Agnitum Outpost Pro. Avast is pretty good choice for an anti-virus and you might want to use Windows Defender too, Defender's real-time scanners can be disabled.

[Nuke]

you dont need to get a program to deal with spywere, just be sure you can account for everything in your processes in the task manager and your services, some of which which are run under a generic host application (think svchost.exe). just casually look at those everytime you install something or suspect something is going on. also get a copy of reg cleaner and ocasionally check your startup list. if you see something thats suspicious, do a few google searches on the file name, it should give you some information about what it is and does. if its harmfull, kill it in the task manager, delete it, move it or change its name. be sure there arent multiple instances. remove any links to it from the registry from the start up lists (i find reg cleaner to be the best tool for this). reboot and make sure its gone. if it resists, doing all that in safe mode usually can kill it.

[Scooby_Doo]

Course some spyware can hide under legit names.