free will likely mean outdated.

i would just spend the $40 and go with norton 360

I use adaware. There’s a free version. It does about the same thing for me that norton did meaning it runs scans when you tell it too but I don’t think it has much protection while you’re surfing the web. Idk if you’re looking for something like that or not but I’ll throw that out there because it IS free. Also

Malwarebytes.org is another good one that the IT people I know recommend. Not sure if it has protection while surfing either though. Thing with malware is if you get a virus is you wanna disconnect from internet before and during running a scan so a virus cannot hide in your internet. I know that’s not the technical term so I sound crazy but it’s good advice that I got from this Computer Professor person.

I texted my brother (he’s has a couple degrees in various computer type topics) and he suggested Avast. I don’t know anything about it, but maybe try googling and see what comes up.

There is a free spyware program called Spybot: Search and Destroy. I have had good luck with it on several computers. I use it in addition to Norton Antivirus which I pay for. There are several free antivirus programs and you can probably find on-line evaluations on a site like Cnet before making a choice. I also think that new PC’s come with Microsoft Security Essentials installed as part of Windows. With Security Essentials you need to set up a scan schedule and be sure it updates.

My husband likes Avira. We’ve never had any problems with it.

I use AVG, Malware bytes and adaware on my computer. All are free, each catches different things. Malware bytes scans your registry, which a lot of programs won’t do (even paid virus scanners). Adaware catches certain spyware that others can miss. And AVG catches most the popular viruses, but it does miss some trojans. Honestly though the BEST virus protection is being careful and downloading an ad blocker add on for your browser (a lot of viruses/spyware are imbedded in ad images, so if you block the JS loading, you’re a lot safer).

The day someone installs Norton on my computers, is the day they get a kick in the rear out my door Norton is a POS, you can get better for free I used to use AVG until an update they did locked my computer into a loop or rebooting without getting to teh point I could get to the bios screen. So, no more AVG for me. Had to do a complete reformat of the drive that time. Avast, spybot, and a good ad blocker on my browser work wonders. A script blocker too.

Posted By Monkeybun on 03/08/2012 05:02 PM
The day someone installs Norton on my computers, is the day they get a kick in the rear out my door Norton is a POS, you can get better for free

What you don’t like a program that eats up system resources, has viruses designed to infect it and misses stuff so often you have to manually remove part of the viruses when your system does get infected?  

Never had a problem with AVG, but that sounds annoying.

oh god, you have no idea. went to restart when it told me too… and it never stopped.

actually, now that I think of it, i couldn’t reformat it. I had to format a new one. lol.

Posted By Monkeybun on 03/08/2012 05:02 PM
I used to use AVG until an update they did locked my computer into a loop or rebooting without getting to teh point I could get to the bios screen.

Haha, I remember that. That update misidentified a critical Windows boot file as malware and sent the whole system into a crash loop. Wish I had known it was only going to take a day for them to fix it; then I wouldn’t have wasted $60 on a HDD docking station in an attempt to rescue my data (I know, I know, regular backups– learned my lesson, alright!).

I still use AVG Free, though. I have AdBlock Plus for Firefox installed, too, and the two of them together (plus a PC nerd’s browsing hygiene) keep my system squeaky clean.

I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It’s free and was recommended to me from my mom who works as a networker.

I only use Norton because it is free through the outrageous amount of money my dad spends on Comcast every month. I would honestly never pay for it. It does cause problems, but I can deal because it is free.