Ive been using Avast 4.8 as my Anti-Virus program for about 4-5 years now and its been quite good however it does seem to have the strange habbit of reporting false postives once in a while which can be very annoying which left me wondering is there a better Anti-Virus out there thats Free.
Ive been using Comodo Firewall for about the same time too and its very good but it can be annoying to set up which again leads to the question is there a good All in One solution thats not “Norton” which i detest and slows your PC Down way too much.
Free Anti-Virus:
Avast:
After Avast failed me and let in a nasty virus on a USB Stick i use at college and let some bastard hack my world of warcraft account it was time to change Anti-Virus and Firewall Software. So i changed from Windows Vista 64 bit to Windows 7 64 Bit and started using ESET Smart Security and as soon as i plugged in my USB stick ESET Smart Security detected and deleted the Virus. It gave great detail on the virus on what accounts it does etc and it soom became clear that this was the bugger that let my World of Warcraft (inactive) Account get hacked.
Avast 5:
Avast have updated there anti-virus and now you can both a firewall and anti-virus. The Anti-Virus solution is free while you will need to pay for the AV and Firewall. It seems a lot better than it use to be the user-interface is a lot clearer and you can find all the settings you need to change.
AVG:
Ive never tried AVG but its the one people always reccommend when i ask whats the best free Anti-Virus software out there.
Microsoft Security Essentials:
As recommended by a commentor is also Free, ive never heard of it but it seems to be excellent.
Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.
Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.
Paid Anti-Virus:
ESET Smart Security:
This is one of those All-in-one prodcuts that has a firewall and Anti-Virus it Seems a very good product but its not free buy you can get a 30 day trial and if your a student you can get at a student rate.
Id recommend it as you hardly know its there and it deletes any viruses it finds and the firewall is very non-intrusive . Ive bought this software at the student rate and its well worth the money. You can get it cheap if your a student which is great.