Which PC anti-virus software should I install?

[drumwolf]

I got a new PC three months ago and the temporary Norton antivirus subscription that came with it just expired. So obviously I need to install new software. What do you recommend? Norton? McAfee? Or something else?

Norton is the most well-known brand and I've seen articles saying it's the most recommended, but I suspect that it's responsible for making my Windows XP OS excruciatingly slow. Plus, my older PC uses McAfee and I'm pretty happy with it. So, my gut is to go for McAfee, yet so many people seem to like Norton.

What say the rest of you?

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. I'd say either Norton or AVG...

and AVG has the advantage of being free... http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

[regnaD kciN]

2. When I used McAfee in the past, it gave me all sorts of problems...

...while I've been using Norton for the past few years, everything has run ultra-smoothly.

As to your notion that NAV is making your PC "excruciatingly slow," a quick check of Task Manager indicates that it's taking up almost no CPU time whatsoever on my system, so I suspect that's an unfounded assumption on your part.

[ChoralScholar]

3. AVG... it works great, has a small footprint, and its free!!!

EOM

[Cornjob]

4. AVG is excellent!

I installed it a number of years ago after my nephew accidentally virused my system. It was the only AV that got rid of the problem and I have been free of viruses ever since.

[BlueJazz]

5. As a Computer Tech, I recommend Nod32. It's Amazing

Quite Frankly. No Bullshit.. It's the "Rolls Royce" of Anti-Virus.

NOD32 Earns Its Record Setting 29th Virus Bulletin 100% Award

11/02/2004
NOD32 continues its WORLD RECORD of not missing a single “In the Wild” (ItW) worm or virus while having no false positives. This record was achieved in the comprehensive testing conducted by the industry's leading authority, the Virus Bulletin.


http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm

[gbwarming]

6. AVG is my favorite. Recent Norton and McAfee are too big and slow

And by recent I mean 1995.

[wheresthemind]

7. Get a mac...

No virus protection needed!

[drumwolf]

8. not until I get a better-paying job.

I plan to get a Mac Powerbook laptop eventually so I can do digital music and video editing in my favorite cafe, but for now buying an Apple is way out of my affordability range.

But you're right, Macs are in much less danger of viruses, which will come in quite handy when I shop for a laptop -- usually, laptops on wireless are potentially be in even far more danger of malware than my desktop PC which is behind my roommate's firewall. :)

[vpigrad]

9. True, but...

he can install Linux and not have to buy an entire new computer.

[bigmonkey]

10. Just switch to Linux.

No viruses. Free. Does 100% of what you need to do, and 95+% of what you would like to do for fun. Don't have to get new hardware. Try it out with one of the "runs from a CD" distributions, like Knoppix, with no change to your system at all. Stop being just a consumer and join a community.
It's mysterious to me in the extreme why it's such a hard sell.