Virus Protection suggestion?

As of today my Windows Live One-Care virus protection expired, and before I go out and renew it for $50 I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of other and maybe even more reliable virus protection? I'm not really sure about which one is the best on the market, so if anyone can help thanks in advance.

 

I'm a big fan of Avast Antivirus, and whats even better is that there is a free version http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avast_Home_Edition_d1968.html

IMO, if you practice safe surfing and are an average user with a low threat level (no reason for someone to go out of their way planting viruses or cracking a home pc) there is no need for an expensive antivirus solution.

The bigger problem is protecting yourself from Vista!

Kidding aside, Avast is great and should be plenty.

 

I do a bit of torrenting (anime) mostly aside from surfing, and I do need it safe for online banking... >.>

 

There's many free antivirus products that do an equal (usually MUCH better) job of protecting your PC when compared to the paid products. Utils like Norton and MacAfee install so many extras that they end slowing down your PC and using up lots of resources. MacAfee, in it's fullest incarnation, installs over 10 different apps that run at start up. Ridiculous. Personally, I use Avira's AntiVir, Comodo's BOClean and firewall. They're all free and available here at Major Geeks. Another good program is DSA (Dynamic Security Agent). It's like a firewall and malware protection all-in-one, kind of. Here's some links for you:
AntiVir: http://www.majorgeeks.com/AntiVir_Personal_Edition_7_d955.html
Comodo BOClean: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Comodo_BOClean_Anti-Malware_d5616.html
Comodo Firewall: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Comodo_Personal_Firewall_d5033.html
Dynamic Security Agent: http://www.privacyware.com/dynamic_security_agent.html

 

2) Anti Virus: make sure you have one and keep it updated. Here are some good free ones:

* Avast! Home Edition

* AVG Free Edition

* AntiVir Personal Edition - for Win NT/2K/XP/2003
* AntiVir Personal Edition 7 for Win9x/ME
* PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition - forWin 2K/03/XP/Vista

These are better than Symantec/Norton or McAfee because they are free and because they are not so system resource hungry. The recent versions of Symantec/Norton and McAfee have become very bloated. This does not mean they do not work. If you have either of them and are happy with it, stick with them. But whatever you choose remember to Only Run ONE AV!

However below is a tool meant to complement your antivirus program and makes a great addition:

* a-squared (a²) Free edition


http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=44525