Linkmeister

Maybe he/she could try a trial period.
I think Norton does this. It is the software I use.
I have been with Norton for a few years, and so far so good!

Something about that page makes me skeptical...

I've run AVG on some donated Windows PCs. Hey, free is free! But I know ZoneAlarm is a disaster waiting to happen. Overall, though, my strategy is to use a Mac. Yes, there are AV options worth looking at there, too.

I have been running AVG religiously on all my PC's (as has Sgt. Grump) for several years, and I've never had any elephants.

The anti-virus/anti-spyware tools my PC cannot live without:

AVG Anti-virus
Spybot S&D (with TeaTimer)
Firefox

We used AVG for a long time before finally switching to Norton. I liked 'em just fine.

We switched because we were caught by a couple of nasty invaders but I don't seem to think that it was the fault of AVG...only a lack of automatic updating and our own poor habit with backups.

When I enrolled with HawnTel they gave me the Free McAfee Package! It does the job powerful and I have no problems. (SMILE)

Lynn Vasquez aka
Auntie Pupule

I've also been using AVG for a little over a year. I haven't had a problem since I started using it. Mine is set up to update virus definitions every morning or as soon as the computer turns on. Takes about 10 seconds. I give it a hearty recommendation.

I have some open source friends who swear by clam on Linux, haven't heard much about clam for windows.

The real point about viruses is that half the people - more than half - who become infected, do so because they are dumb enough to open emails addressed to them by people they never heard of; and, worse, open the attachments to those emails. Viruses don't, in general, launch themselves; you have to open the file. If you just delete email from people you never heard of, you'll have very few problems.

The other point about viruses is that they aren't nearly as common as you might think from the hype - I've heard they're under 5% of all email. It's just that if you do get one, it can cause a lot of grief.

I agree with Solonor about Spybot, run it regularly; I also recommend Ad-Aware Personal Edition, another freebie. Malware is a problem you have to watch, although, again agreeing with Solonor, Firefox helps a lot.

Hedera, your e-mail advice is dead-on, but try telling it to a newbie and making it stick.

I use Ad-Aware and Firefox along with ZoneAlarm's firewall. I've been using McAfee for years and years. It's caught maybe ten viruses, and I haven't ever been infected since I started using it. 'Course, I know that attachment mantra by heart, too.