Sorry if this is in the wrong place but what is the best anti-virus? I just don't trust the free stuff, thanks
Avast is a quite good free AV, no ads, apart from it just advertising it's paid for model from time to time. It also has Pirate in its languages.
PC Pro rated AVG free best over its payed for rivals in recent months, it caught the most malware in their test. The recent edition has also blocked a few drive by malwarings for me on websites that have been hacked. Also malware bytes is quite good getting rid of a virus which avg at the time couldn't. You can pay for either of them if you feel you must. Also avg has a game mode which stops scans when there's a full screen application running. I don't know how well it does with online play though. I haven't run into problems with games and avg. For me AVG Free is on full time and I give malware bytes a whirl every now and then.
It depends on your needs. I run Kaspersky on my main rig and used to deploy it on my other older machines, however it is a bit of a resource hog in comparison to other tools. Although I still like it hence I run it on my main machine. I now run ESET on all my other machine's bar my main rig and my server. The only reason I don't run it on the server is because of a bug in ESET 4.0 which meant it would crash server 2008 R2. I now run Sophos on the server and have had no issues since.
I think Quick Heal Total Security and Avast are very Good option for free version.for any type of hardware and software configuration.
I question why you flat out don't trust free AV. In general they offer a very similar level of basic protection, just without some features that often people don't use or need anyway. After all, often they are made by the same companies that also offer highly rated paid for products and use the same basic AV engine. In the case of Security Essentials, it is actually made by Microsoft, so presumably they deem it to be sufficient for most Windows users. If you really are fixed on using paid for protection it may be worth checking with your bank. I used Kaspersky for a while as it was free if you bank online with Barclays.
Common sense. If you browse safely, without clicking on every single link before evaluating it to be safe, and prevent any unauthorized people using your computer, then you are very unlikely to get a virus. On Windows though, it is useful to have one in reserve, and I recommend MSE.
Last paid for AV I used was Norton and that was 2011, maybe 2012. One of them. Worked really well, fast and did the job. But I use MSE now, just as fast and never had an issue Each to their own tbh, but I would try MSE. I think you'll be fine on it and it won't cost you anything
I use MSE and Ive never found a reason to not use it, as its really lightweight and MS has even included it in windows 8.
I personally use Norton 360, in recent times it has used less and less resources and if you find it at the right time you can get it for free or almost free.
MSE. I load it on all my client computers unless the client wants something else. We use System Center Endpoint protection 2012 (formerly known as Forefront) at my workplace. Great AV program, I don't see the need to use anything else. Downside is it kills my repeat business with that particular computer. Unless the PC is owned by someone who frequents shady websites. There's not much that can protect a person from their own ignorance.
MSE or Avast for free solutions. Updated regularly, they have proven solid for my needs. But then - my browsing habits are routine and to reputable sites, and I don't use a lot of friends' thumb drives and such... so not too much exposure to start with.
I use MSE - never had a problem with it as of yet. Download link here, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/security-essentials-download