What are currently the best for anti-virus software (free and retail)?

[Dubnoman]

I have been using Avast! free anti-virus since 2009 and it has never failed me. It has prevented threats to my PC a number of times. I am investing in a new computer very soon, and I thought, maybe I should consider going with an even better anti-virus software.

First of all, does Windows 7 Home Premium have a good enough firewall application?

What is currently the best free anti-virus software? Is it AVG? What is currently the best anti-virus software that you pay for? Is it Kaspersky?

I'll also have the program Malwarebytes to remove malware that makes it onto my system. That is the best anti-malware software, right? Maybe the best free one. Is there a retail anti-malware program that is better, and is it worth paying for, or would Malwarebytes be all I need?

 

[Hawkeye22]

I also use avast & malwarebytes. i don't know if they are the best, but they work well enough for me. You may want to have a look at this site for comparisions.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

 

[jerry6]

I use trustport AV and outpost pro firewall , with the 2 have not had any problems .Outpost lets me play around with what get out , or in , has some good features and does not slow things down . I even use it on an Atom netbook

 

[richy4248]

Another useful little program for Firefox users is the NoScript add-on which prevents javascripts from running unless you explicitly tell them they can. This can also make websites faster as there are less adds being loaded and so forth.

I'm not sure if NoScript is available for other browsers, but it's worth looking in to.

 

[zik1zik]

Retail is Bitdefender, free is Comodo! As Simple as that

 

[Rick Brucks]

zik1zik, I totally agree with you.