People generally say that it's better to buy Antivirus programs instead of using free ones. But personally I find Norton a bit worse then some of the freeware out there. I used to use a priated version of a paid AV which mean I didn't have to pay, but it soon degraded and didn't work as well as the paid version.

The most annoying thing is that once I had a problem when I tried to install panda Platinum while Norton was running. The result ended up dreadful and I had to do a system restore.

It would be nice to share your opinions on this. Which do you think is better -- freeware or paidwar of AVs? And which do you use?

Justa random post of mine....

I think free can be better depending on the antivirus. Paid doesn't always mean better but i like free antiviruses mainly because 1) there free and 2) the ones I download do work and protect my computer from viruses.

From what I hear an free anti virus program is not as safe, because it dont fully protect your computer from lurking viruses such as some viruses that are embeded in MEDIA PLAYERS or IMAGES itself. The free anti viruses I have seen only protects you from FILES coming to your computer and so forth. But I dont think it protects you from hidden viruses. I would personally go with a INTERNET SECURITY ANTI VIRUS program, and if you find a free one your better off with that than any regular virus program. Catching a virus on the internet is very very annoying. So its better to be safe than sorry...

I'm one who uses both AVG Free and Panda Titanium, which I pay for.

I used to use Norton because it came installed on my new computer but I didn't like it because it was hard to configure with my Anti Spyware programs which I also use. And, I just didn't personally find it easy to use.

My Panda is the greatest. Has firewall, antispyware and even detects viruses before they are defined.

If you pay for 3 years at a time, it is very reasonable as well.

I use Bitdefender with its firewall and everything it's a blast!

Finally - someone who uses the same AV as me.. I tell you BD is a master blaster. Although it's a paid AV - the subscription is only $24 in an year - which is hardly anything considering the amount of security it provides you.. And now, to top it all - BD Pro 9 AV Scanner engine recently got upgraded to scan/stop Spyware too. It's double security for the price of one - not to forget the cool and extremely easy to use firewall that comes bundled with it.

Ya! I bought it last year and I have it a year already and my computer hasn't got hacked by anyone and I didn't get any viruses! It even found spyware which my anti spyware programs didn't find!

Guys or gals, could anyone of you please help me download a very good but free anti-virus with anti-spyware and firewall. But there is catch all should be in one unit (i.e. should be one package). Please help me as I am running my computer which is connected to the internet without any kind of defense. I tried panda, but the problem is that it makes my computer's boot speed very slow, and that is the last thing I can compromise.

Oh man - you're asking for a LOT If you were looking only for an AV, I'd recommend AVG Free Edition. But I don't know of any one bundled software that's going to offer all that to you for free. I think your best bet is to install individual free softwares - like AVG Free (Antivirus), Spybot S & D (Antispyware) and ZoneAlarm (Firewall)..

But if you're willing to shell out around $24 per year - which converts to about INR 1080 per year, then I highly recommend you to use BitDefender Pro 9 ( http://www.bitdefender.com ) - which gives you all three of these in an indomitable bundle Think about it, for about INR 90 per month - you're getting state-of-the-art protection for your computer in every which way. Go for it dude..

Aaaaaa...thank you sir for your advice I actually went-up, downloaded it and bought it.
Thanks a lot anyway