for about the last year i have been using AVG Free for anti virus and have had very good luck with it, i am not a norton fan at all, the AVG program was tested with three others in PCWorld mag i subscribe to...got into steve's forum yesterday and saw where someone was recommending Avast anti virus, did a bunch of google research and decided to try it, it also supports P2P programs which AVG id not? Anyone using or used Avast have any input...Thanks!

Avast is good but slow, and the interface is a bit confusing. Any AV can support P2P, what you need is a strong firewall such as agnitum outpost or black ice...although if you are not an advanced pc user black ice can be confusing. You should also consider an anti-trojan ass most AV's miss trojans and keyloggers. Ewido has a free one that is pretty good. Finally make sure you run Spybot S&D and javacools Spyware Blaster. Whenever you DL from P2P, remember to right click and IMMEDIATLY scan the file you DL'd with an AV and also an AT. This method is by far the safest way to keep you pc safe if you frequently DL. Whatever you day, stay away from Kazaa and instead use Limewire or ed2k. ed2k is faster in DL's than limewire, but has a greater tendency to load spyware and viruses. And if you still have questions or need a specific security app, e-mail me, and I will try to help you out.

thanks Jenn,

the kids do the DLs off kazaa lite, neighbor uses limewire on his mac, using spybot, adaware,spyware blaster, winpatrol..i'll try the limewire...

Both Avast and AVG work well and rate highly on the review sites. Of the two I prefer AVG because it seems to have a smaller performance hit on the system.

Avast is good, but as I said, the interface is difficult and it is not only slow, but a resource hog. Do you use IE or Firefox as your browser? Longhorn is still in beta testing, but reports say that MS has closed up a lot of holes...I prefer FF, as it is fast and pretty much spyware free. It is all VERY customizable with extension and themes. This will help your security, too. If you are on a P2P you may consider peer guardian, which helps block RIAA/MPAA scouting ip's (keep you safe from the feds). Also, you may consider something that changes your ip and/or proxy, again, no ip to trace, no hassle with the feds.While I swear by and run my pc by P2P, there are dangers, and unfortunately the minor dangers are viruses. Here are links to sites that carry what you will need. Just copy and paste the url:
Peer Guardian:
http://methlabs.org/projects/

Ewido anti-trojan
http://www.ewido.net/en/

Spybot S&D
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Limewire PRO
http://92hosting.com/LimePro4901.zip

Crap Cleaner (cleans history, frees up space)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Spyware Blaster/MRU Blaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloads.html

AVG anti-virus
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1

Avast anti-virus
http://www.avast.com/

Outpost Firewall (freeware and/or shareware versions)
http://www.agnitum.com/

Ad-Aware anti-spyware
http://lavasoft.element5.com/default.shtml.en

CWShredder (searches for hijacking trojans)
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.htm

Firefox Browser (alternate for IE)
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Win Patrol (monitors system for changes)
http://www.winpatrol.com/

Start up Control Panel (see what running in startup and modify it)
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

Registry cleaner, junk file cleaner and more
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm

Pick and choose as you will. This list has probably the best apps available as freeware. Many of these apps come as shareware suites, which means you pay for it, but get a whole suite of features. The freeware ibones workhorse apllications...and please don't think that because they are free they are crap. I have also included a link to the latest version of Limewire PRO...this is an absolutely clean version of the pro version of limewire. If you need any further help, feel free to drop me a message.

My list:
hardware: A Router

software:

Avast Anti-virus (It blocked a DCOM exploit when we had no router and no firewall. That was like months ago. And it scans sites)

Comodo Firewall (It's free and it works wonders for me)

Hijackthis (This one is my favorite tool of all. But prevention is better than cure. This one is just part of the cure. It's used for scanning well-hidden bad things on your computer that most security programs miss. But it's not really fool-proof, it still has some misses here and there.)

Avira Anti-Rootkit (There's no active protection or provider in the version we have in this computer. It only scans and removes.)

CCleaner (For removing uneccessary registry threads, cleaning up old files and uninstalling files. And best of all it shreds files and erases your browsing history for you!)

Malwarebytes' Anti-malware (just for scanning, but its really good.)

Opera Web Browser (It's a browser that is known to pass the acid test and its very innovative, heck mozilla can't even catch up with the technology incorporated in its browsers. And it has a phishing filter :))

Sites to check sites:
http://www.siteadvisor.com/ (its by mcafee)

And the best! Common Sense, Dont open a file unless you've scanned them and verified where it came from.

and avast also has a p2p sheild activated.

And dont run to many security apps in one time because that can be such a resource pig!

my opinion is... you dont have to waste time and money on anti-virusing.. just buy a Mac and you can get evrythin you need on computing.. eventhou you still have to use Windows to run windows program ( which are not available for mac ).

True, some anti-virus softwares are expensive but they still are not as expensive as Macs. And if I were to choose OS's I'd still stick with Windows. Anyways, I think Macs have lesser viruses because they're market share is small compared to Windows and if I were a black hat I woulnd't want to waste my time developing a malware that wouldn't target billions.

Oops... Double post... hehehe... lol! XD. peace.

I spent $5000 on my mac. My $600 e-machine runs circles around it. And on audio/video/graphics work, the mac just takes a snooze. Every time I've seen someone have a problem with a pc, it usually gets fixed. Never been able to address even one issue on my mac. No one knows anything. Even local certified apple technicians. (Not to mention their snootiness.) So-called "experts" can't even figure it out. So I fixed it myself and haven't had a problem since. I took it out in the driveway and took a double bladed axe to it, then went inside and created something in Apophysis on my e-machine. Macs are elitist status symbols. Here's how to neutralize the "virus advantage" mac has over pc, (and by the way, it's the only advantage), take HALF the money you are going to spend on a mac, and buy TWO pc towers and use the same monitor, mouse, speakers and keyboard for both towers using a good splitter. Hook one tower to the internet and put nothing on it of value, just an A-V program. Just surf away. If you "catch" something nasty, you are 30 minutes and 1 reboot disc away from factory settings. Keep all your saveables and goodies on the other tower, your personal space. When you find something good while surfing, save it, scan it and flash drive it over to your "safe" tower. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll save 5000 bucks!

Well Kaiser, that's one reason why macs aren't as prone to viruses. The other, is that they build their os's better. Simple fact. But here's where it doesn't pay off. When something goes wrong with my 1960 Impala, and it does quite frequently, I can fix it myself, as can most any of my buddies. If something goes wrong with my 2008 Altima, which happens more often than I was promised, I'd be lucky to find the hood latch. So it looks like it's self-sufficiency in one world, and expensive repair bills (and the possibility that it doesn't get fixed right, anyway) in the other. I guess we all gotta pick our poison.