Best Anti-Virus Software?

I am using ESET NOD32 and I dont have problems.....for now.

A security analyst group called AV comparatives did some testing of AV applications and found two things:

1) Norton Anti-Virus 2008 is the fastest scanner. (Source)
2) Avira AntiVir is the most thorough free scanner, while ESET's NOD32 is the best scanner period. (Source)

My personal recommendation goes to Avira AntiVir because it is free, robust, still quite fast, and has a low false positive rating. Hard to argue with those merits.

Out of interest, which AV scanner do you use on your main PC? I'm using Kaspersky IS 2009 at the moment, which I'm very pleased with (plus, it's reasonably priced at around £10 / year in the UK). If NOD32 was cheaper I'd probably go for that though.

I don't use any AV. I can't stand the fact that I'm coughing up performance for something that might only be 50% effective. Out of respect to computer users everywhere, however, I scan with BitDefender and Kaspersky's online scanner once a week. My PC has been clean for 14 years.

If I had to use a paid service, I'd use Kaspersky or NOD32. If I went free (I would), it'd be Avast! or AntiVir.

* Thrax knocks on wood.

Very brave , or foolhardy ? What happens about vulnerabilities and holes in software that you can't prevent, as anti virus software has prevented me from getting viruses from rogue flash files that load automatically with a website before.

I know it can slow a system down somewhat, but why not use one when browsing the web or doing non intensive tasks and just disable it when you play games? Best of both worlds doing it that way

Until I had a trojan on my PC that appeared to be a keylogger, I didn't use one either for that very same reason. I have no idea how it got there, as I'm extremely careful and don't open crazy e-mail attachments (exe, pif, lnk, and so on )or visit dodgy websites. I do hope that you don't get an infection, but it may be worthwhile to try out AntiVir to see what the performance hit is like. It may not be too bad.

Flash-injected malware isn't a concern for me because I use FlashBlock and AdBlockPlus. The former means I have to manually click "play" on any flash content, which means I'm only seeing the things that I know I want to see.

I stick any downloads that might be suspicious into a folder and scan them with BitDefender and Kaspersky, so I'm covered on that front. And lastly, the almighty email... I never get attachments. :P

Like I said, I scan once a week and have been clean for 14 years. I think my methodology is pretty effective.

ESET smart security this way.
Found it works well with windows 7

NOD32 AV4 for me.

Blows all the others out of the water!

I have been using Avast for about 6 years now both Pro and Free Home versions, it is installed on my Windows Home Server as well as my PC's and scans my entire network of 4 PC's when I wish it to... for me it has been problem free, including under Win 7, and 'The Best' in my own opinion as well.

http://www.avast.com/

I don't use AVG... twice it has detected false-positives with Folding@Home data files (causing loss of data or resulting in a locked F@H program), and once it failed to catch a real trojan that I suspected I was infected with. Until very recently the free version of AVG did NOT scan for spyware or adware, only the pay version used to offer this. AVG has since changed their free program within just the last few months to include spyware scanning/detection.

For AV testing I've started monitoring VirusBulletin, interested users should just read about them directly than me trying to explain it. They require a subscription for monthly content, but release most testing data/results semi-annually.

Here's their last detailed release: http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2008/09_02

Their more recent (brief) update: http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2009/03_23.xml

I couldn't stand Avast's nagware when I tried to use the free version, so I ripped it off my latop pretty quickly... During one of my visits to the family my sister was using her laptop to take a timed online examination for one of her courses. In the middle of the test Avast popped up a window that refused to be minimized, moved, or closed and overlapped everything on the screen. The window required it either be uninstalled or purchased immediately, and had one of us clicked the link to purchase I am sure it would have opened a new browser window (likely using the window with her test in it). I was able to finally uninstall it but it cost her 5 minutes of her exam time.