Best antivirus protection to go for
 

The following is a partial review of MSE from PC Pro magazine. It's part of a full Security Suite test in the magazine.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/softw...ity-essentials

Wow, that's a bad review. It used to get much higher marks. I have a 30 day Norton freebie which I'm trying right now.

Yes - I'm thinking of getting Norton and installing it on my Desktop and Laptop. I used to rely on MSE, but I'm getting a bit wary now.

The 30 day trial that came with my X220 offered me the opportunity to buy for a year at a special price of $49.95. An easily Googleable online 25% off coupon dropped the price to $37.50. I bit, since it includes provision for installing a licensed copy on up to three computers.

A bit OT
 

Since people are getting wary on MSE and the reviews are not great anymore, what would be a stellar internet security suite. I have tried Norton 360, AVG in the past and they were "meh". I have tried Bitdefender but it was too complicated. I have tried avast last week but my computer kept freezing and it seems complicated to navigate around. I don't really have much info on Kapersky, Panda, F-Secure, etc. 'll be willing to pay as long as the protection is strong. I also don't want it to slow down my system as known with Symantec.

I moved from Symantec to Eset a few years ago and haven't looked back.

I'm looking extensively at reviews for anti-virus protection. And F-Secure and Trend-Micro come up alot. Have anyone used these before?

Best antivirus protection to go for
 

On a recent thread I posted, I was asking for the most effective way of blocking pop-ups. Anti-virus protection was brought up alot in that thread especially since I am using Microsoft Security Essentials and the reviews are not that great anymore. Since people are getting wary on MSE and the reviews are not great anymore, what would be a stellar internet security suite? I'm not looking for a Norton 360 kinda suite where pc-tune ups are included as these really do not help. Just something in the middle between basic anti-virus and a maximum suite. I have tried Norton 360, AVG in the past and they were "meh". I have tried Bitdefender but it was too complicated. I have tried avast last week but my computer kept freezing and it seems complicated to navigate around. I don't really have much info on Kapersky, Panda, Vipre, Webroot, etc. I'll be willing to pay as long as the protection is strong. I also don't want it to slow down my system as known with Symantec. I'm looking extensively at reviews for anti-virus protection. And F-Secure and Trend-Micro come up alot. Have anyone used these before?

Currently, I use Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes free version.

Tips and suggestions appreciated.

Take a look at Avira and Antimalwarebytes. Both free, although you can pay for more shiny buttons if you want them on either.

I'm using Avast.

I have found the free online scanner at eset.com to be very good.

I believe your perception of Norton/Symantec slowing things down is past lore (they're the same company, though you list that you've tried one and are avoiding the other).

Read recent reviews - it's at or near the top of everything I've seen, and performance is as fast or faster than anything, with less system impact. #1 (tie) at PC magazine, #1 (tie) at PC World, #2 at Top-10 reviews, etc. Use NIS, skip 360.

I've been using it at for 15 years or so and have never had a problem, though it has blocked quite a few.

If you shop smartly, it's under $20.

if you are going by the reviews of MSE, almost all of the reviews compare it to others, just go with whatever they recommend in the reviews.

Which in many cases will be Avast.

For paid, I believe eset and Kaspersky usually come out #1 and #2. For free, I remember Avast comes out pretty well (which I'm also using).

I always remember what my tech security guy said when I asked him which freebie AV program I should use - "You get what you pay for." ;)