Anti-Virus Anti-Spyware Advice Requested

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Hey Guys/Gals...

Looking for opinions on the best Anti-Virus w/anti-spyware protection out there. My subscription expires in the next couple of weeks, and the price has gone up. I don't mind a price increase, as long as I am still getting a quality product. This will be for my HP Probook Win7 Pro 32bit Laptop.

BTW... I won't consider a Norton or McAfee product, so don't waste your time.

I currently run:

PCTools Spyware DR. w/Anti-Virus
Trend Micro Titanium

I would like to drop down to one product if I still get good protection. I am unable to run both at the same time, as they are always conflicting. Gets to be a PIA swiching back and forth every week to run full scans. One problem is you don't know what works, until it doesn't work. If you have had issues in the past, please state what product you were using when you got infected. If you are using a product, go online ALOT, and have never got infected, please post also.

Thanks.
Jeff 

[Dominic Maricic]

AVG. Free version is great, paid is better.

[Stephen Stanczyk]

PC Tools Spyware with AV.  Not infected since running it.....  but then you know that.

Just stop visiting  "THOSE" types of sites.   

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Dom... In the last five years, my laptops have been infected twice. I had AVG installed on both machines. AVG Free on the first, AVG Paid on the second. Avg caught some of the crap both times, but still allowed enough through to eventually kill em off.

Stephen... I use the PC Tools now based upon your recommendation. Just shopping around to see if there is a better product out there. Perhaps it is due to PC Tools being a Symantec prouct, and I'm not fond of Norton. What do you run on your computer? Only the PC Tools, or do you have other programs also?

PS... I can't help it. Going to other inspectors websites to research is part of my monthly routine. (Yes, both times the infections came from another inspector's site, or a link on their site).

Thanks for the input guys!

[Stephen Stanczyk]

Only Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus.  No Spybot, No Adaware. No Defender.  No Malwarebytes.  And NO MICROSOFT firewall or AV at all.  EVER.

So far, the buyout has not affected the PC Tools program.  I think they are keeping it separate from Norton so they have another marketing option in the company.

[Dominic Maricic]

I've never caught a virus, but I usually stay away from those "inspector" sites that cause viruses, cough, cough.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

I've never caught a virus, but I usually stay away from those "inspector" sites that cause viruses, cough, cough.

BTW... yeah... I got your "drift"... Inspect-her sites! Always the funny guy!? 

To be honest... they may not have been quote "Viruses". I do know for a fact multiple Trojan Horese were involved. By multiple, I mean over 7 the first time. AVG caught and removed at least 3 of them. The remaining 4 (or more) were imbedded so deep, I had to take it into the local geek shop, where three days and $285 later, they were removed. Expensive lesson, learned I. That was about three years ago.

Last Winter, I spent three months battling the little Nasties, until they finally overpowered my attempts. Again, it was a massive Trojan attack. The one that finally did me in, I could only find by searching line by line, and it was imbedded in, get this, IE5. Uh, I didn't even have IE5 loaded on my 'puter, but everytime I went online, all the worlds IE based websites would play hell with it. I spent about $100 on AV programs that time before it gave up the ghost. This time I replaced the unit.

So my current unit is only 6 months old, and so far no bugs. I would like to keep it that way, for at least another two years.

Thanks for everyones help.
Jeff