antivirus and other essentials

Hey,

I have already viewed the free software sticky. But I was wondering what would be the best anti virus software and other essential type of softwares I should get. I am willing to pay for them if need be (not more than 30$ each).

I personally hate external softwares that run in the background. I am the type of person that shuts everything off. I guess I should start keeping the antivirus software working in the background.

 

If you don't want to pay for AV, Avast is the best one. NIS 2008 is $50 though.

 

Nod32 is rated pretty high recently, it is pretty light on resources, and does a good job at it. However, it isn't free, it's 39.99 for 1 years 1 user license.

 

There are a lot more info in this sub-forum, take a look at it.
There's a sticky about free AVs too

 

Very true. Your answers lie here.

 

Yeah I read that. I just wanted to know if the free AVs had something seriously lacking that I should instead consider getting a paid one.

Am I being arrogant in only allowing AV to run, should I be running any other programs too?

 

Paid versions generally use the same engine as its free counterpart but have more settings/options (for example, an email scanner).

IMO, a robust firewall is more important than a good AV program because it prevents stuff from getting on your computer in the first place. If you're using XP, take a look at Online Armor, if you're using Vista, look at Comodo.

A great supplement to a firewall/AV setup is ThreatFire. See the best free AV/firewall/antispyware sticky for more info on these programs.