Antivirus Recommendation

[KnightDisciple]

My computer's currently running Trend Micro Internet Security. It's done okay, but it's about to expire.

I want to see if there are better pieces of software for a similar price out there.

Vital information: I run Win XP, latest updates and such. Main browser is Google Chrome with AdBlock and NoScripts. Secondary is Firefox, same addons (mostly just for Chat on the site here).

So...Suggestions?

[Raveled]

I have had good experiences with both AVT and am currently running Microsoft Security Essentials.

[N/A]

If you're looking to spend money, then you can't really go wrong with Norton's. For a few years there, they were sitting on their laurels, and falling into the middle of the pack. But lately they've come out swinging again, and according to all the latest credible side-by-side comparisons, they've clawed their way back to the top.

If you're going the free route, which I do, then MSE will fulfill 90% of your needs by itself. I find it to be superior to AVG.

Because I'm an anal obsessive-compulsive, I also have Ad-Aware, SpyBot, MalwareBytes, and SuperAntiSpyware. I only run constant, real-time shielding with MSE (even if I had the RAM to spare, most real-time protection programs don't play well with others), but I regularly run scans with all five programs. Usually one or two of them will find something that the others missed, and that kind of redundancy helps to compensate for the fact that the free malware protection is always going to be inferior to the paid ones (not that there aren't plenty of crappy paid ones on the market). Also, I live something of a "high-risk lifestyle" online, so the added protection is not entirely unwarranted.

[N/A]

It looks like Ad-Aware has gone to a model where the free version is just a limited-time trial, and they've bundled the anti-ad/spyware stuff with antivirus protection they REALLY want you to keep on in real-time. So I've crossed them off the list of programs I run regular scans with.