Whats the best anti-virus software out there?

My subscription to Mcafee (I know it sucks, and makes my comp freeze) is expiring at the end of the month, and i was wondering whats the best (best value) anti-virus software out there. I currently have a 10-in-1 all in one software that also does registry cleaning and other things so I'm looking for something that does those too. My price range is between $50-100, preferably something i can buy at a retail store so i can have a backup install cd.

BestBuy has a 2 Year subscription to BitDefender 09 for $59.99

Any Suggestions?

Norton. Hands Down. Available for $79 at BestBuy on CD (Norton 360, just Anti Virus is around $40)

I have NcAfee because it comes with my Internet, so its just a way to save money. And its terrible. Norton was a lot better. It doesnt take over your computer when scanning or when updating. the Interface is nice and all. Its been a year since I had it but it was nice security software.

I called Microsoft tech support about my computer freezing for a few minutes at a time and a 'security dialog error' that came up and they said that occurs because of Norton or Mcafee, usually running on 64-bit machines. So think im going look at other software.
Thanks for the suggestion though... I still got a month to research which would be best for me.

I have a huge problem too with McAfee updating. i have it as automatic becuase if i dont put it that way, I'll never say yes because Im busy doing something. McAfee loves to update right as I start web browsing, so my Firefox will freeze up for 30 seconds, work for 5 seconds and freeze again. Its really annoying.

Thats weird that they would say Norton too. I dont remember it freezing up at all when it updated. PC Mag rated 4.5 out of 5, readers rated 4 out of 5. 5/5 by CNet editors.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 is another option. $60 at Best Buy. Never tried it but I have heard of these guys. 3.5/5 by PC Mag.

Also Panda Security is the last I know, but I have not found their software available at a store. They do offer it as a CD though through their site.

My Computer doesn't freeze because I'm running a Mcafee program , but instead my computer just stops responding with the hard-drive light on continuously. But if I'm playing music or watching a movie they will continue to work until I try to stop them when i notice everything else isn't responding. If I press ctrl+alt+del, my login screen comes up displaying "Security Dialog- Failed to Open" and Microsoft claims that error only shows up with Norton and Mcafee.

[(TKC)-o]T3[o]

Norton? ummm.. no. If I was going to buy again I'd go back to Kaspersky which is usually rated right at the top, but don't forget the new Microsoft offering that is coming out soon. It will be free and it's suppose to be very good.

Norton has gotten better by all accounts but will rate below Kaspersky and the new Microsoft tool. I'm personally running AVG for the time being because I realized I know how to take care of a computer and didn't need to pay for anti-viruses any more.

Norton? ummm.. no. If I was going to buy again I'd go back to Kaspersky which is usually rated right at the top, but don't forget the new Microsoft offering that is coming out soon. It will be free and it's suppose to be very good.

Norton has gotten better by all accounts but will rate below Kaspersky and the new Microsoft tool. I'm personally running AVG for the time being because I realized I know how to take care of a computer and didn't need to pay for anti-viruses any more.

I suppose this new MS thing will be released with Win7 and released for XP and Vista around October. Hopefully it's better than Windows OneCare, which downright was awful.

[(TKC)-o]T3[o]

I believe I saw a best of list that said onecare was the absolute best when it came to false positives and they ranked it like 3rd best or something.. can't remember now.

I personally have never used anything besides AVG Free for antivirus. I'm currently running it along with Malwarebytes (also free) and am getting the best protection for the buck (besides the fact I spent nothing). Malwarebytes monitors your registry for malicious entries, provides IP, as well as just general malware/spyware programs. I've also got CCleaner which does registry cleanups as well as removing just about every bit of junk files from your computer (temp internet files and such) and also Defraggler, which is a HDD defragmenting program that is one million times better than the standard on that comes on Windows. Everyone of these programs are free and I've never had a problem with compatibility with OS's, nor have I gotten a virus/spyware.

I don't use antivirus, i reformat the the whole drive that contains windows if i start seeing any spyware and all that stuff, and then reinstall everything, i'm confortable that way, i have all my info in a separate partition.

I don't use antivirus, i reformat the the whole drive that contains windows if i start seeing any spyware and all that stuff, and then reinstall everything, i'm confortable that way, i have all my info in a separate partition.

I did this before with 2 separate hard drives and a external hard drive but my mcafee discovered a Trojan or malware that was found on all 3 hard drives.

That would mean I'd have to reformat my whole computer to divide it into 2 partitions. I got a 1.5Tb hard drive and could do that, but it would be a pain to reinstall 0.4 Tb of already installed programs, and backup all my movies and music.

I'm with Monitor on this one. I use AVG Free and it protects just fine and the best part is....it costs $0. For Anti-Spyware I use PCTools Spyware Doctor, and PCTools Registry Mechanic for my registry. Honestly, PCTools has the best programs, and they don't freeze up your system. You can get PCTools Internet Security (comes with antivirus, antispyware, anti-spam for email, and has it's own firewall) for 60 bucks for a 1-year subscription. Oh yeah, and the best part is it covers 3 computers. Also the Registry Mechanic is only 30 bucks for 3 computers for a year.

I don't use antivirus, i reformat the the whole drive that contains windows if i start seeing any spyware and all that stuff, and then reinstall everything, i'm confortable that way, i have all my info in a separate partition.

I did this before with 2 separate hard drives and a external hard drive but my mcafee discovered a Trojan or malware that was found on all 3 hard drives.

I download everything directly to my "windows drive" then after i downloaded it, i check or make sure the file is really what i wanted and not a virus or spyware etc. but the actual "file" that i wanted to download, so test it etc., after that just copy it to my "data" partition, note: no programs or files are installed or downloaded of any kind into my "data partition" just music, movies and pictures thats it.

I've been doing it like that for a lot of years, and believe me i've got spyware or viruses before, to a point that i cannot log on to windows anymore, so i do my usual process and i'll know my "data" it's safe

I always like norton. I thought I had the setup file I could have sent you so you wouldn't have to pay but I can't find it and the University at Albany finally kicked me from there resources (I graduated 2 years ago)

The best Anti anything system: Chuck Norris