Opinion: Best FREE Antivirus software

[SirSlothXCI]

My subscription to a paid suite has expired. I'm thinking of installing AVG Free again but I've had some bad experiences with it in the past and apparently its protection is a bit dodgy these days.

What is your preferred choice and why?

[SYNERGY]

Microsoft Security Essentials does the job. Free too.

That and common sense. Don't click on dodgy links etc

[francoislr]

Cheap pay option could be Kaspersky? But yeah, suppose MSE is best. You could also get Malwarebytes Free and Super Anti Spyware and do occasional scans manually.

[Totempole]

I would go with AVAST Free, and would avoid Avira at all costs.

I'm using Kaspersky Internet Security at the moment. It's effective but damn
irritating! If I didn't get a year's subscription for free, I would get rid of
it and go with ESET.

[ashfaak]

Why avoid Avira Totempole?

[howardb]

Microsoft Security Essentials, with Comodo Firewall and Malware Bytes - job done
Reasons: Free, effective, small resources print, easy to configure, catches all problems so far

[SirSlothXCI]

Thanks for all the input so far. Giving MSE a go.

[P924]

I have been using Avira for the last couple of years. It was very good at the beginning, but they have become slower and more annoying with the "pay us" pop ups everyday. Been using avast on my main pc for the past two days (after some internet researching on the exact topic of this thread). So far a positive experience.

[Totempole]

Why avoid Avira Totempole?

It's missed quite a few obvious Viruses. Much like AVG.
That being said, no free AV is perfect, I prefer to use a an AV in
conjunction with SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes and Spybot.

I'm paranoid, but in Feb 2011, my Credit Card was taken for over
R11 000 . Thankfully, ABSA's fraud department reversed it in
less than 10 days.

[njm-sa]

I vote Avira.

[rtayob]

I use MSE at home. Works well

[Pooky]

I use Panda Cloud.

[Chevron]

Avast!

[hugo69er]

Avast!

[unskinnybob]

MSE