TOPIC: AVG Better?

Dom, I have seen that you have recommended AVG instead of purchasing an AV program. Is AVG just as good? I just have this idea that it can't be that good if it is free. Does it detect adware and spyware? I have Lavasoft and Spybot that I run manually. My Kaspersky AV is set to expire in about a month, so I am trying to decide. It seems from what I read that AVG will detect spyware, adware, malware, and viruses; is that correct?

What about the rootkit threats and hackers and firewall? I have the windows firewall now. Is the paid version better? Is it needed?

AVG is running on my Netbook for the last 6 0r 7 months and it is so in the background that I forget it is there.
My.older laptop has had McCaffee for the last 3 years and is such a big pain that it drives me crazy with all the constant updates which freeze my computer to the point where I think McCaffe is the virus.

Just bought a new Desktop and made sure to install AVG right off the bat.

The free version of AVG won't find root kits. I only run AVG now, it's much less resource intensive than the other AV programs. I also have spybot (which is also free) and run it manually every few weeks.

So, you think only the free version is all one needs? Or should I keep my Kaspersky? Are rootkits really a problem?

They rarely are. More an issue on linux machines actaully. Kaspersky is good too, I would just take the free AVG over it. If you have a paid version of Kaspersky, use it.

"I think McCaffe is the virus.

It is!

I've used AVG for years (and spybot) and have never had any issues.