I use AVG and have never had a virus so far (hides from Murphy's Law :XD: ). Personally I can't see the point of leaving lots of software dormant on your hard-drive. If you have a virus, the first thing any real virus does is stop them updating... So all the out of date packages are useless.... Also I think that most viruses out their tend to be older versions, meaning that the virus companies will have the definitions updated. The number of people with the virus prior to the definitions is small. Only major viruses will be an issue here (MyDoom, etc) and at any rate, having another package won't make you safer here. Comparing packages. The thoroughness and speed of the scan are directly related. I know AVG searches inside all sorts of archives because I see it do it. Given that the speed difference between it and NAV is nominal, I assume they all do the same. To be honest, I'd go for NAV if you feel you need to be part of a collective. AVG is in my opinion the best of the free alternatives, but I've not tried many. The best security solution is a good firewall, a competent user (one who doesn't say "I'll just open that random e-mail attachment" - whatever the extension, don't trust stuff from strangers!) and an updated AV system... If you don't visit nefarious sites, don't use Peer-to-Peer, scan weekly and update definitions, you will be fine! Trust me... 7 years... Viruses: 0 PS: Don't believe the scare stories. The internet isn't that dangerous. If you only visit RuneScape, tip.it and banking type sites, you don't even need anti-virus software... I had none for atleast 6 months as a test case.