I have Norton Internet Security on one machine (works fine/is unrecogniseably lighter than the earlier Norton products) and BitDefender on 2 others (works fine/easy to use, although I have not yet updated to the 2010 version: + user support excellent)

I remain slightly suspicious of the free products, on the "you-get-what-you pay-for" principle.

The freebies are tremendously good at creating good press on the web, but then, they would be. What do you do when it all goes wrong/customer support dries up etc. You have no claim whatsoever on the supplier as you have not made a purchase.

+ do the maths and you will find that the difference in price is hardly worth mentioning.

BitDefender IS 2010 is 120 USD for 3 years' coverage of 3 machines (many of us have at least 3 PCs I believe - or the spare key can be used by another family member).

13 USD/year to protect a PC. I rest my case.

With Protection software I have a feeling its not so much the choice of product that is important as user practice.
whatever the choice, the user must:
- remain careful when visiting unfamiliar sites
- not open unknown attachments in emails
- be suspicious of any portable storage device
- run regular scans with other external AV + anti adware products
- etc.

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