Expert: James Filmer - 1/30/2009

Question
I use McAfee. My question is very simple. I want to know which is the best antivirus software that I can download from the Internet for free. I am thinking of AVG. Is AVG a good choice or is it McAfee?

Answer
I disagree with you regarding your assessment of my knowledge (how much more knowledge could I have shared?), clarity (how much clearer could I have been?) helpfulness (how much more...?) and timeliness (responded same day).

You're entitled to your opinion, but my objective, short and simple response was based on the fact that much has been written about the subject already. I provided links to expert reviews and AVG as my anti-virus application of choice, as well.

(Response made public since this question doesn't contain personal information, that others might receive some benefit from the question and my replies).

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"Best" is a matter of opinion, and my opinion isn't better than someone who thinks McAfee's best.

AVG is my personal favorite, but decided to keep it in spite of others on the market being rated "better" in terms of protection, ease of use, performance and/or instability issues and overall price-versus-value.

Try searching the words "anti-virus reviews." Just like deciding on a car, you should know as much as you can from more than one source. At least 20 fine reviews by experts and average users. Some experts/users say AVG Free is best. Others say it isn't (and I don't argue with them).

http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/Antivirus_Firewall_and_Se... is a objective, expert review.
Enrgy21.com has some links to reviews as well.