The Norton Security free trial just expired on me, and it got me thinking, do I really need anti-virus software? I Google'd it, but that didn't help. I wanna hear honest opinions. So, do I really need to get anti-virus software, and if I do, are there any free ones?

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t(-.-t)

Get avg or avast.
That's all you need.

I haven't used anti-virus software for about a year. Just download from trustful sources.

AVG (Free) is good.

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There are free ones but i wouldn't say that you need one, i just use the default Microsoft Security Essentials.

As long as you stay away from untrustworthy sites, you should be good.

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Yay, I got AVG. Thanks Nollog + Kurt.

And isn't the Windows Security Essentials just for scanning? :/

__________________
Hope sucks. In your face, Yoshi.
t(-.-t)

Windows security essentials is terrible, and offers you zero control.

This.

Just pick up AVG Free, that's what I did. My parents are idiots and download from anywhere. Just being mildly intelligent from where you download your stuff and you'll be fine. Anti-virus is really just a means of covering your ass in case you goof up.

You should have antivirus software. Getting a virus sucks.

I use Microsoft Security Essentials for background use and Malwarebytes for more in depth virus scans.

People think they don't need an antivirus program until they get a virus, then they wish they had one.

I'll agree with AGV, but I'll qualify that by saying the free version works MOST of the time. My computer got a virus on a site I otherwise trusted that got hacked. AGV detected it, but failed to isolate it, which eventually led me to have to format my hard drive. By comparison, I never had even one problem while I used Norton.

It all comes down to what you're willing to pay and how much risk you want to take. Heck, I'm using AVG now. Yeah, I'm a cheapskate.