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NOTE: If you're looking for recommendations on free antivirus, check this question: Free antivirus solutions for Windows

Much like the above, I'm curious to opinions on the best PAID antivirus solution, personal or commercial.

Enterprise solutions are welcome and as much detail regarding costs is welcome.

Personally I'm looking for a license that will grant me more than one computer install and quality technical support, for personal use.

As in the free antivirus question:

See if your antivirus of choice is already listed. Chances are it is.

If you spot an answer that mentions one you already use, vote that up if you think it's a good solution.

If you know of a feature or drawback not listed, or can include experiences in dealing with it, please edit the answer accordingly.

If you know of any that can also be used at work please point this out.

This covers all Windows platforms from XP, Vista and Windows 7. If you see an existing entry that needs an update or to add your testimonial, please do.

EDIT: I put a bounty up to get as many opinions as possible.

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This is the wrong use of a bounty. In fact, this question shouldn't even be open. – MDMarra Mar 22 '10 at 11:02
I can understand the bounty not being relevant, but frankly, I was looking for more answers and why not use the bounty? Why shouldn't it be open then? – Alastair Pitts Mar 22 '10 at 21:10
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Since it is a CW, this by definition means there is no right answer, so picking a right answer to give the bounty to defeats the purpose of it being a CW. As for why it shouldn't be open - "Avoid asking questions that are subjective, argumentative, or require extended discussion" superuser.com/faq This is a subjecting discussion question. – MDMarra Mar 22 '10 at 21:28
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I'll agree with the CW point, but it's not like the rep will go to the answer anyway. In terms of the second half, how is this ANY different to the free anti-virus question? – Alastair Pitts Mar 22 '10 at 21:45
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closed as not constructive by Sathya♦ May 17 '11 at 4:32

This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

8 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted
+100

ESET's NOD32 is a very lightweight, very high detection rate antivirus. It's great, it's like it's not there at all (Which I certainly can't say about some other antiviruses, which like to turn one's PC into something much slower)

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+1. I wouldn't go as far as to say "it's like it's not there at all" - sometimes it does slow down the system, but it's a hell of a lot better than other programs I've tried like McAfee, Sophos or, heaven forbid, Norton! – EMP Mar 26 '10 at 11:49
NOD32 is a good product but it doesn't really deserve such many votes compared to other products like G data or avira. I think it receive the votes because it's what people use because it's easily pirated... – fluxtendu Mar 27 '10 at 15:57
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up vote 2 down vote

Avira AntiVir Premium

In (NOTE: PDF links) recent tests by AV-Comparatives, Avira Permium has one of the highest detection rates. One minor drawback is it also has a higher-than-average false positive rate (which can be controlled by switching its heuristic scanner from Medium to Low).

Cost: €19.95 for home/home office, €27.97 for small & medium businesses. Bulk and enterprise licenses available.

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I used to use the free edition, but the 'annoyware' aspect put me off tot he whole tool :-| – warren Mar 22 '10 at 17:23
My read of the av-comparative.org tests give the advantage to G data: first in detection rate and second in pro-active... But Avira with its high false positive rate "cheat" the pro-active test... – fluxtendu Mar 24 '10 at 3:28
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up vote 1 down vote

I like to recommend for Norton Symantec. Perhaps, though it's quite expensive than others, it's worth to pay and reliable.

provides fast, responsive defense against all types of malicious software. The new Norton Protection System employs a multi-layered set of security technologies that work in concert to detect, identify, and block attacks. It is still the top of its class in terms of performance.

for other choice, Kaspersky is a nice AV too.

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i tend to disagree - least in my experience even fairly recent versions of norton made quite a dent in terms of performance. – Journeyman Geek Mar 20 '10 at 11:06
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A close friend that works in the intelligence community for the government informed me that symantec is the best one out there currently. Given the sort of work she does (that I know about, hah!), I'm inclined to go along with her recommendation. – DHayes Mar 22 '10 at 18:16
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According av-comparatives.org: av-comparatives.org/comparativesreviews/main-tests/… Symantec is the best product of 2009... But it have a so bad reputation, it will take a long time to rebuild it... – fluxtendu Mar 24 '10 at 3:06
It might have the best detection and cleaning rate out there, yet I am not touching another Symantec product ever again. The problems you run into when you try to remove it are numerous. It integrates so wholly with the system that it is impossible to uninstall. – Roald van Doorn Mar 24 '10 at 10:55
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With an anti-virus like Norton, who needs viruses? – EMP Mar 26 '10 at 11:51
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up vote 1 down vote

BitDefender AntiVirus 2010 has one of the best detection rates for viruses, relatively light foot print. Has anti-spyware, anti-phishing and protects your email using anti-spam technology.

It has a Game Mode that reduces system load & postpones scans and a Laptop Mode that prolongs battery life.

It allows you to manage security of your network from a single location.

Also IM encryption for Yahoo and MSN messenger.

You can check out its other range of solutions here and comparisons of all its products here

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up vote 0 down vote

I like AVG - both in its free and commercial incarnations.

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up vote 0 down vote

I also used to use F-Prot heavily. Haven't used it in a couple years, as AVG (free) seemed to be better, but the commercial version is pretty low-impact from a resource perspective.

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up vote 0 down vote

I use BitDefender Internet Security. It's a good purchase in multiple ways, starting with the fact you can buy a multi-machine license, and the shared license is good for two years. Nice deal.

It's easy enough to install, and is very configurable. There is a laptop mode to maximize battery life. There is a game mode to prevent issues when gaming - this used to be a big issue for me with other such tools (e.g. Norton). You can even configure home network security.

I've had no issues using BitDefender - it takes less work to get configured than other tools (Norton, ZoneAlarm) and just stays out of the way and lets me use my computers.

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up vote 0 down vote

I used Trend Micro's PC-Cillin in the past and was quite satisfied. Apparently, they changed the name to Titanium now.

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