Spyware/Virus Protection - Freeware vs Paid

As described in the title really, as per my recent incident with spyware galore...... which resulted in me downloading trials of virus/spyware removal..... am thinking prevention better than cure....
so the question is ..... is freeware sufficient in protection or do i have to pay for a product to do the job properly... as i have read various reports in the past that suggest certain freeware is perfectly fine and some cases as good as or better than paid for products..... if so what is recommended?? as there's a lot of choice out there it would take me forever to research them all! :confused: :confused: :confused:

Thanks

i use kaspersky internet security, its covers spyware and malware unlike a stand alone anti virus, hence me telling you to use it.

it helps stop the buggers getting on your pc in the 1st place so you dont need to 3 the 3 purpose built spyware apps you used in the other thread.

its also got the added bonus of checking very often for updates in the background, and is kept up to date a lot more than the likes of nortons and the other mainstream apps.

Thanks to you again, but i only downloaded several to make sure that clean did mean clean it was probably over cautious of me!

but yes i have heard of kaspersky and we used it where i used to work... seemed ok then too!

Can't go wrong with AVG free.

AVG or Avast. Both great programs

i have dealt with lots of infections on m8's pc's and find AVG in the hijack this log, so personally i think its nowhere near as good as a full internet security package like kaspersky

Comodo (-AV) and Avast.

Generally paid for is better as all of the freeware is always behind and/or may not catch everything. AVG is generally quite good, but I have seen it miss things.

That said paying for the software is not always the best, as for example Norton is very bad at catching all threats and I have seen it miss numerous viruses.

The top 2 for virus protection based on their response times to new viruses and catching all viruses are:

1. Kaspersky
2. F-Secure

What you spend on your virus / spyware protection boils down to one thing.... what would it cost you if you lost your data, or had it stolen? If the answer to that is more than the £20-40 it costs for proper protection then you can see which is more cost-effective ;)