Anti Virus Software, worth the $$?

[nehalem2050]

I know there are a ton of different antivirus and antimalware programs out there. But are they really worth the money? Or will the free versions do just as good of a job?

Looking forward to hearing truly unbiased opinions!

[Atomic Rooster]

The free versions work just as well as many of the paid versions. The only real differences of the paid versions would be added features such as firewalls, email spam protection, etc. Otherwise they both offer the same protection against viruses and malware. I've been using AVG Free for years with out any problems. Another of the top programs is avast!.

[iPwn]

With the paid programs you get support. That's about all they can really offer, is a person on the other end of the phone saying "It's okay, we'll help you make it alllll better...." If that's your cup of tea, then by all means go for a paid service with outstanding customer support. But, if you're like most of us here, you have the forums, and that's pretty much all you need in terms of support in the event something should go awry.