Protect Your Computer With Free Anti-Virus Software
Sure, there are other free anti-virus programs I could have listed, but these are the most popular and provide the best protection, according to my research. And since I noted that most of the programs above do not include spyware protection, let me mention that I recommend the free Windows Defender from Microsoft. Windows Defender protects you from spyware, pop-ups, other security threats. It features real-time protection, so it can warn you if something you're downloading is spyware, and also automatically updates itself with new spyware definitions.
Note that if you're using the new Microsoft Security Essentials, you don't also need Windows Defender, because MSE includes that functionality. But if you have any other antivirus tool, I still recommend that you add spyware protection, and Defender is a good choice.
Some people swear by Spybot Search & Destroy or Lavasoft's AdAware. These are very good free anti-spyware programs as well. But in all the years I've been using Windows Defender, I've tried these other two a few times, and they've never found anything that Defender failed to catch. I'm no Microsoft fan-boy, but I'm sticking with my recommendation that Windows Defender is still the best.
