that is pay to use ?

im currently useing a trial of Norton 2012 im liking it and considering buying it but maybe theres a even better one out there (i still have 46 days of trial left so its not like im a buy it tomorrow lol)

im currently not interested in a free anti virus just because its free doesn't mean its better

There's no "best" antivirus. Some good ones are Vipre, ESET, Sophos, and Avast!

The converse of this statement is also true: just because it costs money (or more money) doesn't mean it's better.

but what is the best antivirus just flat out free or not

Not porm-ing it up.

Really just being careful about what you do on the interwebs is the best way to avoid nasty unwanteds.

There isn't a "best" antivirus. Different antivirus programs do things differently and have different priorities. Some may be great at X,Y, and Z, but be horrible at 1,2, and 3. Others may do a great job protecting, but make your system as slow as a brick.

Everything is a tradeoff.

There are three important things to remember:

1. Antivirus software shouldn't be your first line of defense.

2. No antivirus program will protect your computer from everything

3. They have yet to make an antivirus program that protects your computer from stupidity.

COMMON SENSE 2013

GET IT, BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY ISN'T AN ANTI-VIRUS, BUT A SORT OF ABSTRACT CONCEPT DESCRIBING THE ABILITY TO MAKE WISE DECISIONS.

AHAHAHAHA.

Oh great, they released an update for that? I'm still using Common Sense 2011... stupid upgrade license fees are too expensive

Spybot S&D is the best for getting rid of adware and spyware, and I haven't had any complaints using the free AVG for scanning. I don't go visiting dodgy sites either.

Norton seems came with the families desktop and it basically is a virus, almost impossible to uninstall and it spams up a storm with "CRAZY INTERNET SCAMMERS WLL GET YOUR BANK DETAILS IF YOU DON"T GIVE US MONEY" messages

if your anti virus is demanding money after you payed for it IT IS A FAKE ANTI VIRUS

No, after it expired.

oh well in that case im pretty sure every anti virus that is a trial verson would do that after it expired

also this is the advanced view of norton 2012 o_0 what is all these things ? http://i.imgur.com/j5SAgzr.png

also I do kinda downlaod stuff every so often

looking for tools and mods for Terraria and have been linked things by a friend which have been useful (even tho i trust them to know what they are doing because they seem to know EVERYTHING i dont always trust what it is they try get me to download or they give me the name of somethign to download and i end up on the wrong site because their internet is too laggy for them to get me a direct link at the time )

Mac OS X

There are many sites out there with volunteers that can help you clean your system(one of them being http://whatthetech.com). Rogue Antivirus programs are well known, and you know right off you got one when your desktop background is plastered with "YOUR SYSTEM IS UNDER ATTACK" or something similar. Its a scare tactic to get you to download more of those fake apps. It is most effective against those who never had antivirus program and never had a noticeably compromised system.

But one thing you should know - viruses can't fool the task manager(nothing seems to get past this thing which is good). If you suspect something, check the taskmanager for any processes that are out of place, or have "Worm" in their name.

I personally just use Microsoft Security Essentials.....it has enough protection for me as I avoid any dodgy internet areas.

how do i know if something is dodgy with out going to it 1st ?

Avast Free or MSE. You don't need to pay to get good virus protection, some of the ones that cost money are even worse than the good free ones.

This.

I just use the standard anti-virus that came with my computer, and the free version of AVG.

If you know how to use the internet, you should be just fine.
I haven't had a major virus in two years (and only 2 minor ones easy to remove.)

Common Sense.