Alright, so this is basically a knock-off of a thread I made at RoD as well. But hey, I made the thread so I give myself permission.
Basically just gathering the information up, as I would normally just post most of the same content, some is in seperate posts, so I'll combine it all here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know what it is like looking for a goddamn decent anti-virus and it can be a bitch when you run into those big money-making bastards like Symantec. Truth is, I've had and used Norton Antivirus, and find it to be shit, plain and simple.
---------------------
So far, the best of the best that I've tried is an anti-virus developed in the Czech Republic known as avast! I didn't capitalize that for a reason. ^^ I use that now, and have been very impressed with it ever since I started using it some time back, I personally recommend it to anyone. I also know how it is having to buy anti-virus, and that was another reason Norton didn't cut it, but avast! is free for home-users. Check it out:
Avast!---------------------
Also, another free one known as AVG-Free may be useful to you. But I honestly don't recommend it, nor find it to be very good, here's a link to that:
AVG-Free---------------------
Now, this I have used for awhile. It is quite useful in finding extra spyware or viruses your main anti-virus/anti-spyware doesn't, not only that but it runs online, and you only need to download a program to make that possible. I suggest running this in safe-mode with networking if you feel there is a malicious threat.
Trend Micro---------------------
And finally I'll mention Antivir... which I would rate as the second best I've used; second only to avast! I believe you need to pay for it though, unlike most of the others here. However, they've had 6 month trial periods and so forth, so maybe they'll have something going on at some point. It might have a free version and a purchase version, I am unsure what's going on with this now, it's been awhile since I've used it. Here it is:
Antivir---------------------
"Yes you are right norton is shit, and i used avast a lot and found it fantastic. Anyway i still prefer Kaspersky that is simple, fast and really powerful, altough it's not free." - Posted by Frankie10LR
Later research told me, this is one of the best, if not the best, anti-virus out there.
Kaspersky----------------------
"Myself I have been using Computer Associates products for over 4 years now and knock on virtual wood I never had a problem." - Onix
Computer Associates---------------------
"It's called F-Secure, and can be tried/purchased by clicking here. This has caught things that Norton never did. In fact, it solved a problem for me that I've been trying to fix for months! It will find spyware and malware (something Norton will never do) and also has all the features that I actually liked about Norton. These include Virus and Spy Detection, Internet Shield (Firewall of good quality), Spam Control, and Web Filtering (which includes some fantastic Parental Controls for those of you with kids. You can not only limit what is viewed, but when as well!) Bottom line is, this is a fantastic program that I believe to be far superior to Norton." - Rune
F-Secure------------------------------------------
And here is a list of some more:
BitDefenderF-Prot AntivirusMcafeeNOD32NortonMcafee StingerPanda Online Scanner----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's it, if you wish to add any good ones, or if I have anything to add/change, I'll update it as I go along.