Well I have a sort of fetish with free security software and keep collecting the ones that I feel are the best. Well I need to do that as in my line of work I need to be pretty mobile and start workin at the spur of the moment( Read: I am in college and always wait for the last moment to start and finish a project)
Hence, accordingly I need software which are not heavy to run and take the least time to startup, Yet are secure enough to protect the system for annihilation.
For this I use 2 softwares ZoneAlarms for only the firewall and Avast! for virus scanning. I used to use only ZoneAlarm until I discovered AVG and then when they launch the new version 8 only for the paid users I tried Avast on the recommendation of my friend, another avid software collector.
Its a great scanner and even though it can be quite tiresome if you are scanning something that is badly infected like a pen-drive.
The on Access scan is also one of the best I have seen and though it doesn’t brag about intrusions that it stops.
All in all a great package and whats better for me is the fact that it lacks a firewall, and I am free to use any firewall that I feel comfortable using, though for a new user you might wanna have a look at other scanner available in the market.