Recommendations
People often ask what I recommend for antivirus or firewall or laptop or you name it. Many times, the answer is, "It depends", because, well, it's true. Many times the answer depends on the intended usage of the system whether it's a PC, a server, a network, or whatever.
Rule Number One: If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Rule Number Two: If you need to replace something, then don't go immediately to the cheapest thing or the most heavily marketed product. You'll be sorry. That cheap thing will cost you more in the long run. And yes, we'll always have some recommendations for to help you get started. Check back often as I will add to this list as time allows.
Anti-virus and anti-malware
I keep looking for better antivirus software and I have tried many of them. Currently, there is an on-going shake-up in the industry. The software that I used to recommend got bought out, then re-sold, so their once stellar performance is struggling. They are OK, but not recommendable.
They added a "software update" feature, that caused more trouble than it helped, so I have put them on my "do not recommend" list. I'll let you know when they make a come back.
And for some other "unrecommendations": Under no circumstances do I recommend the heavily marketed, well known, big name products. They come installed for free on new PCs for a good reason: they pay the PC manufacturers for that privilege, with the hopes that people will pay for it in 30 or 60 days. I have seen some very buggered up systems that have been, ahem, 'protected' by these big name products. If you have one of them installed and you're absolutely sure that it's still functioning then fine, apply Rule Number One. But if its time to renew your annual subscription, uninstall it, and ask me for my current recommendations. Your PC will run faster and safer.