Anti Virus Solutions :
Anti Virus programs are essential to keeping your computer safe from virus programs and hackers. Currently there are several different brands making these programs, Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and now Microsoft. Some of these manufactures also have different versions of their programs, each with different features, prices, so the question is what do you need and what features aren't worth the price.
Symantec's Norton Anti Virus. The latest product released by Symantec is Norton Anti Virus 2006. The retail price is $49.95 and includes many great features. I prefer this product over Norton Internet Security. Internet Security costs more than Anti Virus and in my opinion; offer's services you don't need. Norton Internet Security offers an extensive firewall that must be configured to work properly and in my experience has gotten in the way more than it helped. Windows XP comes with it's own firewall that is easy to use and requires no configuration, so I recommend users use that. For the money and the features; Norton Anti Virus is the way to go. It will protect your computer against the latest virus attacks and help you keep your Windows operating system up to date. I have found that this product performs better and cleaner than McAfee's products.
Trend Micro also has a great free product that will allow you to scan your system online, for free. This is great if you already have an infected system with no Anti Virus programs installed. This will let you clean your system before you install an Anti Virus program. Trend Micro also will scan your system for known Spyware programs and missing Windows updates. You can access this virus scan by visiting http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Microsoft is currently developing their own Anti Virus solution that is currently in the beta stage, basically you can test out this program before they are finished and release it for sale. Their product is called Windows One Care. It replaces Windows XP's built in firewall. My experience with this program is mostly positive, and I'm sure there will be many more changes to this program before it is released to the public.