Reliable, Free Anti-Virus Software?

oahazmatt writes "Some time ago my wife was having severe issues on her laptop. (A Dell Inspiron, if that helps.) I eventually found the cause to be McAfee, which took about an hour to remove fully. I installed AVG on her system to replace McAfee, but we have since found that AVG is causing problems with her laptop's connection to our wireless network. She's not thrilled about a wired connection as the router is on the other end of the house. We're looking for some good, open-source or free personal editions of anti-virus software. So, who on Slashdot trusts what?" When school required a Windows laptop, I used Clam AV, and the machine seemed to do as well as most classmates'. What have you found that works?

Comments

You could use

[ratzmilk]

Linux. Someone had to say it.

Get a Mac

[Macgoon]

Well, you could switch to a Mac. Then, you wouldn't need any AV stuff at all. Or is that too easy? Some people seem to enjoy fighting with crapware and viruses.

Use Linux

[standbypowerguy]

Easy! Use Linux. Not only is antivirus not needed, but it's free (as in libre and beer)! Most distros can also do much more than draw BMP files and typer TXT files out of the box. For a typical SOHO user, additional software isn't required.