AVG Anti-Virus 8.0.87

Though not as well-known as some competitors, this antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Anti-Virus Professional provides all the necessities, including a tool for scanning your hard drive and e-mail, as well as a real-time shield to prevent infections.

You'll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you'd like. Other perks found in this Pro version include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.

The program doesn't tax your system when scanning or when running in the background, and it always proved effective in our tests. The interface can't be described as beautiful, yet it is mostly simple to navigate.

Though the free version of this program will suffice for average folks, those who demand more control should certainly consider AVG Anti-Virus Professional.