Until done, this is a placeholder of my upcoming details of the pros and cons of the most popular antivirus software being used today.  I will hold no punches back not even for the the best, top rated AVG that we use and sell.  I will be so bold that I run the risk of loosing my Gold level reseller status with AVG because, no one product is a home run and frankly I'm looking for a reason to fire AVG.

The Elite:

AVG: Before I set this aside till a bit later, let me clarify.  AVG is still the best product for doing what it is supposed to do, catching viruses and spy-ware better than anyone else and faster.  I do however equate AVG with a security guard that catches and prevents more bad guys coming through the door than anyone else, but he wont brush his teeth or hair, doesn't shave, and needs a clean uniform.  I'll update this later with the details.

AVG in side by side testing continues to be the quickest "on the draw" to see, find, and react to a virus on a PC.  Our second choice of Avast, will scan a computer drive in more places (sheer number of files scanned)  and do it faster than AVG, but when a virus is found by Avast it is usually a few seconds after AVG and after AVG has isolated or deleted the virus.  This is ultimately what is important in computer protection.

AVG has transitioned from the European company of Grisoft to the Americanized AVG.  This means profit above all else to the venture capitalist and shareholders that invested in its transformation.  This has resulted in nonstop crap, yes I said crap of a toolbar that replicates the search bar already available in IE7/IE8, and is continuing to grow into a full fledged billboard on your desktop browser so they can sell you more stuff.

I can see this on the AVG Free, but for those who invest in the professional product, they should be treated professionally.  The Yahoo search bar and the other crap they add every few weeks has me looking for an alternative product.  In fact AVG and Panther Computers has lost some customers due to the Yahoo bar in their product.

Yes you have the option to not install it, at the expense of not having the browser security at its full potential.  But that's like buying a security system for your home and not having a sensor on the front door.

UPDATE:

Disabling or uninstalling the AVG Security Toolbar has no negative effect on the level of security provided by LinkScanner component. The only consequence of missing toolbar is an absence of some of the options, and less verbose information about the threats found by the LinkScanner component. The main settings of the LinkScanner component can be still configured in AVG User Interface.

Avast: 5.0 Doesn't quite fill the bill on replacing AVG.  It scans the full system more thoroughly and faster, but still misses viruses that AVG finds, and reacts slower when they both see one.  It  scans thousands of more files, including inside archives that AVG ignores or overlooks, but as soon as Avasts scans a file that is infected, AVG jumps on it, even if Avast thinks its clean.  Avast scans the thousands faster than AVG, but as indicated, is slower to react, and often misses files that AVG catches.

The Average:

Kapersky: Highly over rated.  A good product, well designed, but not as effective as AVG or Avast.  I don't like software firewalls, and haven't seen this packaged without one, but again I'm not looking that closely at a product that doesn't do the primary task as well as what I already use and recommend.

Computer Associates: You get what you pay for and since this comes free with Cox and other cable company's ISP service, that's what its worth.  Again not a bad user design, but slows the computer to a crawl and again is marginal at actually preventing even basic generic viruses and trojans.

Trend Micro: Like the other two in this area, average results, average effectiveness, slows your system down.  If you have to flip a coin to see if its effective, keep the coin in your pocket and save the calories.

Panda Antivirus: Ditto

Sophos: Slightly above average, trails behind AVG and Avast.

The Bad:

Norton/Symantec: Slows your computer down from and estimated 1/3 to 1/5 speed.  Though not as bad as McAfee, I still wouldn't have the product on my PC if you gave it to me. A staunch believer in Norton and a bit of a paranoid on how often he updates and scans one of his many computers, did so before bringing his Norton protected PC to our shop a few years ago, and proudly indicated the problem he had was not a virus.  AVG found 60 worms onhis PC that Norton missed.  In the industry, a virus is technically not a worm, but a bad thing was still there and a virus by any other name, is but a virus.

Avira Antivir: Initially impressed by the design, but every computer I've seen it on has had a virus, so not so effective.

Comodo Antivirus: Once a firewall, now trying to be all things to all people and doing it badly

ZoneAlarm: Ditto.

The dishonorable mentions:

McAfee: So bad that I wouldn't put it on my worst enemy's computer.  It slows the system down, often locks up systems as bad as a virus, and is so invasive as to be no better than a virus. I have a longstanding hatred of this product and company goin back to my first computer business ACS-West.  Ineffective against mainstream viruses even in the DOS days and will often cause more harm than the virus itself.  When I worked for Sprint the word came down from corporate that McAffee would be removed from all PCs in the company.  It continually interfered with our in-house applications and cost more in support than it saved in virus prevention.   More later.

Clam Antivirus: Free open-source, but an interface that makes butt ugly look plum pretty.  Few options, less control, slows your computer down as bad as full Internet suits with firewalls, and this is just antivirus.  Takes hours to do a full system scan, and has mediocre database that doesn't spot viruses well enough to put up with the scan time or the system drag.

Moon Secure Antivirus: A offshoot of Clam and has a wonderfully innovative interface, but takes  24 hours or more to scan a drive that only takes 20 minutes on Avast, or an hour with AVG. Never finished the scan because enough was enough.

NOD32 Antivirus: They tried to woo me away from AVG, tried it on my personal PC for the 30 days.  It slowed my PC down, interfered with my gaming, took forever to do a complete scan, and I got a virus too (that AVG quickly dispatched once it replaced the NOD).  Thanks, but no thanks.

Microsoft Security Essentials: Wow...was I ever fooled.  Their latest overhaul of MSE actually had me thinking maybe Microsoft finally did a good thing.  The interface is simple, the product is free, doesn't seem to have the drawbacks of Windows Defender, even gives AVG a run for its money on finding viruses and reacting to them, then the bomb dropped.  The idiots at Microsoft have it programmed to shut down completely if the computer hasn't been online after a predetermined time.  They punish you for not checking in with them by allowing viruses they know about invade your system just because they shut down MSE.  But what should I expect from a company that had entire teams clapping, patting themselves on the backs and believing the world would love a product like Windows Vista.

The Jury's Out:

F-protect: This in the DOS days was king supreme.  FRISK Software was founded in 1993 by Fridrik Skulason, who first developed the popular F-PROT Antivirus (for DOS) in 1989 and the world's first heuristic behavior scanner in 1991.  Though he got his first virus definitions from John McAfee, he developed a superior product that even then was free for home users.  Since windows came around, I have kept watch on the F-protect line, but it has yet to win me over as the primary contender.