Norton internet security, been using it for years with no problems at all and you can buy old versions cheap and use their keys. example the last renewal was something like £30 but got the "old" boxed set from a argos outlet store for £5. the key works fine.

For free, Avast and AVG are supposed to be good (you would be best to check the PC Mag reviews).

Bitr Defender internet security 2014 not as expensive as that, you probably will be able to beat the price of £19.00 if you search around,
I used to use Bit defender, but it started getting resource hungry So i changed to eset smart security and you can get good deals on that too, the last retail box version i bought last year was £12 for 1yr &3pc's

I have just cleaned up someones PC that was running really slow, that has avast free on it, waste of time as Mbam found over 100 high risk objects that avast had let through and some where happily running along side it ,
Most of the free av products are very limited in what threats they can protect you from , But no av will stop bloatware such a conduit and other toolbar seach providers installing that are sometims bundled with other free apps if the operater fails to spot the prompts or fails to unselect the bloat/maleware

Thanks for your responses. What do people think about Plusnet's free McAffee?

Home/SOHO which is what it is, and what you can buy retail, McAfee is always amongst the worst in comparative tests such as the ones you've been pointed to.

Kaspersky Internet Security always seems to win magazine tests for protection, but I've used it for 3yrs on Win7.64 and there's often performance issues, usually just a slow startup or non-functioning Firefox addons after Firefox updates but if it's protection you want I don't think there's any better. The best free one at present is Avast, it gives better protection than most paid for AV software. I've also used that on an XP setup and it's been problem free.

I use this one Comodo Internet Security Pro 6, one of the best one.

Haven't had any issues in over 10 years.

My two penny worth. It is my belief that if an AV product is bundled in with a new PC it is more a case of a financial kick back from that provider. Likewise if an ISP offers an AV product then it becomes a disincentive to change ISPs because of the need to buy [or use a free] AV product.

I have no doubt that any AV product will do what it says on the tin but surely the effectiveness of the product is more to do with the frequency/speed that updates are pushed down to update the product. When was the last time you noticed your database changed?

Then assuming you need help from the supplier of the product, how easy is it to contact them for advice in configuring the firewall or help in removing malware or an infection and at what cost?

At quite frequent intervals a new version of the product appears, would that be a free upgrade for you or do you have to buy it?

AV products are akin to the effectiveness of electricity earthling, a life saver if things go seriously wrong. The analogy also applies to the security on your PC, do you really want that protection to be on the cheap or even free? I would be seriously inconvenienced if my PC was infected in any way and therefore use an AV product that ticks all the boxes which I have highlighted above. And that product is rarely seen in retail stores.