I find Avast 6 free highly satisfactory

[hake]

I find Avast 6 free highly satisfactory ( in spite of the hobbling of Windows Explorer, see http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=72151.0 ).  In combination with Outpost Firewall Pro 7.1, Avast seems to provide very strong security.

I am operating fully patched Windows XP Pro SP3 running as admin.  With the use of Avast, Outpost, Amust 1-Defender, DropMyRights, Sandboxie, EMET 2 and up-to-date software, I am circumspectly confident that I am pretty unlikely to be troubled by malware gaining access to my system.  For the next three years at least, I hope to be able to continue with the excellent XP and eventually to have access to decent alternatives to the horrid Win7 or its successors when April 2014 arrives.

I use x86 processors and a 32bit OS without benefit of ASLR or DEP.  The trouble with hardware protection is that once it is defeated, it is useless.  Software based security systems are inherently adaptable to threats and this is why I am happy to remain with Windows XP with the strong flexible protection bestowed by Avast and Agnitum.  When these companies no longer support Windows XP, I will have to jump ship but not quite yet.

[norel]

I definitely like the new version. It's still a work in progress, but overall it's excellent. I like the new popup options that let you set how long messages stay on the screen. It seems like a small thing but it proves the Avast team were listening and did something about it. It's really appreciated. The new option to restore default settings with a click is also great.