Hi,

I have windows XP Pro, and I was was wondering what is
the best free Anti Virus program better than the Windows
XP Pro Firewall.

Thanks for any help...

I use Avira Antivirus PE that is free and it has worked well for me...I used Norton AV and MacaFee but those where to much money and you have to pay to renew virus list each year to me that is not a helpful program should make one do...I used Zonealarm pro firewall but it's a paid program but from reading and experiences with has worked out well for me you just have to spend some time configuring its priviledges but once you do that it works very good...others reading this will give you their experiences and software uses should give you a wealth of knowledge to go on from there which would suit your need.

Have you checked previous threads on this subject?

Anti Virus
best free antivirus?
What is the best antivirus program / spyware remover
Best antivirus poll
Best AntiVirus Software Package ???

And plenty more where these came from...search is an useful feature on this forum

Common Sense. It's what works the best. Don't engage in 'risky behavior' and you shouldn't need an anti virus. Practice 'Safe Hex'...

I don't use any antivirus or software firewall in Windows, keeps it nice and snappy (and no, I haven't clean installed or restored in over a year). Then again, I only tend to use Windows to fall back on or for special applications (or maybe out of nostalgia ). This subject is one of the main reasons one should use Linux instead. MS tries to tie you to them with their security updates, but you still need third party software or pay extra (not to mention spending all the extra time and effort) to run a secure system ? Beats me.

how do you know you dont have any virus? but yeah its sad we have to use several programs just to keep your os safe...but how hard would it be for ms to make an os that couldnt be infected by virus/malware/spyware etc?

AVG is the best and free.

When it comes to keeping your computer virus free I think that its worth it to spend a little extra money on a good Anti Virus Program. I have both McAfee and Norton on mine and I haven't had a problem in over four years.

Firewalls are not that great. If you want a firewall that actually works you need to use a router. Hardware firewalls are the way to achieve your objective. The windows firewall does not do a good job on outgoing, only incoming. And it is too easy to bypass all software firewalls. Norton uses too many resources for most people and slows down the computer. McAfee is not any better than some of the free ones. Do not visit or download from suspicious sites like porno and some torrents or file sharing sites.

I have used the free version of AVG for a couple of years and had absolutely no problems with it.

I would recommend it to anyone. Just be careful you download the free one and not the 'pay for' one!!