So which Antivirus program should I get?

I get this one all of the time.  There are a few out there that are really good and will keep you safe from most threats.  But for someone that doesn't know much about viruses and how to stop them it can be a tough decision.

You have two options: the free antivirus program, or the paid antivirus program.  Because I don't like to spend money, I prefer to get the free ones.  But, that's not to say the paid options isn't good either.  It depends on how you feel.  There are a number of free antivirus products out there.  AVG, Clamwin, Avast, and Microsoft Security Essentials are just the few that are out there.  Some of the paid ones you'll find are Symantec, Mcafee, TrendMicro, and Nod32.

In the free column I choose Avast.  It's very lightweight and it works well in detecting malware.  When I say lightweight, I mean that it doesn't use a lot of system resources in background to slow my machine down.  I used to use AVG, but it became a resource hog.  If you don't want to use Avast, then I would recommend using Microsoft Security Essentials.  It actually performs well from what I hear.  I haven't actually used it myself, but I've heard good things about it from many different people and articles.

If you want a paid antivirus then I would suggest you go for Nod32.  It's lightweight and it catches malware really well.  The other programs are ok, but I've had issues with them in the past.  Symantec can be a resource hog.  It also alerts you to files that aren't really viruses at all.  Mcafee is ok as well, but during updates it can cripple your machine.  I have seen TrendMicro let things through that should have been blocked.  I had to clean up a mess on someone's computer that had TrendMicro.  For some reason the program didn't block the virus even when the virus definitions were up to date.

But I just got infected, what do I do?

If you have an antivirus program that can't get rid of the virus, or you somehow downloaded fake security software, you do have options.  What has worked good for me in the past is using a program called Malwarebytes to get rid of the problem.  Just install it, update the program and run a full scan.  It should clean out your computer nicely.

I hope this information has helped you.  Send me any questions you may have.