Which Firewall / AntiVirus package? (in Off-topic)

I've been using Norton Internet Security 2003 for two years now and as far as I know my PC has remained safe and untouched for the duration.
The time has come for me to renew my subscription and I'm looking for advice on what I should choose. I know there's almost as many Norton bashers as there are MS bashers but please keep in mind I've been a happy customer for 2 years. (spare me the "you were lucky lectures").

I'm prepared to either upgrade to a new Norton package, renew my subscription to the existing one or change altogether however I'd like to do one of the following based on sound reasoning. I've heard AVG offer a good package but I don't know anyone that's used it.

I'd appreciate any input regarding your thoughts and experiences with other packages for use on my PC. O/S Win XP SP2.

Thanks :)

get SP3

I would recommend AVG, it is every bit as good as the Norton's and McAffee's for personal use.
AVG Free Edition

G Beee, while I whole-heartedly agreed with Glory until about 2 months ago, I highly suggest you look into McAfee's software. They've got free trial versions of their software and once I downloaded their anti-virus software, I never looked back.

McAffee was installed on my Dell PC when it was shipped and it was a pain in the butt. It had all these extra features that kept popping up every time I was installing a program or add-on. It got annoying, but if you want that kind of interface then it will work well for you. Each to his own I always say. :0

or you could just use the built-in XP firewall and be set, as long as you don't download warez or use outlook. :)

I'm looking for a something that will run in the background with the minimum of fuss and I'm happy to pay the going rate for what appears to be a good package.

You can turn those alerts off. I let them on for my ex, so she could actually see that the program was updating and working.

But turning them off required effort. :P I figured if I was going to go to any effort it would be to abolish the software from my machine. :) Now, if my wife was using the machine, it most likely would have been left as is.

I use avg as well.

Doesn't your router have a firewall built in? Consider that good enough? As far as Antivirus, I've always bought Norton for my home and they've never given me a reason for not renewing our corporate license...

Yes my router has a firewall however I don't always use that as I often connect via my USB modem and therefor have the router firewall disabled.

Gotcha! :O)

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm check it out, awesome stuff!

AVG is great! We've had it for along time it has always helped!

I have used a few, AVG included. I use Windows XP SP2 on this machine, and use avast!, worth a look. avast!

I was using norton for sometime but just recently decided to try switching since i was getting tired of it interupting certian games, and other issues.

right now I'm trying out trend micro pc-cillin internet security, its A.V. seems to be top notch and the firewall isn't any worse then norton at first and better once you get it set just right, its just that its memory usage and diffrent processor threads is more then i would like to see so I may be looking for a new thing.

hope that helps a little and keep us informed on your final choice.