Avast! I've changed me virus scanner ye swabs!

[kandrathe]

I just don't run programs I don't trust and operate without A/V. (Virtually any A/V program you pick up off the shelf is going to introduce myriad security and stability issues due to ill-advised hooks and the like, in my experience.)

Then again, most folks are not so paranoid about only executing programs from trusted sources, so YMMV:)

I usually don't get infected from intentional downloads, the last few have been through IE browsing pages that have some rogue scripts. I'm careful, but also paranoid enough to buy the free insurance to keep my machine from being a silent internet zombie or from some Trojan key logger transmitting my data to the Chinese government.

P.S. I don't usually us IE for that very reason... But, I'm finding that more hacks are being directed at Firefox now as well. I just had to uninstall one of my favorite addons, because it got hacked and Firefox automatically installs updates.