Which free antivirus is better avast or avg? What other programs should i get to keep computer runni

Ive heard its good to have a spyware program too. Is there a free one online as well as the virus protector and what else should u do to keep laptop running smooth? defrag? and how often do u do that? what about a free firewall or does the one windows xp has in it good??

Which free antivirus is better avast or avg? What other programs should i get to keep computer running smooth?pc security

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/er...

Avira AntiVir is my choice of the free engines but check it out for yourself at this comparison site.

Avira doesn't scan email which AVG does but I have switched to web mail and can do with out this.

I would recommend Ad-Aware 2007 for your spyware control.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_a...

Ccleaner will take care of your registry and clean out all temp files.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

DriveImage XML will create backup images of your Hard drive that you can restore all your programs and settings from.

http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htm

SIW (System Information for Windows) will interrogate your system and give you all the information about it's components that you could ever need.

http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html

If you stay clear of the dodgy areas of the internet (file sharing and p*rn) then the XP firewall will be fine. If you access the internet via a router you may already have a hardware firewall.