I use a paid AV/Security program (ESET). I'm still a believer in that you get what you pay for. Yes, there are some decent FREE ones out there, like AVG, Avira, and a handful of others, but I still think that when it comes to security, it's not worth cutting corners to save a few bucks. If you want to save a few bucks, trim back on something else (a subscription for a game or a magazine, for example). To me, in doing software development, and overall, just being like everyone else, security is a high priority, and to me, it's worth the $60 or so that I pay, per year ($60 per machine, that is... ESET usually has deals throughout the year where you can get a 5-pack of their Internet Security or Smart Security for $100 or something). I'm not pushing ESET necessarily, but I do think that paid is usually better, unless you don't have anything on your computer you don't mind losing should you get a virus or malware. But most people store their lives, so to speak, on their computers and phones. I also use MalwareBytes on my computer as added protection against malware (which ESET I think does scan for, but it's not necessarily active scanning like MalwareBytes).