Thanks to Westpac (you don't need to prove you are their customer), you get 12 months free license for PcTools Internet Security Suite. It includes:
1. Spyware Doctor with Antivirus 6 for Windows
2. Privacy Guardian 4.1 for Windows
3. PC Tools Firewall Plus for Windows
Those are crappy antivirus/spyware.
As taken from Virus Bulletin website (the largest Virus/malware independent testing):
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?vendor=VE53
December 2007 - PCTools Spyware Doctor
Status: FAIL
Failure reason: 1 false positive
Product name: PCTools Spyware Doctor
More: December 2007 in full
Review: PCTools Spyware Doctor on Windows 2000
Details: Only available to subscribers.
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?vendor=VE54
April 2008 - PC Tools Antivirus
Status: FAIL
Failure reason: 4 wildlist misses
Product name: PC Tools Antivirus
More: April 2008 in full
Review: PC Tools Antivirus on Windows Vista SP1 Business Edition
Details: Only available to subscribers.
You don't say if you have used the software.
All I can say is that I have used this software for three years without any apparent problems.
The fact that on July 28, 2008 Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus picked up its second consecutive PC Magazine “Editors Choice” award suggests that it is not "crappy antivirus/spyware"
lol.. I understand. I normally take those "editor choice" by those magazines by a grain of salt and there are lot more better antivirus out there that the magazine "intentionally" ignored :).
AVG, Avast and Norton Internet Security have been "editors choice" too, along with many others. It's worth noting that most magazines or specialist sites don't have the resources to test every piece of software every month. Virus Bulletin is testing Spyware Doctor on Windows XP this month (last tested one year ago for this platform) so it will be intesresting to see how well it performs. Maybe I will be persuaded to change to another package ;)
I think its reasonably good , even though I am using ZoneAlarm Security suite
Also, as its free (not a cracked/hacked version), Its something to consider.Anyway I have downloaded it, probably for a later use.
Neway in addition to the 3 mentioned above, if you login to your account (http://www.pctools.com/), you can also download PC Tools Disk Suite and Browser Defender Toolbar for FREE..
I should recommend that you only try this if you think you'll prefer it over what you have now and would be willing to pay if you like it. No use getting accustomed to a new security solution if you will revert back. Remember that free tools such as Ad-aware, ZoneAlarm and Avast for adware/spyware, firewall and anti-virus respectively are more than enough for most users in terms of performance, reliability, ease of use and effectiveness.
Can anyone recommend this software? Personally I use NOD32 as its lightweight and updates frequently.