In all seriousness, if I had a Windows based workstation, I would set up a Linux dual boot on a second drive, use Linux to download and surf the web, and transfer files from Linux to Windows on a USB stick. I would keep Windows offline.
why do I have deja vu on this thread, didn't the same 20 guys talk about this a week ago with the same answers?!
Anyway...I'm using Avast! and Spybot on my new comp. Both have saved my ass already in the past month. I like avast's pre-windows scanning option.
Spybot prevents registry and startup item changes.
At work we hadn't been using anti virus on the pcs, all 3 got infected then the staff's home pcs got it too. Over there we're using the antivirus in google pack.
Funnily enough, my friend was just telling me how well his reformat went the other night. I told him "oh gosh, I haven't had to do that in...well...since I got my first Apple." He just went :Smug:. Haha
If you create a clean image of a freshly-formatted system with all drivers ready to go, future reformats take a grand total of 5 minutes. Done it with Acronis TrueImage, loved it.
I use avast at the moment but I'm not sure if I like it. Seems a bit bloated and slow.
I use AdAware Free as the anti-spyware tool, but it seems SpyBot is more popular?