Antivirus Software: To Free or not to Free?

A recent customer influenced my decision to research the Internet to find reviews for antivirus programs.  The initial conversation was based on AVG FREE vs. AVG Internet Security 2011.  I was asked to install AVG Internet Security 2011, which I had never previously used.  I mentioned to the customer that I would look into some antivirus software and would contact them afterward.   I was more interested in finding concrete information on all antivirus software rather than concentrating on AVG alone.  The next day I contacted the customer to inform them that better antivirus software were available - receiving the reply that the customer had just completed a two-year subscription for AVG Internet Security 2011.  One of the greatest resources that I found to be very informative when researching antivirus software was a PC Mag article (Rubenking, 2011) that based information on testing.  Even though I am not a big fan of AVG antivirus software, one of the major surprises I had found in my research was that the paid subscription to AVG Internet Security (2.5 stars) actually tested lower than AVG Antivirus-Free 2011 (4 stars).  Among the best antivirus software were Vipre, Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security, and webroot.  To sum things up - Make sure to do your research, do not jump into something that is not worth the money, especially when it comes to computer security!  There are many antivirus software available - even free software (not only AVG) that out-perform paid versions hands-down.  Research - Do not be the person stuck with a paid subscription to AVG, wishing you had something else!