[kittymyrib]

NEVER get a Symantec product. The only way I can get email is to disable Norton, thus making it totally worthless. And don't even get me started about their pathetic Indian support "help". I really should have recorded some of the many calls we've made in the past month...and it's still not working.
How do I get free protection, rather than paying for NO protection?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Windows XP has a built-in firewall. That'll solve half of your security problems right there.

You can also get the Defender 5-1 security package for around $20.

[Turbopilot]

I use ZoneAlarm Free for a firewall and AVG Antivirus for virus protection. I use Microsoft's free Windows Defender for a resident antispyware program.

Additionally, I browse the web with Firefox instead of IE and use the MVPS Hosts file (which is explained at the above link). With that combination, I am fully protected against the types of threats a home or small office user might face.

I do have a collection of several other free security products and services on my computers, including Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE, Spybot Search and Destroy, Bazooka Antispyware, CWShredder, SpywareBlaster, and SpywareGuard. However, with the ZoneAlarm firewall and Firefox, I have never detected a single piece of malware on any of my PCs when scanning with antivirus or antispyware software.

I will note that I personally use only web-based email and so don't regularly encounter problems with Outlook or Outlook Express, but I manage a small office network that uses Outlook for email and Internet Explorer for web browsing. None of their computers has ever had a security problem while using the paid corporate versions of the above. AVG Antivirus includes an email scanner.