i'll probably buy a virus protector some time later but right now i dont have the money. So how good is the protection i am getting right now and what virus protector should i purchase

Answer:
Avast IS a virus protector, and one of the superior ones which I recommend to others as it is free and gives good all round protection. It remains free for as long as you want, just re-register each year.

Spyware Physician will give you moderate protection, also use the following, all free:

Comodo BO Clean:

http://www.comodo.com/boclean/CBO_downlo…

Simply download and install, follow instructions on screen.

Go here to see what it protects you against:

http://www.comodo.com/boclean/trolist.ht…

SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition - Manual anti-malware scanner;

http://www.download.com/SUPERAntiSpyware…

Download, install, check for updates, then choose Scan your Computer, select your drive and select Perform Complete Scan

I’ve never used 'paid for protection' and successfully blog about free protection, I don't get spyware or viruses, although I do import them to find the right removal tools, but I do this in a sandboxed environment, and I’ve been using personal for over 20 years.

Answer:
Personal computer Magazine has a great story about Avast AntiVirus Home Edition - the one most apt to have come installed on your laptop. It's free and only requires that it be re-registered every year - one year from the time it was originally registered. The program runs continually in the background providing a more than sufficient anti-virus solution for most users. I use it on all my systems - here is the link to the story: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,230…

Spyware Physician also works in the background and provides periodic inventory and analysis of potentially risky software, cookies and websites. My install of it runs and does an effective and efficient job of performing scans. It is a tiny bit weak on recommending an action to take (such as deleting cookies) but all in all, it does give you a good picture of potential risks and threats to your system.

There is no reason to buy a commercial product to replace these free tools as they are as effective, if not moreso, than many commercial products. I'd also strongly advocate that you investigate and research Anti-RootKit tools, which seem to be the largest potential threat to most users. The first task in getting that done right, is to avoid infection - e.g. avoid suspicious websites, don't open attachments in e-mails from people you don't know and so forth. Panda Anti-RootKit is the Editor's Choice at PC Magazine and they provide a very thorough review:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,211…

With these three utilities, there is no need to invest a significant amount of money in commercial products that do the same thing

Answer:
NEVER BUY THAT KIND OF SOFTWARE…NEVER!!!

1) Keep your windows update turned on and auto install updates

2) Keep your firewall ON

3) AVG Free Anti-Virus Software (Keep Update Automatically)

4) Spybot (Download and run on a regular)

5) AD-Ware (oldversion.com Ver. 1.06, download and run)

I'VE DONE THIS FOR ALL MY SYSTEMS AND CLIENTS FOR YEARS.

NO PROBLEMS.

NEVER PAY THE MAN

NEVER GIVE MONEY TO THE MAN.

Answer:
if you're thinking of buying a laptop you should check out this site first. they give you a sony vaio laptop for FREE! all you need to do is complete a few quick tasks for them.
Answer:
You can go as long as you like. I’ve been using AVG and spybot, both free programs for a tiny over a year now. Much superior then using Norton.