I am running winxp pro.  I got a notice that my boot file was
infected.  After a reboot, my internet connection was lost.  I tried
uninstalling the nic card and allowing the reinstall to take place, but
now am showing that an internal error is keeping the card from
installing.  Have tried installing a known good nic with the same
result.  I had this problem before and ended up having to do a new
install to correct the problem.  I want to avoid that again.  Any
suggestions?  I've performed a list of items to no avail.

I thought I'd kick off some discussion around anti-virus software as
it seems to be a subject close to everyone's heart who uses a
personal computers.

There are many vendors out there who would like to sell you a
solution but I prefer not to pay for software when-ever possible,
especially when you then have to pay maintenance to keep it up to
date.

I also believe the off-the-shelf packages can sometimes cause more
difficulty than having a virus ridden machine.  It can be too
cautious and stop you from surfing freely, transferring files between
machines, even printing!

Anyway, my question for discussion is around the free anti-virus
product AVG Antivirus by GriSoft (http://free.grisoft.com), is anyone
aware of any short comings compared to other anti-virus software?

This product is completely free for non-commercial use, and updates
are automatic and also free of charge.  I have been using it for 2
years now with no problems or infections to date.

Other products to look at:-

Norton Anti-virus
McAfee Virus Scan
Trend Pc-cillin
avast!
eTrust EZ Antivirus
BitDefender