ZoneAlarm Internet Suite does an all-in-one job for me. :-) – Kol Tregaskes

MACs – Mona N.

your brain coupled with education. mona: OSX does have malware, tho requires more social engineering to get them working as a general rule. If you’re packing windows and want to clear off anything you think might have gotten on, Malware Bytes is a good little app without bloat of craptastic apps that have more "brand recognition". – alphaxion

Common sense? – Tad the meme maker

Microsoft Defender/AVG Free/Avast/Adaware/ZoneAlarm free/whatever free malware/security apps you prefer. Oh and having a good email provider that scans your mail for malware before it’s even in your inbox will get rid of a lot of your risk. Using a modern browser will also reduce your risk greatly. Beyond that, understanding how to safely use a PC is the best defense. – Alex Scoble CISSP

I second Mona. Use Mac – Leandro Ardissone

Avast – Stagekid

Not to be glib, but why do Windows users put up with this? What if your toilet violently geysered raw sewage one out of every six flushes? Wouldn’t you start to seriously look into an alternative instead of buying a bigger mop? – stretta

Your toilet doesn’t have people constantly trying to do whatever they can to clog it up. But yeah, in cases where you have to deal with that you hire a plumber on contract and get an industrial toilet. True story, my brother Ben had to do just that for his bar because people would invariably plug up the toilets every weekend. He has a plumber come in every Monday to snake them out. – Alex Scoble CISSP

none – adolfo foronda

And if you think being on OS X or Linux protects you from any of this stuff, think again. There are plenty of people on this planet who could totally pwn your OS X or Linux box if they so chose. – Alex Scoble CISSP

When they had that contest a year ago or so, wasn’t the OS X machine the first to be hacked? Anyway, ESET Smart Security or whatever it’s called. NOD32 + spyware + firewall. Unbeatable. – Akiva Moskovitz

If they target you. You’re still a lot safer than on Windows. – Tanath

akiva: that was the pwn to own competition.. and just to clarify, yes it was the apple to be owned first followed by the windows mahcine the next day to the same app.. cause the kernels of osx, windows and linux are so tight noone bothered until they opened it up to 3rd party apps and flash took it in the neck on both systems. – alphaxion

I don’t think there is a single best. None will catch everything, so you need to use your brain. But a combination of apps can catch most things. – Tanath

Sorry, Tanath, but for the average user that’s simply not true. – Alex Scoble CISSP

I use Avast. – Molly, the Vampy Vampire

I just surf the net with a machine that has no consequence, so I can nuke it and start over anytime. – Brian Norwood

cool – Loic Le Meur

vigilance, obscurity, anonymity + good ole Mac ;) – ~C4Chaos

of course, if you want the ultimate in security, run a virtual machine with undo disks enabled. finished browsing? hit the x and ditch any changes :) – alphaxion

Mac OSX – Gerard van Schip

I guess maybe it’s time to rethink my OSX makes me safe plan of action. – dee Harvey