Few things garner as much emotion as politics, religion (including Mac vs. PC, as well as Apple vs. Android), and…the best anti-virus/malware/ad option to use.

“Wise online behavior” differs in degree to the person exhibiting the behavior. We can’t act beyond the wisdom we posses, and some have been online more than others. A good bit of anti-virus software helps make up for the steep learning curve of those who may not be as skilled as someone else.

Come on Julie, you don’t need an antivirus software at all with a “wise online behavior”.
And conversely, no antivirus software is gonna keep you safe if you’re doing stupid things online.

I stopped using one on my own computers on the last century, and never looked back.

A few years ago though, a relative wanted to run some costly piece of software on her computer.
The software required being, hem, “patched” before she could run it, so I downloaded the small program from some random website.
I knew I couldn’t trust the file, but the freshly updated Norton AV found nothing wrong about it.
The second I ran the patch, NAV got kicked badly in the ass, and that was it. Computer totally broken.
Took me 2-3 hours to get it back to life (and files were lost in the process: the virus actually “fought back” when I started to kill its processes, I couldn’t believe it!)
That’s the only time I ever tried to rely on an antivirus software.

I’ve seen so many computers getting “infected” while running AV over the last 10 years, that I now firmly believe the only way to safe computing is through user education.
But that’s not a marketable thing, and obviously to the direction MS and others are leaning to.

One last thing: these days, VMs are a great way to try out software you don’t trust, be it coming from some obscure website or from a leading software vendor whose interests might not exactly coincide with yours.

Admittedly, for those who aren’t up for complicated virus software and maybe have nothing, something outdated, or a system that is far too complicated to run with popups they don’t know what to do with or updates that they don’t know how to handle…MSE is an option. It’s not so bad. Combining that with wise online behavior — it’s a viable option. You have to keep in mind that not everyone is out there with the capability of digging around and downloading and getting into some of these more comprehensive programs. Again, MSE is a viable option. It integrates well with the Windows system. It gets good marks in comparisons, too.

Security Essentials is lacking in several areas, including…
1) proper email scanning, including email sent and received using SSL.
2) protection from P2P programs, chat, and other apps.
3) a silent/gaming mode.
4) It doesnt allow you to adjust the sensitivity of the behavior shield.
5) No network shield, which prevents malicious URL’s from opening. Avast also includes a simple Intrusion Prevention system.

I would never recommend Microsoft’s solutions over another free option like Avast. If you want to get Avast, and are looking for a really simple installation, head to http://www.ninite.com and just check the boxes next to the apps you want to install. It’s an amazing website.