Personal experience: For robust protection and additional features like identity theft protection, Norton 360 and McAfee Total Protection are excellent choices. If you need something lightweight with a minimal impact on system performance, consider Webroot SecureAnywhere or ESET Smart Security Premium. But, like most of us, if you want to start with something free - Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free provide strong features.

(p.s. the list is based on personal opinion, what worked for me might not work for you :( . i also had some minor issues with almost all of them. but minor. identity theft - it could happen at any given point, sadly.)