as an AV only, Norton is generally very good. my experience with Norton suites have really put me off though. if you are looking for a subscription program, Kaspersky has a very good rep and i use Window Live, Care One. it integrates very well and has been rated at 85% detection rate. the down side is a 24 definition update rather than 1-2 hours that Kaspersky gives. for free ware arguably the best out there is AVG. AVG can now also be purchased and subscribed and, i believe is around $40 for 3 license packages (pretty standard now). i have used a program called Avira with some success, it has found things that others have not. i think that is the key though, having several options available to you. pick an AV and then have a couple of Spyware removal programs in conjunction for a better coverage.
no problem. never hurts to get others opinions, so ask a few more people what they think and you can make an educated decision.
Now that i have cleaned this up and you state it may come back again, I'm looking for a good antispyware protection. Any recommendations of one that is free?