I've been with BitDefender fer long time til I stop usin' Windows last year. Something fer now and/or prefer free... AVG Free Edition is a good choice (it was my second choice). Fer spywares, I used Windows Defender, I know it is Microsoft but it is actually a decent software!
Me was ponderin' where have I seen that name "purplecatty"? It was you on Ubuntu Forum! I too yam runnin' Ubuntu (on MacBook). Gutsy 64-bit gave me issues, 32-bit ran smoothly. Tried Hardy in both 64 and 32-bits, not so boot-friendly. Then tried upgrade from 7.10 to 8.04, after some restarts...
I git miffed with ignorant people labelin' "hackers" cos it's too bloody broad and often misjudgment. Hackers are usually good people such as White Hats and Blue Hats are harmless (non-criminals) whilst Grey Hats borderline legality, often frankly admitted. They actually do help us improve with...