Are there any free virus removal tools that you can recommend? I'm sick and tired of renewing my subscription every year.

First of all, you get what you pay for. Generally it would be safe to say that your McAfee's and Norton's do deliver a better product, but at the same time there are a couple of good free anti-virus packages.

I recommend any one of these three:

Of course, avoidance is the best cure, but most users will have to have a fair amount of knowledge to know how to sidestep virus getting onto their computers.

One tip is to not open any attachment that you received via an email if you don't know the format or who it's from. Some viruses even make it look like the email comes from somebody you know, so when in doubt, ask your friend first.

Enjoy!