New Laptop: what type of protection do I need for it?

I just got a new notebook Vaio- It came with 60 day free trial of Norton anti-virus. I need to know what I need to have to protect it from potential viruses, I have had Norton in the past, and kept getting pop ups all the time. WHat is the best thing to use?

Thanks

New Laptop: what type of protection do I need for it?virus scanner

All of these are free for home use and will work with XP and Vista.

AVG Free is the most popular free solution available at no cost to home users and provides the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers.

Easy to use, low system resources

Automatic update functionality

Real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/us/frt/0

Avast-

avast! 4 Home Edition works for 60 days after the installation in demo mode. You will obtain your FREE license key by E-mail after the registration. The license key is valid for 1 year. After one year you will need to just re-register.

http://avast.com/eng/home-registration.p...

Avira-(recomended)

free-av.com 鈥?Protection and security against viruses, worms, Trojans, dialers %26 more.

http://www.free-av.com/

PC tools-(recomended)

PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition feature highlights

Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing