What is a free software that protects against identity theft?

Any free software that claims to protect against identity theft would seem very shady to me. Identity theft protection is a complex process that only companies with sufficient resources can manage, while you might be able to find a free trial somewhere, this would be temporary, and probably not your best level of protection. There is some good software out there however, and fairly reasonably priced. I would just go to a local Best Buy or other software store and ask someone what they would recommend.

I am looking to protect a home computer from any new viruses, protect my identity while shopping on the internet (passwords, credit card numbers & social security number), delete any virus threats, tracking cookies and alert me when there is a problem without crashing the computer.
I am looking for a really efficient program at a reasonable price.
I have looked at AVG, McAfee, Norton 360 and Internet 2009. There are so many out there so I’d really like to have some tech people respond to this.
thanks

AVG and Norton360 are really good. I recomend them both. My dad has Norton360 and my step dad had AVG. Hmm I think Norton360 would be the best.