Anti-Virus software

gibbons

gibbons

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iRide
My Norton subscription has expired and I'm convinced that the Norton Protection Center is a huge hog. I'm looking for ideas for better virus protection that uses less resources.
 
Chip -
I use AVG (free ware) on the new laptop and have been very pleased with the performance thus far.
 
Kaspersky has been working great on my machine (previously used Norton as well) and was pretty cheap for 5 licenses (around $100 for 12 months).
 
Used to use Northon, but had many issues and you are right, it's a memory hog. Been using Zone Alarm for quite a few years, plays well with XP and haven't had any real issues with it.

Gary
 
I use Avast on my laptop as well and when my Macafee subscription runs out on my desk top avast is going on that as well.
 
AdamZ said:
I use Avast on my laptop as well and when my Macafee subscription runs out on my desk top avast is going on that as well.
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I know the freebies provide virus detection. What about removal for that detected?
 
Another vote for Trend Micro, although the paid version of AVG runs a close second. (The free one's not bad, either, but the paid one does a much better job with spyware.)

Rich
 
I'm using AVG free version on both of our laptops as well as the desktop. So far, so good. (knock on wood).
 
How about a firewall? Is Windows sufficient? Or, is there another option cheaper than Norton?
 
KennyFlys said:
How about a firewall? Is Windows sufficient? Or, is there another option cheaper than Norton?
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I've hear decent things about this one.

Please...everybody RUN from Norton/Symantec. The geeks in your lives will sleep better at night.
 
gibbons said:
My Norton subscription has expired and I'm convinced that the Norton Protection Center is a huge hog. I'm looking for ideas for better virus protection that uses less resources.
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<enter Mike and Kent> :D
 
Another vote for Avast here and, yes, it both detects and removes. I also run adaware.

I could definitely do without the little Avast voice telling me that my "virus database has been updated" though. He's really annoying.

;)
 
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smigaldi said:
I have used their de-installer before without any problems.
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You were lucky.

My last Norton de-install resulted in the BSOD, my having to boot in Safe Mode, download the clean-up program that Norton has on their website, run that, then manually clean junk out of the registry. 4 hours of work to restore my machine. I now run AVG.
 
wsuffa said:
You were lucky.

My last Norton de-install resulted in the BSOD, my having to boot in Safe Mode, download the clean-up program that Norton has on their website, run that, then manually clean junk out of the registry. 4 hours of work to restore my machine. I now run AVG.
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I had AVG on my last machine. It was a real memory hog, and I did not like the little flexibility I had in setting up scheduling for downloads and scans.
 
smigaldi said:
I had AVG on my last machine. It was a real memory hog, and I did not like the little flexibility I had in setting up scheduling for downloads and scans.
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The pay version of AVG is pretty good scheduling-wise. At least the free version of AVG doesn't have ads like another product.
 
wsuffa said:
The pay version of AVG is pretty good scheduling-wise. At least the free version of AVG doesn't have ads like another product.
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It was the pay version. BTW my stupid credit card kept locking up when I was trying to buy the license for AVG. I had to call three times for them to let the charge go through!
 
smigaldi said:
Norton was free on the new computer.
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No. Norton demo special edition wormware virus nagware was pre-installed on the new computer because Symantec paid the manufacturer to install it as did the 100s of other "free" crapware vendors.

Your "free" Norton will nag you for a credit card number for the $29 a year subscription in less than a year. It already has bugged to pay to get the full Norton Security suite, hasn't it?

For that you get to enjoy 1/3 of the computer performance you paid for.

Sony announced that they would CHARGE customers $50 to get a new PC without the crapware.
 
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mikea said:
No. Norton demo special edition wormware virus nagware was pre-installed on the new computer because Symantec paid the manufacturer to install it as did the 100s of other "free" crapware vendors.

Your "free" Norton will nag you for a credit card number for the $29 a year subscription in less than a year. It already has bugged to pay to get the full Norton Security suite, hasn't it?

For that you get to enjoy 1/3 of the computer performance you paid for.

Sony announced that they would CHARGE customers $50 to get a new PC without the crapware.
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It hasn't bugged me yet. I know it will though when the subscription runs out. That is when I will consider switching in the mean time I'll use the free stuff.
 
RJM62 said:
Norton is harder to get rid of than most viruses.
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True. It always leave pieces behind. :)




No hear about Apple's software update with Quicktime in Windows that keeps telling you need to "update" to iTunes and Safari? :mad:

I haven't as yet found out where the updater gets loaded. Oh, wait. I ran msconfig and deselected it for now.
 
I just do not understand.. I have been running Norton for at least 12 years and have not had the first problem with it whatsoever. Do any of you guys build your own systems? granted, I will not use the Norton security stuff...just the standalone anti-virus with malware protection..For a firewall, any and everyone should use a home router for a broadband connection for the firewalling capabilities that are inherent with the majority of them...This setup has been my configuration for years....

just my .02
 
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ice_burg said:
I just do not understand.. I have been running Norton for at least 12 years and have not had the first problem with it whatsoever. Do any of you guys build your own systems? granted, I will not use the Norton security stuff...just the standalone anti-virus with malware protection..For a firewall, any and everyone should use a home router for a broadband connection for the firewalling capabilities that are inherent with the majority of them...This setup has been my configuration for years....

just my .02
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My experience is that Norton's consumer-grade products have been going downhill ever since Peter stopped writing the code. (Symantec's corporate versions aren't horrible, but there are better ones out there, IMHO.)

A few years ago, the level of bloat, bugginess, invasiveness, and general annoying-ness of NIS and NSW just got to the point of their being more of a drag on the system than half of the malware and other problems they sought (often unsuccessfully) to protect against.

You have to understand that you're a more knowledgeable user than most, so you're also at lower risk. Less-competent users tend to buy the whole shebang so they can feel secure, and they often wind up damaging their systems in the process. This is especially true when they buy a CD copy of NIS at Staples and install it on a machine that's already infected. Oh, what a nightmare that can create. :hairraise:

But a careful user like yourself who has common sense and uses a computer intelligently can use any decent anti-malware software, and probably will never have any problems.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
My experience is that Norton's consumer-grade products have been going downhill ever since Peter stopped writing the code. (Symantec's corporate versions aren't horrible, but there are better ones out there, IMHO.)

A few years ago, the level of bloat, bugginess, invasiveness, and general annoying-ness of NIS and NSW just got to the point of their being more of a drag on the system than half of the malware and other problems they sought (often unsuccessfully) to protect against.

You have to understand that you're a more knowledgeable user than most, so you're also at lower risk. Less-competent users tend to buy the whole shebang so they can feel secure, and they often wind up damaging their systems in the process. This is especially true when they buy a CD copy of NIS at Staples and install it on a machine that's already infected. Oh, what a nightmare that can create. :hairraise:

But a careful user like yourself who has common sense and uses a computer intelligently can use any decent anti-malware software, and probably will never have any problems.

Rich
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Let me elaborate...Being the senior network admin for a 45,000+ node network that spans an entire state, we have all sorts of systems out in the field and everyone of them use SAV and we have next to zero ill effects from the clients on workstations and servers. Granted, this is the corporate version you are referring to. We have evaluated many many A/V solutions and discovered that that SAV had the lowest system requirements and system impact. Scans etc.. are scheduled to run nightly during off peak hours and updates are pushed out hourly. You are absolutely correct about typical home users buying the security suite to feel safe..I should have worded my initial post differently. My family and friends and even other people that just know someone that knows me will call and I give them the same advice...I say buy the Norton product, not the suite, that includes malware protection. Things like AVG work in a pinch but it has been my personal experience that companies like Symantec/Norton often offer the virus definition updates and support for their products much more efficiently and quickly than the free ware programs. This is all largely based off of my personal experience and I must concede that to each his own..but I know of multiple higher education institutions that are bailing on the same products that we tested for the same reasons...McAfee was the worst of them all when it came to invasiveness and user interactions from our standpoint of needing something that just worked and did its job quietly and efficiently.. All of that aside, this is a great forum and I am really happy to have found such a knowledgeable, friendly and helpful group of people. I only hope I can contribute in a positive way.
 
ice_burg said:
Let me elaborate...Being the senior network admin for a 45,000+ node network that spans an entire state, we have all sorts of systems out in the field and everyone of them use SAV and we have next to zero ill effects from the clients on workstations and servers. Granted, this is the corporate version you are referring to. We have evaluated many many A/V solutions and discovered that that SAV had the lowest system requirements and system impact. Scans etc.. are scheduled to run nightly during off peak hours and updates are pushed out hourly. You are absolutely correct about typical home users buying the security suite to feel safe..I should have worded my initial post differently. My family and friends and even other people that just know someone that knows me will call and I give them the same advice...I say buy the Norton product, not the suite, that includes malware protection. Things like AVG work in a pinch but it has been my personal experience that companies like Symantec/Norton often offer the virus definition updates and support for their products much more efficiently and quickly than the free ware programs. This is all largely based off of my personal experience and I must concede that to each his own..but I know of multiple higher education institutions that are bailing on the same products that we tested for the same reasons...McAfee was the worst of them all when it came to invasiveness and user interactions from our standpoint of needing something that just worked and did its job quietly and efficiently.. All of that aside, this is a great forum and I am really happy to have found such a knowledgeable, friendly and helpful group of people. I only hope I can contribute in a positive way.
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I always think about this when talking about Symantec Corporate:
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15894
 
jesse said:
I always think about this when talking about Symantec Corporate:
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15894
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It seems as thought the problem lays SAV and Exchange. We do not use Exchange and have been actively staying away from it due to the extra costs involved with ongoing licensing and support for that product. That aside, we do have an extensive test lab setup for any new software version that need to enter the system are tested extensively as we have to maintain an 99.99% uptime environment. I am not saying that there is no problem with that client version..( we are using that exact version ) but the issue is between Exchange and SAV. To date we have not experienced the issue in any of our testing or production environments. In fact we are testing the latest release as I type.
 
ice_burg said:
Let me elaborate...Being the senior network admin for a 45,000+ node network that spans an entire state, we have all sorts of systems out in the field and everyone of them use SAV and we have next to zero ill effects from the clients on workstations and servers. Granted, this is the corporate version you are referring to. We have evaluated many many A/V solutions and discovered that that SAV had the lowest system requirements and system impact. Scans etc.. are scheduled to run nightly during off peak hours and updates are pushed out hourly. You are absolutely correct about typical home users buying the security suite to feel safe..I should have worded my initial post differently. My family and friends and even other people that just know someone that knows me will call and I give them the same advice...I say buy the Norton product, not the suite, that includes malware protection. Things like AVG work in a pinch but it has been my personal experience that companies like Symantec/Norton often offer the virus definition updates and support for their products much more efficiently and quickly than the free ware programs. This is all largely based off of my personal experience and I must concede that to each his own..but I know of multiple higher education institutions that are bailing on the same products that we tested for the same reasons...McAfee was the worst of them all when it came to invasiveness and user interactions from our standpoint of needing something that just worked and did its job quietly and efficiently.. All of that aside, this is a great forum and I am really happy to have found such a knowledgeable, friendly and helpful group of people. I only hope I can contribute in a positive way.
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Okay, so you're much more knowledgeable than the average user. :D

But seriously, though I'm no particular fan of Symantec, there's a world of difference between SAV and NIS.

Rich
 
ice_burg said:
It seems as thought the problem lays SAV and Exchange. We do not use Exchange and have been actively staying away from it due to the extra costs involved with ongoing licensing and support for that product.
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A very wise thing to do...

RJM62 said:
But seriously, though I'm no particular fan of Symantec, there's a world of difference between SAV and NIS.
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That is for sure. They aren't the same thing *at all* (of course I'm not a Symantec engineer--so what do I know).
 
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