Totenkopf Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 As the title suggests, is this software worth it? If not, any suggestions on alternatives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Not a fan of Norton... I'm running Windows 7 so I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, runs well with the system, extremely efficient/low resources and is kept up to date very well by Microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Not a fan of Norton... I'm running Windows 7 so I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, runs well with the system, extremely efficient/low resources and is kept up to date very well by Microsoft. This pretty much says it all. I've never liked nor trusted Norton, to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Thirding Microsoft Security Essentials. Norton is big, fat, over-protective and yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lion54 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I use Avast!. Turn on "gaming mode" and forget it's there. I didn't realize MS had a free anti-virus. Might check it out next time I reformat. *shrugs* Norton isn't any good, though. It's too intrusive when you don't want it to be and not very good at catching what you want it to catch. At least, it's no better than the free alternative in Avast! and AGV. You know how a lot of programs will tell you to disable your anti-virus before installing? That's for Norton. I hear McAfee can also cause install problems, but I'm not sure. Anyway, with Avast! and AGV I never once had to disable them to install something. At the same time, things you don't want on your computer are more likely to wind up there with Norton. It's a pain and not very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purifier Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 My old man used Norton Anti-Virus software once upon-a-time, Tot. It screwed up his registry files somehow, he didn't have much luck with McAfee either (as Bob was saying about the install problems), he did have a helluva time trying to install most software with McAfee. And Bob mentioned Avast, that's what I always use, the family as well. But I heard the professional version of Avast was 10 times better, probably won't be cheap though; you'll have to buy that one. Although I'd recommend you try the free home version first to see how you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Uhh, F*** NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! They failed to protect my 2003 PCG-FRV35 Sony Vaio. It was a trojan virus and some hardware hack which physically RUINED my hard drive, and one they specifically had in their database to boot. Essentially it was, "Well, send it in to us, and for a fee we will take care of it and blahblahblah. You will need to redlist a certain segment of dates on system restore because our patch simply seals it, we cannot get rid of the trojan so a warning will always pop up." They gave me nothing but runaround besides that. Meanwhile I'm looking at my poor machine, no experience, my own first computer, knowing that if I turn it off it will never turn back on the same. Tried pursuing Norton for its failure, and they pointed me to the terms and conditions of the EULA which said that [their] "product may not sufficiently protect against all incidents and is not guaranteed to fully protect against any and/or every threat that may arise at any time, from anywhere, of any and every form arising out of any and every such incident(s)". Yeah, nice. So I can't count on you people at Norton, to protect my machine, or ANYTHING ELSE from stuff that is ALREADY COVERED under your database, let alone the possible threats anytime anywhere somesuch? So I tried the local shop instead who didn't yet have the tools to save files from a pretty much doomed situation...yeah it was pretty much screwed no matter what. They reinstalled my OS because the drive was viable despite its degenerating issue. I lost everything documents wise and they told me the drive had ~1.5 years left to live. It made a buzzing grind that got louder and LOUDER and **LOUDER*, and got so hot itself I thought it was going to start a fire. Aaaaaaand <Pffft!>, dead. Yup, ~1.5 years later. Hey Norton: You call what you did CUSTOMER SERVICE? Umm, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Wow, someone actually trusted Norton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Yeah it came as a preinstalled deal from Costco. Or at least I thought it was a deal. >_> I figured I finally needed an upgrade, as it was early 2004 and I was still using my Apple Macintosh Performa 6300CD. No internet, just word processing, crude graphics design, and some games. Served the family real good. *looks at ancient machine in closet* So many years, so many memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Norton is the worst and most intrusive "anti-virus" on the market. Don't do it. They're the "Origin" of anti-virus progz Go with Avast or MSE. PC-Cillin isn't (wasn't) too bad, but I haven't used them in years.. they may have gotten as bad as Norton by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I use to love Norton just for GoBack for my employees computers. Now, as other have written, they are the worse...As for alternatives...read ChAiNz's post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pho3nix Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I use Avira and Zonealarm... they're both free. I wouldn't trust any of Microsoft's own software for **** though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexrd Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 As far as free anti virus, the best is MSE (which is the one I use). If you can pay, I advise Kapersky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Kaspersky is even worse than Norton. I got it for free after rebate a few years back and it was a freaking nightmare. It was like computing behind the Iron Curtain. It put a stranglehold on every process and questioned every little thing I did. Never again, Kaspersky. I'm with Pho3nix. Avira is consistently rated as the best free antivirus you can get. I use it in conjunction with Comodo firewall, which is also free. With protection like that available, there is no reason for private users to pay for virus protection. Tip: If you decide to use Comodo firewall, only install the firewall (NOT the included antivirus), and disable Defense Plus once it's installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 @ Pho3nix: No, no... you can trust Microsoft to keep your computer safe from viruses, malware, etc because Microsoft has invested interested in you staying with Windows. If MSE did any of the asshat things Norton did then it wouldn't just make people stop using MSE, it'd making people stop using Windows entirely. I mean, they're not some evil corporation who tries to deny the very existence of any type of virus and pretends their OS is completely immune. They're just trying to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I agree that MSE is a decent antivirus. I've installed it on my parents' computers because it's so simple to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pho3nix Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 @ Pho3nix: No, no... you can trust Microsoft to keep your computer safe from viruses, malware, etc because Microsoft has invested interested in you staying with Windows. If MSE did any of the asshat things Norton did then it wouldn't just make people stop using MSE, it'd making people stop using Windows entirely. I mean, they're not some evil corporation who tries to deny the very existence of any type of virus and pretends their OS is completely immune. They're just trying to help. Haha well... courtesy of my dad I guess. He's had his issues with the company because of his line of work, and was always keen to remind me even as a kid to use alternative software whenever possible. I'm sure MSE is fine... but I still wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole if It's up to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Yeah well, I wouldn't touch Internet Explorer with a billion foot pole, but MSE is a different matter entirely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Dan 012 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Norton is good but it really uses up too many resources, as people have said already. I currently have Microsoft Security Essentials and the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on a separate USB drive. Just don't use Avast. I got a bad virus once and Avast did nothing to stop it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Sun Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I use Avast!. Turn on "gaming mode" and forget it's there. I didn't realize MS had a free anti-virus. Might check it out next time I reformat. *shrugs* Norton isn't any good, though. It's too intrusive when you don't want it to be and not very good at catching what you want it to catch. At least, it's no better than the free alternative in Avast! and AGV. You know how a lot of programs will tell you to disable your anti-virus before installing? That's for Norton. I hear McAfee can also cause install problems, but I'm not sure. Anyway, with Avast! and AGV I never once had to disable them to install something. At the same time, things you don't want on your computer are more likely to wind up there with Norton. It's a pain and not very good. Avast is my weapon of choice as well I have been using it for years and NEVER had a virus whilst using it. Enough said I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 How's Avira? I currently have Kaspersky but learned only after the fact about Eugene K's statist technocratic views on privacy...and it's kind of annoying how it micromanages your every little thing. I mean it works better than system shield but...ugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamqd Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 AVG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Avlectus Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 ^^^Already have it on board--works with anything else. My only gripe is it is part of google's distribution and keeps trying to open an extraneous google search program (comes installed on most machines). I'm guessing for their analytics. It's a vulnerability prone to viruses. No big deal because you can simply disable it as it isn't essential, but most people aren't aware of it. My computer tech showed me it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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