AntiVirus

[stratman]

Norton is a major resource hog. There is absolutely no reason that an antivirus program needs to hog that much RAM/CPU power. McAffee is even worse I once worked on a PC that was barely usable because of multiple issues. I removed McAffee and all the problems went away.

Well I guess you convinced me to dump Norton next year, too late now, I paid for it.

 

[Nick250]

I would not worry too much. Norton may take up more resources than one would like, but we are running it on 35 computers at work with no performance complaints from the users including me. If you opt to install Norton Go Back that is where a proformance hit is dramatic IME.

Nick

 

[Nomo]

Well, I guess I didn't expect any rave reviews regarding my decision to re-up for Norton.

I agree with Nick, while Norton is a bit of a memory hog, the biggest trouble comes from GoBack. I did run it for a rather short time and found that uninstalling it helped speed up my computer considerably.

Of course this is not to say that I won't consider other options next year.

 

[jonnythan]

Norton isn't that bad of a resource hog. It's not a big deal.

It's not a very good antivirus program (because virus writers often write viruses specifically targeting Norman because of its high profile), it's really annoying about reminding you to pay them, and it's a real pain in the butt to uninstall. But with it installed and paid for, it works pretty well and it's nothing to worry about.

Just don't renew it again

BTW, if you want to make it run a little more smoothly, you can disable the realtime protection elements. If you do this, be sure to use your head while using your computer, use a browser other than Internet Explorer, and make Norton run scheduled full system scans daily/nightly. You'll be fine.

 

[MDS]

"It's a real pain in the butt to uninstall"

Tell me about it. Since I am often too lazy to 'renew' my subscription I used to uninstall it and then manually go through the registry and remove all traces of it (because of course 'uninstall' doesn't uninstall much of anything).

Their activation servers used to be somewhat dumb and you could install it and activate it on multiple machines but no more. Office Max just happened to have a deal for NAV 8 for $10 when you buy TurboTax so I got a new copy. Unfortunately had to reinstall NAV 7 on the other machine because it disabled BOTH copies of NAV8.

I suppose $10 is a small price to pay for an subscription but it is a hassle. Naturally you can't buy a 2 machine license - your choices are 1, 5, or a zillion. It works well enough for me and I am used to it so I just stick with it.

 

[Hi Ho]

I guess I just fail to understand why paying for a program that hogs resources and is virtually impossible to uninstall completely (a spyware trait) is chosen over an excellent freeware antivirus program like AVG that takes up a total of 700kb and does a better job of detecting viruses.

If you've already paid for Norton, by all means let the subscription run out, but I wouldn't recommend renewing it.

 

[MDS]

I have never heard of AVG and for all I know it is a fine AV program, but you have to remember that AV technology is 'reactive' NOT proactive. Only AFTER a new virus is detected are signatures to detect it developed.

So just because AVG or any other product might seem to be superior at the moment it cannot by definition maintain that 'superiority' forever.

Norton does consume a fair bit of memory but it uses very little CPU and is updated regularly. Security requires a multi-pronged approach and no one class of program is sufficient by itself.

 

[Nick250]

Yes, Norton is a pain to uninstall but you should do it when you upgrade. On the Symantec web site is a heavy duty unistall utility that is more comprehensive than than the built in uninstaller. It's meant to be used when regular unintaller crashes. I always use it now that I know about it.

 

[GTF]

Why don't you guys get the best?
Trend Micro's PC-cillin

I've had Nortons, McAfee, and a few others.
No other AVS has been protecting my machines as long as PC-cillen.
Not even adding them all together.

 

[MDS]

What makes pc-cillin 'the best'?

 

[GTF]

I at one time serviced PC's for a livng. UNISYS and my own doing.
I've seen lot's and lot's of people's machine all blown up.
From my experence and from reading PC mags reviews of anti virus software
in the past PC-cillen has always been neat or at the top.
It's never been an issue with it using up machine resources either,
like some people have noticed with other antivirus software.
Nobody I have ever recommended to that they drop what their using and
switch to PC-cillin has ever CHOPPED MY HEAD OFF.
As a matter of fact they have all like it.
They have a 30 day free trial.
I even got my cheap skate daughter to finally switch to it after
losing more files to virus's.

GTF

 

[jonnythan]

PC-cillin is good, but nothing about it makes it worth paying for.

 

[GTF]

"PC-cillin is good, but nothing about it makes it worth paying for."

Nothing is worth paying for. It shouldn't necessary anyway.

I'm all for catching the virus writters and putting them on the net
real time video having their skin peeled off.
I want to watch them scream in pain as much as people who have lost
important files, pictures, etc as well as companies losing money
because of their actions.

GTF

 

[mrfreedom]

BitDefender. 2 licenses for 2 years $69. Very much a background app unlike Norton. Easily uninstalled also.