Which Norton should I get?? Advice please...

closed

Why do you want to pay for something, when you can get a better one for free?

aug 2010 av comparatives results

avast 5 Free 99.3 % detected, fastest scanner, lowest memory footprint
kasperky 98.3
norton 98.7

Jox

I was buying norton year in and year out until I saw on these boards that Microsoft Essential Security was good and free! It's easy to install

closed

MSE isn't that good- 97.6 %, slow, and uses tons of memory

mjm3346

redcard wrote: »

No idea why people go for Norton. Probably the same reason they eat in McDonalds, drink Coke and watch X Factor.

Luckily I have a Mac, and have absolutely no need for virus checking

Not true, there are fewer virus problems but that is simply because the Mac has such a tiny fraction of the market and so it produces a much smaller return on investment for trojans etc.

DatabaseError

janthemum wrote: »

....Why is it though everyone seems to go for the Norton.

Not sure who "everyone" is, but, here goes

1. Norton used to be a fantastic "brand", right up until the moment Peter Norton sold his name to Symantec..then it went downhill
2. Many box-shifter PCs come with norton/norton trial installed...people assume if it's pre-installed it must be good.

redcard

mjm3346 wrote: »

Not true, there are fewer virus problems but that is simply because the Mac has such a tiny fraction of the market and so it produces a much smaller return on investment for trojans etc.

That's the simple answer, yes.

You'll also find that there are no remote access service enabled by default, root user is not enabled by default, and the UNIX base also make it more secure than Windows.

In addition to that, security by obscurity is still security.

I'm happy that there's so many Windows users keeping the virus makers in business

debitcardmayhem

DatabaseError wrote: »

Not sure who "everyone" is, but, here goes

1. Norton used to be a fantastic "brand", right up until the moment Peter Norton sold his name to Symantec..then it went downhill
2. Many box-shifter PCs come with norton/norton trial installed...people assume if it's pre-installed it must be good.

1 Yes it was and it's now climbing back up , of course don't start digging when you reach rock bottom buy a ladder

2 It is almost as good it was and will probably get better. It was pre-installed on my netbook and was very good for the 1 year I had no problems with performance , I also had no problems with detection either but let's be honest about detection I don't click and hope (some do of course;)) . But after the 1yr free I switched to avast because I could.

Footnote I prefer NIS over 360 (an age thing I suppose, plus I have been forced to use Norton on the Home/Wife-Work PC, and have used NIS from its earlier bad days up to today where it is working more or less perfectly) If I was to choose paid for vs free I would choose Norton NIS 2011 or Avast. Yes this is a Saving forum but please if someone wants to pay for something let them and offer good advice on the options they deem ok for their needs. Knocking NIS is YOHO now if if the OP wanted advice on Crapafee feel free and I'll join in

DatabaseError

Debitcardmayhem, I accept the OP is not asking for advice on whether to buy NIS or not, but on which of the associated products to buy, and that symantec really seem to have improved over the last year or so to the point they are again a credible provider of a/v solutions.

I'm not sure my answer to question 2 was incorrect either, the OP is a case in point, from my understanding of her post she isn't looking for an a/v solution, she's looking for a norton, "It dosnt make sense to me when I read the details about them, I just know I need to have one! ". in the same way as we often call all vacuum cleaners hoovers, the name Norton has become synonymous with system security to those who buy their PCs from the supermarket shelves, while very few of us who assemble our own PCs would seriously consider a paid for security solution at the current time with so many great free alternatives.

The addition of a NIS/360 trial on prebuilt boxes is not as a favour to the user, but a marketing ploy to drag cash from those who wouldn't otherwise spend it. It could be argued that the system builders are doing the users a favour by ensuring a few months virus free, but if truth be told they could offer a much longer time for free using other products.

Obviously YMMV

No idea what YOHO means, I guess I'm not 'down with the kids' or something.


...and yeah, I was stung by mcaffee about ...er...10 years ago, my 2nd infection (1st from a infected win95 startup floppy) ...never again

althas

For my 2p worth, don't waste your cash

There are plenty of free alternatives, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast (all mentioned above). May be a little more hastle to initially install them, as you have to do a number of different progs instead of just one, but not worth the pain of norton

Francesanne

I've just bought a new HP Desktop PC and have 60 days free trial of Norton and I've been really impressed with it.
It's so much better than McAfee and wish I'd used Norton before. I've only got praise for it so far (no doubt I'll be warned otherwise).