My subscription for Norton is up. I've had different Norton products for at least 12 years, have tried McAfee, which I didn't like. Norton appears to be so bloated, it slows my machine down.
How's some of these free downloads like AVG?
What virus protection do you run?
"Lotus" wrote in news:gtgeu6$s5v$ snipped-for-privacy@aioe.org:
It's a decent one from what I hear.
Avast! Antivirus
Hi, I use AVG 8.5 free version.
I use Avira free version and AVG free (not on the same machines). Avira is probably the better of the two as far as using little system resources and detection rate (by independent labs).
Hi Lotus,
If you want the dirt on AV, go to
I remove viruses for a living. I have to tell you, the free AV users (AVG etc.) are usually infected and don't know it. The free antivirus products are not worth the time to install them. I come across them all the time, they are almost always infected, especially the ones where the users swear by them.
The AV I use/recommend is Kaspersky
Also, bear in mind, about 85% of the viruses now a days are targeting Internet Explorer (IE) users. Get off IE as soon as possible. Use Firefox instead:
Did I mention Kaspersky has A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N tech support? (They are really, really good too!)
HTH,
-T
On 5/1/2009 10:21 PM Todd spake thus:
Norton *is* a virus.
avast!
Avast no longer appears free and trial copy I'm using will expire in a month and I will go back to McAfee, free from Comcast. McAfee was a hog on my 1 gig Vista OS but adding 2 more gigs solved problem.
Reason I'm in Avast mode is that a virus slipped by McAfee and fortunately I restored machine but McAfee had to be removed so I went to Avast which detected and removed the Trojan virus which had reverted my system as if it were new, with no files - frightening. Also I don't use IE.
I've been pretty happy with PCTools antivirus/antispam. $35 a year for a
3-machine license. Agree about Norton/Symantec. I can actually use it free, legally, via the corp license at work. But it is bloated, and didn't play nice with Windows on some of my machines, so I gave up on it. (It is also pretty much impossible to uninstall if it breaks.)-- aem sends...
I've been running Avast on 2 machines for over a year now with excellent results. Updates automatically and blocks viruses and malware. It almost seems to good to be true.
Seems like something always went wrong with NAV and McAfee during the annual updates or computer crashes and their customer service was crap.
od
You're susposed to be able to dl an uninstaller from Norton. I used it one time but NAV is crap and has been for years.
od
I'm pretty sure Avast is still free for home use. I'd pick Avast over McAfee, free or not. YMMV!
Read PC mag fairly recent reviews of antiV, Norton has been reduced to do less drag, its one of the least to drag on you now, I have 360v3 its worth it and it has alot of new features
I stopped using Norton years ago when they stopped supporting the one I was using and it took me almost 3 hours to get the old one out by hand before the new one would load. This was 3 hours just to get out the stuff uninstaller had left behind.
You own stock in them or work for them?
"Lotus" wrote in news:gtgeu6$s5v$ snipped-for-privacy@aioe.org:
I have a Norton version through work on desktops. SPouse has AVG newest (I think) which is OK, but very slow. I have Avira 9 free on my Vista Home Basic laptop.
I would prefer AVIRA free for any new installations.
In addition: SUPERAntiSpyware for malware Windows Defender
I also have Malwarebytes anti-malware
Have you ever dealt with an offshore helpdesk? I deal with lots of them, on a regular basis. Some are fine, most are not. Even if they actually know their product (and many do not), the language problem can be impossible to deal with, as they step you through all the lines of the Standard Diagnostics that you already tried. I understand exactly where he is coming from.
-- aem sends...
We have used Kaspersky for several years now and re very pleased with it. We previously used McCafee and it slowed down the machine too much.
I used AVG on my 4 computers for 6 yrs w/o problem. Then I got a nasty last spring that just wouldn't quit.
Now I've got bitdefender because it scored well in several of the 'AV comparisons' that I read online. Never #1, but often in the top 5. [$50 for 3 computers for 2 yrs.]
Read a dozen of those articles and you'll start to see that there is a whole lot of luck involved. There was *no* real standout [though I was surprised that AVG rarely made the top 5]
Jim
Avast (and AVG) still have free versions, but good luck trying to find links to them from their home pages. Seems they make a real game out of trying to give the impression that there is no longer a free version by obscuring where it is located on their web sites. In some cases at least the "free trial" is not the same as the "free personal edition" which is what you want.
Google for "Avast free download" or similar until you find a link that takes you directly to the download page for the free version. Anything that takes you to their home pages will be a waste of time.
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