Computer Anti-Virus Products
 

My Norton expires today .They want $30 more per year than I've been paying the past 2 years to continue .

I'm trying to get a concensus opinion of the best spyware /anti-virus product on the market .

My geek friends all feel that Norton 360 is pretty much the gold standard. That's what I use and haven't had any trouble.

Instead of re-upping the fee every year, what they do is shop the online sales for the newest release and buy it. It always comes with a one year clock. If you buy it on sale, the cost of everything is far less than the renewal fee. I got it last year for five bucks net (I think it was $45 minus $40 in coupons).

We were reccomended a product called AVG by a Microsoft employee, it is free for home use as they make their money through their business arm. It has been good as gold to date, they don't even put you on mailing lists, or send pop-ups.
It's well worth a look even if you only try it whilst looking for an alternative.


Their home PC website with the link to the Free version is http://free.avg.com

The download you want (there are several options) is at the top left. In the UK, the link is http://free.avg.com/gb-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free, so presumably yours will be similar.


Hope you find it helps,


Alan & Katrina

Thanks for the heads up on the AVG. I downloaded the free version.

Moiraine,

I too had AVG for almost two years and also didn't have a problem. I now have Norton for a few extras but I found AVG to be very good at Virus protection.

Todd

I am glad to hear that it works well as I was not too happy for the paid service I had before the AVG.

My wife "freaked out" ,I renewed last night with Norton .

I'm not a huge fan of the "personal" norton products. I get coverage on my laptop through work, and we use the commercial versions which are much better.

Back when I paid for my own protection, I really liked Trend Micro PC Cillin. Easy to use, easy to install, and far more effective in my opinion.

Microsoft has a free program called Security Essentials.
AVG is good. Paid version would be better.
ESET is another excellent product.

I run 2 security programs as well as a few scanners for various bugs.

You can learn alot at Wilders Security Forums - Powered by vBulletin

If are using a PC i would recommend "Microsoft Security Essential"

It's free for use with regular updates .:|

We use (& just renewed) the latest version of Norton 360 which also has Safe Web. Safe Web verifies all web sites before they are downloaded to your computer. My husband also uses Webroot Spy Sweeper because he goes to a lot more sites than I do :).

I agree with doopydozer on this. It gives you what you need. It's free and highly rated.

Norton, McAffee, Kaspersky and many others have become "bloatwear" on your machine causing as many or more problems than they solve. Slow response, crashes, etc.....

You can always go with an external firewall such as Barracuda or Cisco but that's a lot of more money and work.

Take care,
Mike

McAfee leaves a lot to be desired.

Webroot is good but can be a pain.

Agree with Mike M .Have used Norton , MacFee and AVG for years both paid and free . They have become bloat ware . Caused more pronblems on my machine then they solved. With them you still need a firewall.
Micrisoft Security Essentils all the parts work with each other .
Many large offices/companies are going to it . Large users can buy
an enterprise version of it. :wink:LOL

I personally think that the Avast is good, I am currently running this anti-virus now. Actually my computer was all locked up and slow and I was told about avast and have used it ever since and have never had my computer down since! use this along with avast.

SuperAnti Spyware works well.

I had great luck with McAfee for 15 years if I ever got the rare virus I could call them and they would actually get on my computer (remotely) and do whatever it took to get rid of the problem. Very good customer service.

A lot of people like Norton, but I just found the program to be more intrusive than I wanted to deal with. It had to scan all emails, etc etc etc

I know that the people who take the time to set it up and use it as described get the benefit of it - but I just never found it to be intuitive for me.

I have been naked with just AVG for a few months now, though, and no problems.

For what it's worth, I've been informed by a local computer geek that AVG which is free, is every bit as good if not in some instances better than either McAfee and Norton. I don't know but that is what he told me and the guy really is a computer geek in every sense of the word.

It is really a matter of preference. It's similar to what's your favorite cruise line.

McAffee, Norton, AVG, Microsoft Security Essential, Kaspersky, etc. are all decent products and will do most of what you want them to do. Do note that NONE of them are bullet proof and if you don't keep them updated they are worthless.

Also, if you are an AOL user DO NOT think that you have real virus protection. AOL is a virus, trojan, malware hotbed. If you use AOL you should also have a second anti-virus/malware program on your system.

Take care,
Mike