# Norton Antivirus?



## Jade Tigress (Nov 8, 2006)

It's time for my subscription to be renewed and I wonder if it's worth paying for. I have had Grisoft AVG 7.1 Free version for a while in conjunction with Norton. Can I just use the AVG? Or is having a program like Norton necessary. Thanks.


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## Bob Hubbard (Nov 8, 2006)

I wouldn't use Norton if I was paid to.  AVG seems to work fine, and it's what I've been recommending for years.


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## Ping898 (Nov 8, 2006)

you'd probably be better off with AVG, plus it can be bad to have two antivirus softwares.  Sometimes they can conflict with each other causing both of them to miss viruses...virii...


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## rutherford (Nov 8, 2006)

Keep your AVG updated and have no worries.


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## crushing (Nov 8, 2006)

If you feel the need to pay for virus protection, I have heard good things about Kapersky http://www.kaspersky.com/ .

I use the Free AVG product and haven't had any problems so far.


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## mrhnau (Nov 8, 2006)

Ping898 said:


> Sometimes they can conflict with each other causing both of them to miss viruses...virii...



Virus... interesting entymology...

virme - my own virus (alt viri)
virthem - other peoples virus
virile - a very effective virus
virussr - virus that thinks everyone is the same
viraq - currently occupied by virus
viran - currently including nuclear residues in its structure, or a very fast virus occupying yourself

anyways.. just brain farting


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## Jade Tigress (Nov 8, 2006)

YAY! Just gonna keep AVG. Thanks everybody!


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## fireman00 (Nov 8, 2006)

Jade Tigress said:


> It's time for my subscription to be renewed and I wonder if it's worth paying for. I have had Grisoft AVG 7.1 Free version for a while in conjunction with Norton. Can I just use the AVG? Or is having a program like Norton necessary. Thanks.



Norton is to $$ and is a memory hog.  I've been using AVG for 2 years on two systems with no issues.  The auto-update feature is the best.


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## bydand (Nov 8, 2006)

I *used* to use Norton, until they started to act like Microsoft and think they are smarter than me and should just change settings to what they like.  I use AVG all the time now and will never go back to a Norton product. Memory hog, expensive, and takes an act of God to totally get rid of it, Norton blows.


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## hemi (Nov 8, 2006)

What about PcCillin? Good, Bad, Ugly?


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## OUMoose (Nov 8, 2006)

2004hemi said:


> What about PcCillin? Good, Bad, Ugly?


Trend is better than Norton, but still not the best.  Good detection rate, and relatively small memory footprint for a commercial app.  Still costs money to update, though, and it's removal rates aren't the best.

AVG (Free)/Avast (Free) or Kapersky($$) are the ways I would go still.


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## ed-swckf (Nov 8, 2006)

I only ever used norton once when it came as a bundled piece of software with a motherboard i bought.  Supprisingly enough (or not) that year i had the most trouble i have ever had with a PC at home. Not trying to jump on the anti-norton bandwaggon but it didn't prevent me from some biggies, however holes in windows were more to blame.


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## Cthulhu (Nov 9, 2006)

After my VirusScan expired, I tried AVG on Bob's recomendation.  Been using it ever since.

Cthulhu


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## Kacey (Nov 9, 2006)

I had Norton for years; last year I bought a new upgrade, tried to install it, and it told me I had to uninstall the old one first, which it had an automatic routine for... which didn't work.  I tried uninstalling the old one at least 3-4 times, but each time (even though I manually cleaned out evey file I could find) it kept telling me that I had to uninstall the old version first.  It also wouldn't let me reinstall the old one to try to uninstall it completely.  I installed the free version of AVG and haven't had any problems.  Last summer, I got McAfee, because it came free with my Comcast subscription, and I've been running them both; they don't seem to interact badly.  McAfee is alright, but if it weren't free, I'd be using just AVG and I'd be happy with that - along with Ad-Aware by LavaSoft.  I haven't had any problems.


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## hemi (Nov 9, 2006)

What about the paid subscription version of AVG, is it worth spending the money or does the free version work just as good?


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## Cthulhu (Nov 9, 2006)

2004hemi said:


> What about the paid subscription version of AVG, is it worth spending the money or does the free version work just as good?


 
Per Grisoft's site, here's what you DON'T get with the free version:

*Less protection *  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition does not detect potentially unwanted programs. 
*No 64-bit and server support *  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition cannot be installed on server operating systems (such as Windows Server 2003), nor can it be used for the scanning of network drives. Also Windows XP Pro x64 edition is not supported. 
*No customization *  Scheduling options in the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition are very limited (only one scheduled update per day, one scheduled scan per day etc.). Also the Resident Shield configuration is limited with no exclusion settings. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition does not offer advanced testing options, password-protected archives reporting, adjustment of scan process priority and many other features. 
*Slower updates *  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition receives updates via a lower priority service. Priority updating via high-speed servers is only available for commercial versions. 
*No technical support!*


I've never had a problem with update speed, never needed tech support (knock on wood), don't need more customization than what's offered, and I don't have a 64-bit OS.  Since I run Ad-aware and another adware/spyware killer, I'm not worried about 'unwanted apps'.

Cthulhu


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## Brian R. VanCise (Nov 9, 2006)

Since we are speaking of protecting your computer.  What is everyone's opinion of Panda Antivirus.


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## OUMoose (Nov 9, 2006)

2004hemi said:


> What about the paid subscription version of AVG, is it worth spending the money or does the free version work just as good?


Free version is just as good for home use.  The paid version adds some scheduling and nice stuff for corporate environments, but really nothing for home use.

Note:  Make sure you update to 7.5, as AVG Free 7.1 is getting discontinued.  (7.5 also has a free version)


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## hemi (Nov 9, 2006)

Thanks for the info its so hard to know who has the best defense


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## bydand (Nov 9, 2006)

AVG 7.5
AdAware
SpyBot S&D
Zone Alarm

All free, all as good or better than ones you have to pay for.  No infections, probes, or loss of information using these the past few years.


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## samurai69 (Nov 10, 2006)

i have just started using AVG and their anti spyware too........both seem to work just fine

if you want a payed version, why not just buy their "PRO" version


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## Jade Tigress (Nov 10, 2006)

bydand said:


> AVG 7.5
> AdAware
> SpyBot S&D
> Zone Alarm
> ...




What's Zone Alarm? I use AVG, AdAware, SpyBot S&D, and Spyware Blaster.


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## bydand (Nov 10, 2006)

Zone Alarm is a software firewall.  I use it even though I have a router and DSL modem. Both of which serve as a hardware firewall as well as their most obvious usage.


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## Jade Tigress (Nov 10, 2006)

bydand said:


> Zone Alarm is a software firewall.  I use it even though I have a router and DSL modem. Both of which serve as a hardware firewall as well as their most obvious usage.



Do you find it interferes with anything? It seems like firewalls always mess something up for me. Do you have a link? Thanks.


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## bydand (Nov 10, 2006)

It hasn't interfered yet really.  Sometimes you will get a message that it has blocked a pop-up of somesort from opening, but you can overide it.  It is from Zone Labs.  The whole URL to go right to the free version of the firewall is:  http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conte...sp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_zaav

Kind of long, but should get you there.


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## bydand (Nov 10, 2006)

Also, it is a bit annoying at first while "learning" what programs are supposed to have internet access or not, but I love it.  Been using it for a long time now.


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## Jade Tigress (Nov 10, 2006)

Thanks Scott. I'll check it out.


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## Bob Hubbard (Nov 10, 2006)

I've been using Zone Alarm for years.  Works great.  Kinda in my "Holy Trinity" of must use software. 

ZoneAlarm - firewall
AVG - AntiVirus
Adaware - spyware


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## Jade Tigress (Nov 10, 2006)

Bob Hubbard said:


> I've been using Zone Alarm for years.  Works great.  Kinda in my "Holy Trinity" of must use software.
> 
> ZoneAlarm - firewall
> AVG - AntiVirus
> Adaware - spyware




Thanks for the feedback Bob.


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