Norton AV 2005 better or worse than 2005?

[Guest dswo]

It's time to renew my subscription or get something else. I've been using Norton since DOS days. I know that NAV 2004 is a resource hog, but I figure that's because it's working hard to keep my machine clean. Question: does anyone who's been using Norton for more than a cycle or two know whether 2005 is any better or worse than 2004 in the resource department? As good as I've got I can live with, but don't really want to take a step back.

[Guest]

Take a huge step forward and switch to Kasperksy.Better performance, better detection rate, and doesn't destabalise your system.

[Guest Philip Olson]

David, Why don't you go to this address http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-5554837.html and read the article. I know that many people like Norton and think that it is a good program but there are better ones out there and most of them cost less, have more protection and do not strangle your systems resources nearly as much. Do not believe that just because something is a resource hog that it is a better program, quite often the opposite is true. While I do not expect you to take my word for this alone please make an informed decision and check out some reviews at various tech sites, like the one I included above. Most of all do not completely believe what they tell you on the Norton site, they are trying to sell you something so they will make it sound better than it really is. Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.Philip Olsonhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

[Egbert Drenth 250]

Hi,I read in a review that Kaspersky is very good, together with PC-Cillin of Trendmicro which I use.

[oldbear 33]

Well Egbert, I've been using Norton for a few years. I haven't noticed any difference with AV2005 compared to the last one. I just bought it, installed it and let it do its stuff. I've had no problems as far as I can see, and I would certainly not consider it to be a step back.Of course, plenty of people don't like it, and there are indeed cheaper alternatives. The annoying thing I found when reading reviews for anti-virus products was that opinions vary so widely that they're almost no help in making up your mind. But since I've been happy with Norton I could see no reason to change, and I'm glad I didn't.Any use?Ian

[BobP 56]

I removed Norton from my home and business computers two years ago. I had too manually removed two of the installs because of Norton's stupid removal software couldn't find all the pieces. Norton is terrible at sucking system resources and their customer support stinks.Norton is incompatible with several commercial networked applications because of its inefficient code. (accounting app's slowed to a crawl because of Norton's 1995 code.)I hope you never have to remove it and you never need tech help. I use trend micro for both business and home. No viruses, no problems with system resources and a human being that answers the phone for tech support. Bob...

[Guest dswo]

1. I see that my subject header should read "Norton AV 2005 better or worse than 2004?" not "than 2005?" -- which patently doesn't make any sense.2. Thanks for the recommendations and articles listed. I've also reviewed some of the old (and very long threads) on this topic from previous months.3. One more question: does anyone know whether the corporate edition of Norton's AV software is any leaner? We've got it on all of our PCs at work, and it does have a different interface and style.

[Guest Philip Olson]

David, Off the top of my head I am not sure that the corporate edition is any different but you have to keep in mind that it is the same basic engine and components. If I have some time later today I will check into this for you. I am going to be a little more honest, or open with you in this post, to help you with your decision. Please do not think that I am really trying to talk you out of Norton because I think that it is a fairly good piece of software, I just find that it could be better. I own my own company in which I go into peoples homes and business's and clean up viruses and any other problems they may be having. I also build new PC's and do just about everything else computer related, including teaching classes about computer security. Because of this I have a lot of real world experience on how well these AV products actually work. More often than not if I have to clean a virus off of a computer that has up to date anti virus software on it, it is Norton that let the virus through. No anti virus software can stop 100 percent of viruses all of the time but it seems to me in my business that Norton tends to let more through than some of the others. Currently I use a free anti virus program called Avast and so far it has picked up stuff that Norton has let through. Also to date Avast has not let any virus through, eventually it may but up to now it has been perfect. Mind you that I often hunt down viruses, that is actually seek them, doing what I do I need to understand them and the other dangers out there so I actively seek out dangers on the internet to study them. No matter what AV software you choose I would like to offer one piece of advice, and this is for everyone, please do not rely on your AV product alone. I can not stress this enough, all AV products can miss things so use one of the free online virus scanners at least once a month to double check the one that you are using. An example would be http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ it is easy to run and can save you much heartache. Do not use a free online virus scanner from the same company that made the scanner on your computer since this would do little good, always check using a competing product. Norton also has a free online scanner, just do a Google search on "free online virus scan" to find the companies that offer this service. If you or anyone ever needs more information about AV or any other computer security software feel free to contact me, I like to help people try and keep their data secure and out of the hands of people that would do evil. Take care,Philip Olsonhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

[Guest ponyboy]

Get off the Norton subscription treadmill. I did and went with AVG and haven't looked back. ;)

[Guest bobsk8]

AVG looks good as far as an Anti virus, but what about a firewall for my DSL ?? They ( AVG) has a beta version that includes Firewall protection, , but that might not be the safest thing to use. Are there any good Firewalls available?

[Guest bobsk8]

Solved my own problem and uninstalled Norton this morning following all directions on Norton's site and got every bit of it off my PC. Then I installed Trend Micro PC Cillin which also contains a fire wall. Things seem to be happening much faster on my PC now. :)Bob

[Guest Shalomar]

Donny AKA ShalomarFly 2 ROCKS!!!I am happy with AVG so far too. I usually close it before simming, the one thing I notice is that when I do I get the error messags "Avgemc not responding", then when I click end task again it goes away. "Avgcc" which I assume is another part of AVG shuts down no problem.It wasn't smart, but my computer has been on the internet for months with no protection whatsoever. 90% of my traffic is to Avsim or its partners, and since I got them, complete scans by AVG and Ad-aware always come up clean. I'm glad Avsim runs such a safe and ethical site and chooses its partners carefully.Best Regards, Donny:-wave