Norton Yearly update...
 

Hey all,

Another year has gone by and good old Norton feel that its time for me to pay more money to them to renew my anti-virus software...
I was wondering if maybe its time to stop handing over cash to them...as I have been doing for the last seven or eight years.

What is the consensus on changing across to the poorer man (or woman's) option, AVG?

Does it do a good job?

I know this has probably been done to death so forgive me for asking it again!

Many thanks!

AVG has done the job very well for me. There are alternatives, which some folk will tell you are better, and others will say are not.

If you have a less-than-sprightly PC, you'll also find it runs quite a bit faster without Norton.

How does one find, download AVG?

RDG

In Google, search for "Free AVG". You'll see it right away.

Just done the same and got rid of norton and my PC has speeded up considerably. I've got to admit I plumped for the anti virus pro and coughed up the £14, which gave me exactly what I needed and at a fraction of the price Norton.

Also search for anti-virus reviews. They won't always agree but you might see some common trends. AVG doesn't generally come that high but they include user interface etc as well as its virus-catching abilities. Antivir scores reasonably and I have it on a laptop (which is not actually on-line that much) but it seems OK. Kaspersky (not free) rates highly frequently and I have that on a windows VM on my mac, also so far so good. From personal experience, Norton slowed my PC down considerably but did pick up a number of viruses, online and in emails, but I would steer clear of Norton 360 - it just tries to do too much and you can't disable some of the functions and constant alerts.

Thanks alot!

Yeah, I think I will be moving across to give AVG a go!

Thanks for the tip on how to un-install Norton, I have heard that it is a bit of a system hog, so will be interesting to see if my PC's performance improves...it is getting on a bit, but as a poor man, I cannot afford a new at the moment, besides it does the job, the only thing I would like to get is a nice big flat screen!

Thanks again!

Ant

Another good one is Avast. :ok:
As for Norton even using their 'removal tool' I spent a few hours going through the registry removing various bits of leftover detrious:8

Norton Removal Tool link................
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...05033108162039

Daz
Tip...Uninstall then reload the original disc go through the instalation zzzzz
you will have another 12 months free updates. It works.

Been very happy with Avast for several years now and install it on the several machines I look after.

Had BIG problems caused by AVG some years ago, so not touched it since.

I ave always been an AVG fan until I started having problems caused by the use of a Netgear backup system on my main machine when windoze (XP Pro) would crash quite often at the end of the boot sequence. I changed this machine over to Avast and had no problems. Since that time AVG has gone through numerous revisions and having installed it again with the Netgear utility on a new machine I have again had no problems. IMHO AVG and Avast are two of the free utilities worth considering.

P.P.

Hey Frostbite, what kind of problems did you experience with AVG?
How much is Avast, and does it work with an annual fee as Norton does?

The problem with AVG was that it interfered with the boot-up sequence quite severely, which made it very difficult to identify as the problem, and then to remove via DOS.

Avast is totally free and rarely fails to update daily in order to counter the latest identified threats.

Have a look at http://avast.com

Another happy Avast user, here.
The "Big Three" freebies (or "have free version") AV's are AVG (they also have a free version-non resident- of their antispyware, which has a good rep), Avast Home ,and Avira Classic
They are all good. All generally score pretty well at http://www.av-comparatives.org/, which is probably considered the definitive AV test site. They often seem to achieve better results than a lot of the paid offerings, but be advised, it is only the "pro" versions of the AV's that get tested there.
One of the things about Avast is that the detection and cleaning ability of the Home version (free) is the same as for the pro. Not necessarily the case with the others. I also find the program very stable, very configurable, and skinnable, with excellent forum support for a freebie.
Avira consistently seems to achieve the best detection rates, users generally like it a lot, one little drawback is a nag screen that pops up every time you update. AVG is probably the most popular. I've tried all three. The computer is protected by only freeware applications,(AV, AS, Hosts file, 2 way Firewall, Noscript) and I haven't had anything more fearsome than a tracking cookie for years.
In the end, you'll likely be well protected with any of them, especially if you include a two way firewall, and your choice might as well be down to which you like the look of, or functionality, or ease of use etc, the most.

Another satisfied Avast! user ... I have used Norton, and it is the pits for taking over your computer and slowing everything down to a crawl ...

Ll

Thanks for that guys, i will certainly give Avast a look!

So I will need a firewall too...if I use Avast and say 2 way firewall, will that leave me in good stead?
Or are there some other bits required?

Cheers,

Ant

I have been using ZoneAlarm firewall (another freebie) for more years than I can remember.

I've been using (free) AVG and Zone Alarm for three or four years and never had a problem. I did try Norton 2004, the combined anti-virus and firewall programme, but like others have said, it gives your PC lead divers boots.

Check http://andymanchesta.com/ for some excellent links to all sorts of goodies.
You might want a demand scanner for spyware etc also. Superantispyware, AVG antispyware, Asquared, and SpywareTerminator (which is a free resident AS) all recommended, pick any two. Or three. Run a scan every so often.
[Edit]
SpywareTerminator now bundles a toolbar. Used to be optional. It's harmless...if you want a toolbar, that is.

AVG has been fine for me, as has ZoneAlarm.

There are several "bits" of AVG. The basic free virus checker doesn't interfere with boot-up, but there is also an anti-rootkit, which I've used for years, that does get in among the boot.