Norton Antivirus v.s. AVG/Other Programs

Peddant said:

If you want the latest greatest "solution" then you`ll be wanting this - http://www.pandasoftware.com/home/particulares/default

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PCWorld said:

Panda Titanium ranked fifth out of ten products overall in our performance tests. It ranked seventh in detecting backdoor programs, bots, and Trojans in our zoo collection of malware, and it ranked sixth in our heuristics tests using one-month-old data. However, the software blazed through our scan speed tests in just under 1 minute, 46 seconds on average, faster than any other product we tested.

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From the link I gave above. Still, it did better than both norton (no surprise there) and better than AVG. Looks like some good software.

PCWorld said:

the software blazed through our scan speed tests in just under 1 minute, 46 seconds

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It might not find everything,but it doesn`t find everything quickly. :grinthumb

I like the AVG Free plus Zone Alarm combination. However, on the main computer I am now using Zone Alarm AV which seems good. I've also used eTrust and found that fast and reliable.

Remember that Grisoft like most software companies like to sell products so there are a variety of AVG solutions to suit your needs. I liked the look of some of their stuff. There are 30 day free trials for most AV programs. Try before you buy. That's what I did with Zone Alarm AV.

Previously, I always used Norton, but as so many have said its latest version slows the computer down too much.

galjm said:

Okay, I just recently had my computer serviced because I had several spywares/viruses. They were successfully removed. I originally had AVG and Zonealarm for my antivirus and spyware programs but the computer techs told me that they were crap and to install Spysweeper and Norton Antivirus. Before when I had Norton AVS 2006 on my computer it was really slowing down my computer, so I switched to AVG and my computer was running much much faster. Somehow, after installing AVG and Zonealarm, my computer still got infected with viruses and spyware. So the techs reinstalled Norton Antivirus 2006 for me and now that I have my computer home with me again, my computer is running soooooo slow. I know Norton AVS is to blame for this, because this happened right after I installed it the first time. I thought AVG was suppose to be pretty good, but they told me it wasn't. Can anyone tell me what other Antivirus programs would be good to install that WON't bog and slow my stystem down......this is ridiculous!!!!!

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One think to keep in mind is that you have to use some common sence as well. I use AVG at home and don't get Virus or spyware problems. A lot of my friends don't even run AntiVirus programs at all, and never have any problems. You just have to be careful where you go on the internet and what you download first and formost. No such thing as a "completely secure comptuer".

Also if I would you I would find another shop. I don't know any tech that would tell you to do something like use Norton and spysweeper unless you took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Those guys there don't know anything they just read how to fix stuff out of a book they are forced to use by Best Buy.

If a computer technician recommends any Norton product they should be shot!
If you want a purchase software kaspersky
Kaspersky Personal Security Suite…
I still believe AVG is the best free solution.

here we go again bashing norton. I use Norton corporate for an AV and it works great. I have also used norton systemworks 2003 for 4 years now with no issues.

I would have to agree with Tedster here. I have also been using Norton Systemworks 2003 for many years with no problem. Admittedly, it bogged down my system when I had first installed it, but only because I installed with all default options. I have since reinstalled it leaving out everything except the AV, and the 'disk doctor'. Then I disabled the Office Plug-In and stopped it from scanning outgoing emails and this kept my PC running pretty good. Now, I don't even let Norton run at all at system startup. Why bother? Just schedule a scan every couple of weeks and its fine. No need to kill the virus the instant you get it.
As far as that PCWorld review goes, I had tried Bitdefender Professional v.8 a couple of years ago because I had read a similar review at the time which rated Bitdefender #1. They were right! Very powerful AV and also found plenty of adware and spyware which was a plus over Norton AV. HOWEVER...Bitdefender bogged down my system more than any other application I had ever run. even with minimum settings. I had to uninstall it completely to get my system back to an acceptable performance level. I went back to Norton.

Here's the thing...many people bring me their PC's to have them 'cleaned up' and Viruses always seem to be the least of their problems. Usually I only find 1 or 2 if any on a very 'dirty' system. Its the spyware, adware, and some trojans that they are loaded up with. this is why I don't worry anymore about having a good AV or having it run in the background at all times. completely unnecessary, I feel. having a good suite of anti-spyware/adware (or lets just sum it all up with the term Malware) is far more important.
I use a combination of Ad-Aware SE (free), SpyBot S&D (free), SpySweeper (little $), and HijackThis (free). If there are still problems, I hit it with Ewido Anti-Malware (free) which seems to be very powerful but takes quite a long time to scan a PC.

Had Norton NIS and got rid of it. It was a bloated, slow resource hog with "bugs" which would occasionally pop-up. Symantec support for your problems could be summed-up in two words: uninstall/reinstall.

With regard to Norton System Works, I agree that it has some useful utilities which I use frequently, like Win Doctor and Speed Disk. However, you cannot count on some of its programs, like Go Back. Nor would I install its Antivirus. In its "totality" it is a resource hog with some of its components untrustworthy (which you are better off not installing). It is OK if you strip it down to its useful components.

If you have broadband, I believe it is best to start your security by connecting through a router, which will give most users all the firewall protection they need. The cost, $35 - $50, is all that needs to be spent, as the balance of the security programs can be freeware. If you want to control outgoing program connections, a low overhead, slim software firewall like Kerio will do the trick.

For maleware/spyware/virus protection, detection and removal, programs like ZeroSpyware LE, Spyware Guard, Spybot Search and Destroy, (Microsoft's)Windows Defender, Spyware Blaster, CWShredder, HijackThis, F-Secure's Back Light, A-Squared, Ad-Aware SE Personal and AVG AntiVirus are all freeware programs which can do the job for you.

tedster said:

bashing Norton

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And I can provide you with a minimum of 100 cases that are the opposite. I don’t “bash” Norton for any reason.
I still stand by my recommendation, Kaspersky.