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Best Anti Virus Software
WantsumBier
Member Posts: 1,079
My Norton account just expired and I have a couple of questions for the computer gurus here at MMORPG:
1) Is it worth trying to uninstall Norton? Pros & Cons
2) What is the likleyhood of having to do a full system wipe to get rid of it?
3) What should I get instead and what is the cost?
Thanks for any help
I shoot for the curve... anything above that is gravy.
Comments
I think uninstalling Norton is probably worth it just to avoid bad program interactions and possible backdoors. Probably won't need a total system wipe to get rid of it, try Advanced Unistaller Pro or Revo uninstaller. As far as alternates, fact is the mainstream products offer fewer protections and virus definitions than the higher end free anti-virus and anti-spyware packages out there, try avast home edition and avg in unison. They seem to be able to co-exist ok and create 2 dynamic anti-virus definition packages that seem to do the job. Also one big problem with most mainstream products is that if you can't hack them you can't be a hacker, so the FIRST thing any hacker worth his salt is gonna do is learn to get around the big boys. Also make sure your firewall is a good one.
"The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." -Edmund Burke
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?"
(Psalm 94:16)
AVG Free-Edition isn't bad.
Never had any problems myself.
QFT. AVG is great.
QFT. AVG is great.
Upgrading to the full version isn't too expensive either. I think it's like 20 bucks give or take. Check it out on download.comOther good pay ones would be CA EZAntivirus, it's a pretty good one. Low system resources and CA is up there as far as virus detection.
Norton is actually one of the first things virus's attack if they get on your PC. Very few times will you be able to detect a virus with norton if you've already gotten the virus on your PC. Besides, norton home takes a bunch of system resources, and don't even get me started on internet security. I would cut it out if I could.
Uninstallation is somewhat easy, and there are a number of ways to do it. If you go to add/remove programs you can take it out that way. Or go to symantec.com and run a search for the Norton Removal Tool, it's a web based program that will completely remove all traces of Norton Antivirus.
Good Luck!
Personaly I choose to use NOD32. My problems with Norton is simply it is a huge resource hog.
As far as uninstalling it.....well it is tough to get completely rid of it. Especially with prebuilt computers compaq, HP, Dell, etc. I build my own computers so the easiest way for me to get completely rid of it is a system wipe. Just my 2 cents
I like Nod32 mostly because of the small footprint compared to several other AV applications. But I'll give a link for you to do some research on your own.
Check the reviews for ..Anti-Virus...Anti-spyware...etc in the privacy/security list.
http://software.toptenreviews.com/
http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.eset.com/ this is Nod32 website.
Cedd
I use Avast (anti virus software) and Zone Alarm (firewall) and it works great. No problems at all for me.
Norton is too much hassle for what it's worth (not my words).
I use Avast, it updates automatically and is gratis (free to people who don't know the difference between free and gratis). I don't use a firewall, windows firewall just annoyed me and I'd use Zone Alarm but I can't be bothered to download it. I think I have an Nvidia firewall but I'm not sure. I get along fine without a firewall. I use AdAware and scan regularly, I used Spybot Search and Destroy on other computers but never got round to downloading it on this one, I would reccomend it though. I've been doing fine so far like that.
I saw this anti-virus w/ firewall called Bullguard (I think) ages ago that said it was designed for gaming use (doesn't do scans while you're playing and other stuff). Google it if you're interested, it isn't gratis though.
Qaze - Atheist, Nihilist, Sadist.
WinRAR.rar
Mudkip Video
Ive been using avast for over a year.
Keeps my system clean has daily [sometimes more] updates and is completly free.
"Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god."
-- Jean Rostand
Thank you all very much! Good info, and I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend
i knew I came to the right place....unless it is all a big C.O.N. spericy to unlock all the information saved in this laptop that was made by parts from Area 51.
Seriously THANKS!
I shoot for the curve... anything above that is gravy.
KASPERSKY! - its Russian.
The way I see it, most viruses and the like come from Asia (no insult intended), so why not have an anti virus from Asia...
Wow that looks really good, I feel compelled to download the trial sometime. Tell me are there any disadvantages?
Qaze - Atheist, Nihilist, Sadist.
WinRAR.rar
Mudkip Video
I actually had another virus program installed, and when I upgraded my computer I got a free copy of Kaspersky. So I tried it out, and it found tons of stuff that my old antivirus hadn't found!
Since I've installed it, I haven't had a single problem with anything. I've even gone to sites that try to download trojans to you, but Kaspersky caught them. Hell when THIS SITE (mmorpg.com) started sending us browser viruses (one of the ads I believe it was) it was Kaspersky that caught it first. That's a pretty glowing review in my book.
I have a friend who uses kaspersky as well and swears up and down by it too.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Wow that looks really good, I feel compelled to download the trial sometime. Tell me are there any disadvantages?
i use bitdefender as well and i've had no problems with it at all. some of the firewall settings and menus are a little vague, but i haven't found any limitations to it. there's a trial for it so you can see it it suits your needs
____________________________
TheCore
Wow that looks really good, I feel compelled to download the trial sometime. Tell me are there any disadvantages?
i use bitdefender as well and i've had no problems with it at all. some of the firewall settings and menus are a little vague, but i haven't found any limitations to it. there's a trial for it so you can see it it suits your needs
Actually there is one big problem with bitdefender. Their support. Of course you wouldn't have to worry much about it, but in a corporate setting not being able to contact support and get a response when you need it pushes a program pretty low on someones purchasing list.Altogether it's supposed to be highly rated, but they don't do anything the other companies don't do. Altogether you need to find the antivirus solution that works well with your PC and what you use it for. If you have something really high powered that can handle bells and whistles, go for the more mainstream protections because they have good support, are decently priced, and have an easy UI. But if you don't have alot of money and want a program that uses less system resources, go with a more straightforward company like AVG or CA, or even bitdefender if you feel compelled to do so.
Best anti-virus? Common sense
member of imminst.org