# is Norton even worth it anymore?



## asuss06 (Aug 31, 2007)

im getting the feeling in here, and based upon some recent problems im having on my computer, that Norton antivirus is just alot of bells & whistles but not really worth it anymore. i had AVG antivirus recommended to me in here - should i just go with somethnig like that and get rid of norton?


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## karbo (Sep 3, 2003)

In my opinion, it has been surpassed a long time ago. And who needs those huge resource hogs anyway? Check out NOD32 and Kaspersky instead.


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## hotskates (Jan 11, 2002)

No.....it protects your computer.......but at what price? I'm letting mine expire in 6 months and switching over to AVG Grisoft which is much less of a resource hog.


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## smeegle (Jan 18, 2004)

I got it free with my ISP but I don't bother to use it.


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## sup2a (Oct 9, 2007)

i think its hopeless...always had problems with it, some people swear by it...but then ask me if i can come and remove it a few weeks later...


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

norton was great back in the 2003 but now its just a resource hog. if u want a free prog go avast or if u dont mind paying go kaspersky or nod32. (kaspersky has better detection rates but nod32 uses less resources.)


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## Bugged_see (Apr 9, 2008)

I used Norton for 2-3 years and never really had a problem. Then Norton started using more and more of the system memory and I decided to try others as a "test"

I found AVG to be "ok" but I did not feel confident in it's ability (personally, based on look and feel) I am now (and have been for 3 years) using NOD32 and I have had 0 infections in 3 years and 1 warning (when accessing a friend's external HD)

Personally I think Norton is a waste of resource.


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## PK-her0 (Sep 17, 2007)

I ran AVG for 2 years...my system never crashed or gave me problems...but i installed 
kaspersky and i couldnt believe how much it found...

and nortons...i dont know what to say... i never liked it...i just dont understand why 
everybody buys it...

which brings me to question...is it really bad to have unwanted software...if its not 
affecting your pc's performance...

i read about zombie pc's ...would av software stop this...or is that more to do with
network security (firewalls etc)


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## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

I switched from Norton to AVG 2 years ago & found much improved performance. Recently however, I upgraded to AVG 8 & noticed my performance has slowed. I'll probably give them some time to optimize 8 before I switch, but it'd be a shame if AVG goes the way of Norton.

PK-Her0, if you're talking about viruses that Norton missed then you had a problem. Norton's problems are being a resource hog, not lack of protection. OTOH there's lots of misconception about the protection various programs provide. Can't comment on Kaspersky, Avast, or NOD32 (yet-I'll probably give them a look in the future) but neither NAV or AVG-AV protects against spyware, and it's questionable how much protection they provide against trojans. Neither spyware nor trojans fall into the traditional category of 'virus'. They're both definitely malware, but not virus.

AVG, by the way, has a specific Anti-Malware version that should protect against those. Not sure about Norton but I'd think their Internet Security version would-but am not surprised if their AV version does not. And that, I think, pretty much answers your question about zombie PC's too. Any product advertised as 'Internet Security' should include a firewall. Whether it's a good firewall or not is another question. A product advertised as 'anti-virus' generally would not include a firewall.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

the antimalware of avg used to be "ewido anti-malware" but its called AVG antispyware now. i have it and so far it doesnt really block malware but only detects and remove them.


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## ACA529 (Nov 16, 2005)

No, Norton is not worth it. If you want to PAY for your protection, get Kaspersky. If you don't, get AVG.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

ACA529 said:


> No, Norton is not worth it. If you want to PAY for your protection, get Kaspersky. If you don't, get AVG.


nope if u want to go free choose avira personal edition free edition or avast home edition


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## ACA529 (Nov 16, 2005)

xrztrx said:


> nope if u want to go free choose avira personal edition free edition or avast home edition


Nope. AVG is the most popular and the best free virus protection software out there.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

ACA529 said:


> Nope. AVG is the most popular and the best free virus protection software out there.


famous?yes best free av? no avg free just doesnt even come close to being compared with avast free and avira nor bitdefender free edition


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## sup2a (Oct 9, 2007)

AVG is certainly not up to the standards Avast is, avast has a much higher detection rate and a much easier interface, it doesn't nag you to update if you choose it not to and has a bit of realtime protection


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## Gizzy (Aug 2, 2005)

Especially with the newest version of avast (v4.8) now it's even better with the new built-in rootkit scanner and the built-in certified spyware scanner,


as of for this topic (about norton) I haven't used recent versions that have supposedly become less bloated but even so I would rather use a different av since norton is usually targeted by malware and from bad experiences of bloatware and errors.


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## mreddys10 (Nov 6, 2007)

i've been using AVG free with Spyware Terminator for 2 yrs now (since my norton subscription expired). I was really happy with it cause of its low resource usage. But my uni has provided me with Trend Micro and in the very first scan of just the registry, it found 100 spyware and 2 virus. Lost complete faith in AVG free, not gonna recommend it to anyone.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

mreddys10 said:


> i've been using AVG free with Spyware Terminator for 2 yrs now (since my norton subscription expired). I was really happy with it cause of its low resource usage. But my uni has provided me with Trend Micro and in the very first scan of just the registry, it found 100 spyware and 2 virus. Lost complete faith in AVG free, not gonna recommend it to anyone.


if u had to pay for software then trend micro is not a good choice


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## joeitalo (Apr 7, 2008)

I just installed Nod 32 and I am totally amased @ how much useless crap I fell for with the other big named antivirus software.They had convinced me (being PC stupid) I was dead unless I used it. NOD32 works and you hardly know its there.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

joeitalo said:


> I just installed Nod 32 and I am totally amased on how much useless crap I fell for with the other big name antivirus software I have been convinced I was dead unless I used it. NOD32 works and you hardly know its there


yeh 2.7 was the best but the newer versions starts to take in more system resources


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## mreddys10 (Nov 6, 2007)

xrztrx said:


> if u had to pay for software then trend micro is not a good choice


I dint pay for it....but isnt it better than my previous setup of AVG and spyware terminator with windows firewall? but yea, trend micro is too slow and too irritating (slowed my internet and my laptop in general). i dont really know abt the detection rates, but atleast it immediately found threats that AVG dint for who knows how long.


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

well in that case u should disable the firewall in your suite cause most firewalls just cut your internet speed. As for the lag you should just use trend micro to do on demand scans


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## illitiratetekkie (Apr 12, 2008)

*I was wondering if anyone knew about the mcafee mcpadmin dll error and the kenotify error, and could they please help me? Please? It has happened to me twice. I thought I had resolved it a week ago, but when I just did ran a QuickCLEAN, it did it again......I need desperate help...please someone help me???.....​*


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## xrztrx (Apr 10, 2008)

illitiratetekkie said:


> *I was wondering if anyone knew about the mcafee mcpadmin dll error and the kenotify error, and could they please help me? Please? It has happened to me twice. I thought I had resolved it a week ago, but when I just did ran a QuickCLEAN, it did it again......I need desperate help...please someone help me???.....*


should probably make a new topic about it and probably provide a bit more precise info about the errors.


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## joeitalo (Apr 7, 2008)

Thanks all I've read and taken all re into consideration I have since bought Kasperski and all is smooth so far Joeitalo


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## joeitalo (Apr 7, 2008)

Hey Mcafee my non professional opinion is to first reinstall it and be sure to update it,try that and if the problem persists I would see if there support forum has any related problems or call there tech support (if it exists) and see if there s a fix


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