Posted on 12/28/2009 3:21:12 PM PST by sushiman
Recently purchased a new HP Touchsmart computer with Windows 7 which came with 2 months free Norton Anti-Virus protection . I understand that MS offers free protection via Security Essentials and was wondering how well it worked compared to other AV services which cost $ . I use my PC for basic stuff at home and pretty much visit the same forums/news sites / etc everyday , and never open an email from someone I do not know so am relatively low risk for a virus , etc...Will SE suffice ? Pros and cons ? Any info appreciated .
Since then I got a new HP with Windows 7 and wiped out the free Norton and loaded MSE and it has been trouble free since. No viruses, no hiccups. Faster scans and updates than Charter's suite. (Twice I got panicky and did a update and a scan, which runs so fast, even on the old Toshiba).
Pingaroo
You will need the appropriate OS to enable the NX protect feature, Windows 7 64 has it built in.
Real computers have enforced hardware separation between code and data pages for a very long time, bypassing the whole virus affair that windows users have had to wade through.
Most of the modern laptops have this 'NX bit' feature, the three Christmas laptops I bought had it, I believe all ATOM chips do, but you may want to check your CPU chip out at the Intel or AMD websites. Especially with laptops why waste cycles and battery on useless virus scanning tasks.
If I really want secure, like working the laptop over and insecure public hotspot, I switch to Ubuntu ... and use Ubuntu off of a bootable USB thumb drive exclusively for banking applications.
And above all else make rigid use of account management, never browse as admin ... Windows 7 64 is the best MS-OS so far.
You know what they say about free advice ...
Does anyone have any tips on how to get rid of Norton when it’s being stubborn? I keep getting a message that says that “another installer is running. Please wait for it to complete and try again.”
We used Norton for a while, and it caused lots of problems blocking and slowing.
Free AVG was basic, no options kind of thing. My son, who works with computer encryption security, had me switch to Free Version Comodo. It found things AVG had missed, is very user friendly, has good options, and lots of helps.
Send your post to the computer thread..those guys have given me good help!
Sorry about that last sentence, didn’t up computer thread when posting response.
Good advice on this thread. Love Malwarebyte!
I have been wondering about the MS stuff as well, I am glad to see them doing that.
I do use Windows Defender and like it, I also use avast free, zonealarm free, a free copy (for one year)of IOBit security 360 pro, malwarebytes antimalware free, and superantispyware free.
I also do an occasional free scan with ESET online antivirus scanner, I like to double check my primary (live time) security with competitors versions.
You can run the MS suite and still periodically do scans with other brands, at least until you feel that you have become totally confidant of the MS versions.
I would add NoScript to your Firefox extension. Granular control over Java and Javascript.
PC Mag review of MS Security Essentials
In conclusion - Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 is free, and it's better than no protection at all. But it's not a big improvement over the now-defunct OneCare as far as malware protection goes. Somehow I expected better. As it is, you'll get more protection from avast! antivirus 4.8 Home Edition or AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0—both of which are also free.
Where do I find this computer thread?
I used Windows Control Panel, Programs, uninstall on both notebooks. Didn’t have any problems, but then I never ‘activated’ Norton. I uninstalled it before I loaded and used something else.
PC Tools.. get rid of Norton and anything Windows related.
Shadow Ace maintains a "Tech Ping" list.
If you are looking for the past threads the best way would be to go to "shadowace's" posting history and look for this logo 
denoting all the tech pings.
I’ll try uninstalling the two programs that Norton says are interfering with it’s operation, then try to uninstall Norton and then put the others back on. Aaaggghhh!
I am guessing you will have to manually edit your registry. Delete all references to Norton.
Be warned: If you are not familiar with regedit you could screw up your computer.
Do a search. I am sure there are plenty of forums out there with people explaining how to get rid of that crap.
My bad! When I was typing my original response it looked like you had posted to gen/chat. Returning to the forum, you had,indeed, posted to computer/internet. sorry.
You’re getting good advice. You’ll avoid a lot of problems if you avoid porn and easy money sites. Good places to pick up viruses, and identity theft.
Malware will eliminates all kinds of junk that slow your computer.
More than one good anti-virus program is over-kill.
I have the new MS and avast. When I get into trouble, only the avast lets me know and takes care of it. I’m going to dump MS
I have an HP Touchsmart all in one PC with Windows 7 and 64 bit .
ping for later
I have a one month old HP Touchsmart 300 PC and Norton came pre-installed , free for two months . I want to uninstall it and go with MSE or AVG . Some folks are saying it’s a pain in the butt to remove Norton 100% . Should I have any trouble uninstalling using the control panel and remove programs ?
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