Norton or MacAfee?

Little House on Unaka | August 10, 2004 | don-o

[don-o]

I have two new Dell boxes - one came with Noron and one with MacAfee,

90 day trial over.

Which one do I buy? I have run both in the past, but I need help here.

[don-o]

The Norton Internet Security that came packaged on my new machine blocks FR. So, when I reboot, have to disable that feature.

I do not need no stinkig security from an AV - I got me a firewall - 2 of them.

[Salo]

Actual IT guy here (network manager): use grisoft avg - it detects and kills viruses before Norton and McAfee have their definitions updated.

[Salo]

Actual IT guy here (network manager): use grisoft avg. It updates its definitions faster than either Norton or McAfee and is free.

[nevergore]

BTTT....

[meyer]

Norton.

McAfee calls home by itself - you can't turn it off.

[airedale]

Grisoft used to add a signature to your e-mail saying that the mail was safe because it was scanned with their software with a specific date. It included a link to their website. Not only do I object to becoming an advertising vehicle for some company with my e-mail but the idea that someone might really think that e-mail with that kind of signature file rather than checking for themselves is appalling. There are people out there who would unthinkingly open up something just because it had that at the end. I don't know if their software still does that.

I use McAfee and have been pretty happy with it over the years. I'm subscribed to both McAfee and Norton's virus notification services. I do find that the Norton virus library and removal instructions are clearer than McAfee's. Access to both of these libraries are free so it's not a major issue but it's worth remembering. I usually look at both sites when I'm helping someone out.

[meyer]

Avast!

Hey, I've got that on the laptop.

[steplock]

No catches - they do it as advertisement for their big corporate packages!

If you think you have a virus now, go to

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

and run the antivirus on Line - you will have to download a small virus definition file (short if on dsl) but not too large. Also, when you get to the actual scan/clean page, be sure to select all drives/folders and click on auto-clean. ( you'll see it when you get there )

Also another doesn't hurt - this is an emergency type program from McAfee called STINGER try this one only if the above can't clean your system:

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

Also free

[Log]

Norton.

[Arkinsaw]

Avast! is also free for home use

[Solamente]

Neither. Look up and download AVG Free.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

AntiVir Personal Edition is free, and it works great.

[gatorgriz]

We've got 250 + users where I work; and a lot of them suffer the ID10T problem... We've been using McAfee for several years now and it's done a good job... Still haven't eliminated all the ID10T problems yet though.

[PokeyJoe]

Dell boxes?

Why bother? You'll be calling India for support to replace the chinese made HDD within 90 days, you'll need new a new memory controller (ie: mobo) 20 days later because of the crappy quality control, and to top it off... you won't be able to understand the "tech" when you call to get your parts replace.

Lucky you have two boxes - because you'll be using one as a hanger queen in the near future.

For that ONE machine - use Norton.

For the other machine - sprinkle it with the hubba hubba holy coke, offer some sacrificial pizza, and light a candle behind the power LED. That's the only light it will see in the near future.

[Arkinsaw]

Yeah, I had Norton but it was so huge and awkward and seemed to slow down my machine a great deal. But I stuck with it. The final straw was when I downloaded an update and then it kept failing to recognize the little checkbox to make permissions permanent. Every time I tried to do anything it would ask for permission to access the internet.

So I trashed it an got Avast! and have been very happy with it for quite some time. It doesn't hog my machine and stays out of the way unless it actually detects something.

[steplock]

The signature file shows letter readers that you actually care about security and reminds them to get secure!

Most people I know appreciate it - if you don't - no sweat - just use HTML mail becasue it does NOT add the footer with that - only on txt format.

McAfee is NOT as good except with their stand alone cleaners/detectors NORTON is a nightmare for true vcomputer users since it takes away too many controls and if you try to remove the damned thing, it can take hours if you make one mistake in the fairly complex unintall procedure.

TO all of you out there that cannot defrag your hard drives - see if you have pieces opf NORTON on your system - it makes sure that only ITS OWN proprietary software works and disables many other ones.

One last item ...

No matter which one you decide to use, UPDATE daily preferably, but at the very least WEEKLY! Do not rely on autoupdate - I have seen computers where the owner swears it's updated only to show the last update was 1999! The computer has to be ON at the specific time the program wants to update, otherwise ....no update

[meyer]

Norton himself is a big supporter of leftists.

I didn't know that.

Well, I guess that when my subscription runs out, I'm switching the home computer to Avast! as well. Norton's other toys aren't as good on XP anyway. Not like all those cool utilities on DOS through Win-98.

[ScuzzyTerminator]

Which one do I buy?

I'm pretty sure that the EULAs only permit you to run on one machine per license. Of course, you will only do the right thing, so you will need to puchase two. Might as well get one of each.

[Lee N. Field]

McAfee home user versions have sucked since v.6.

McAfee corporate (totally different product) is fine.

Norton works well, most of the time, but if it breaks it can be a b**** to fix, plus they hit you up for update charges annually.

[Redleg Duke]

Agree...Norton.