Alternatives to Norton?

Big Dee

Big Dee

Big Dee

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Hi,


I have Norton AV Suite atm and it's time for renewal in about 2 weeks but I don't want to renew as it's Spyware has not worked effectively.


What choices do I have? :

- buy a new AV package that does everything just like Norton - AV, Spyware, Firewall, etc. and will it be worth the money?
what options are there?

- can I get free AV, Spyware, etc from the net (I assume different brands)?
where from and what is recommended. This would need to be running all the time the PC is on rather than launch each applications manually.
Please let me know my options.

- how well will the various 'free' applns work compared to one (bought) AV Suite package?

- how easy is it to uninstall Norton. Procedure?


Thank you.
 
Hi Guys,

Sorry for any confusion. Yes, I meant anti-Spyware.

I wanted to know alternatives that would do the all same functions as Norton but better and cheaper.

Thanks
 
First off, download and run Ad-Aware and Spybot: Search & Destroy - both free.

After you've cleaned up any spyware, purchase and install Eset Smart Security - it's a firewall, antivirus in one.
 
Free Anti-Spyware:

-Ad-Aware 2007 Free Edition - No real time scanning
-Spybot - Search & Destroy (No real time scanning, but can immunize against tracking cookies, pop ups etc etc)
-Spywareblaster -- purely for blocking tracking cookies. It works by adding all known tracking cookies into Firefox's/IE's blocked cookies database. Just update it fortnight
-AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition - No realtime protection but I've heard it's very good

Free Anti-Virus:

-AVG Anti-Virus
-Avast Anti-Virus
-Bitdefender Free Edition

I've never used a free anti-virus but from reading the forums Avast seems to be superior. Unless your browsing loads of dogey sites and dogey P2P I doubt you'll see a difference :).

Free Firewall:
-Comodo Firewall Pro
-XP's/Vista's built-in firewall's

If you're behind a router then XP's/Vista's built-in firewalls are perfectly fine! Vista's firewall CAN do inbound and outbound filtering but outbound filtering is hard to configure, but once it's all set-up it's great.

If you're willing to spend some cash I would HIGHLY recommend Kaspersky Anti-Virus. I use Kaspersky anti-virus and haven't got a bad word to say about it. The interface is great, the virus definitions update every hour, uses v.little resources (Mine's currently using 7mb of ram) and the detection rate is V.High. There's also a full 30-Day free trial here.

If not Eset NOD32 antivirus or the full security set are highly recommended on these forums and also offer 30 day free trials. The anti-virus on it's own is available here and the full security set here.

In the future try searching the forums, it's a very common question asked here. Here are some other threads that you may find useful:

-Which is the best anti-virus? (Poll)
-Antivirus and firewall...
-Best anti-virus proggie
-Recommendation for Anti-Virus software
-Best Anti-Virus?
-Spec me: Anti-Virus / Firewall / Security Suite
-Anti-virus, Firewall & Anti-Spy for Vista 64-bit???
-Free alternatives to AVG-Anti virus?
 
Last edited:
Admiral Huddy said:
Good post Meatball.. :)

I use Spybot, Avast and Windows firewall. I run Cclean once a week too just to clear anything that maybe lurking around.
Click to expand...

I use Avast,Spybot,Vista x64 firewall,hardware firewall in my router,SUPERAntiSpyware free edition,Spywareblaster,Windows Defender real time scan set to run once a week,CCleaner and RegCleaner everyweek.

Never had any spyware problems :).
 
just buy Eset Smart Security

doesn't hog your system like norton

can get a trial from the 'eset' website
 
I've been looking into AV's for the last few weeks and here is what I have found.

NOD32 was my favourite AV, but IMO it is now overpriced and there are cheaper alternatives.
You can now get Kaspersky AntiVirus 7 for £8.40 from their website (they have a 50% discount and if you use the password PCW07 you will get an extra 30% off, that offer lasts only until the 27th of this month).
Avira AntiVir premium is also very good, and currently £12.95.

So basically;
NOD32 = £29.98
Avira PE Premium = £12.95
Kaspersky AV 7 = £8.40

NOD32 is good, but IMO it is not worth double/triple the price of other AV's, that have actually beaten it's detection rates in recent tests...

IMO, it isn't worth buying suite's, you would be better off buying a good AV but use free Anti-spyware(s) and a free firewall.

Good free firewalls are:
Comodo Presonal Pro VERSION 3, which was released yesterday...
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Or Online Armour free is also very good and very light on resources.

As for Anti-Spyware, A-Squared free, SUPERAntiSpyware or ewido are great for on-demand scans, and I use Windows Defender for realtime protection.
 
Zildjian said:
I've been looking into AV's for the last few weeks and here is what I have found.

NOD32 was my favourite AV, but IMO it is now overpriced and there are cheaper alternatives.
You can now get Kaspersky AntiVirus 7 for £8.40 from their website (they have a 50% discount and if you use the password PCW07 you will get an extra 30% off, that offer lasts only until the 27th of this month).
Avira AntiVir premium is also very good, and currently £12.95.

So basically;
NOD32 = £29.98
Avira PE Premium = £12.95
Kaspersky AV 7 = £8.40

NOD32 is good, but IMO it is not worth double/triple the price of other AV's, that have actually beaten it's detection rates in recent tests...

IMO, it isn't worth buying suite's, you would be better off buying a good AV but use free Anti-spyware(s) and a free firewall.

Good free firewalls are:
Comodo Presonal Pro VERSION 3, which was released yesterday...
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Or Online Armour free is also very good and very light on resources.

As for Anti-Spyware, A-Squared free, SUPERAntiSpyware or ewido are great for on-demand scans, and I use Windows Defender for realtime protection.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Don't think NOD's worth the premium, especially when you can get Kaspersky so cheap at the moment.
 
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