Norton 360 V2

Mike1983

Mike1983

Mike1983

Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2007
Posts
811
Hello

I'm just about to buy my new system from OcUK but was wondering on what Antivrus software to go for. My subscription to Norton 360 (V1) has just ended on my current system and I had no issues so I'm intending on just getting a renewal of 360 V2 for my new system.

I just thought I'd ask for peoples opinions first just in case I'm doing something that people would consider to be the wrong choice. My system will be Vista 64 based with 4Gb of RAM and a Q6600 so no worries about system resources.

So what is the difference between the OEM version of the product and the retail version of the product? Can I still install the OEM version on 3 computers or would it be restricted to 1? I need to be able to install it on 3 computers.

Any thoughts would be of great help.

Thanks
 
Norton is a swear word around here unless referring to Ghost!

If you want to pay for an anti-virus then it has to be NOD32 all the way, and I think you can get yearly 3 PC packs as well.

Free alternatives include Avast! Home Edition, AVG and Avira.
 
Really??

Wow, I've had no problems at all with 360. Maybe a little resource heavy for my tired old PC but getting a nice new upgrade now :-)

NOD32? Will do a search on that and see how it compares. Thanks
 
Lol, feel like an outcast already!

So what's the deal with Norton then? A particular product or the company as a whole?

Well just had a look at NOD32 but the Smart Security package seems more what I'm used to (NOD32 plus some other bolt ons). Multiple licences available at around the price I was willing to pay.

Well I'm going to investigate further looking at reviews and comparisons but in summary why do you consider NOD32 to be your No.1 choice?

Thanks
 
I havent had any issues with Norton and while its not light weight its not as bad as it was at its worst these days.

Its easy to use and easy to configure for less skilled users as well.

Norton bashing has a little bit of the Microsoft/EA hating to it, and its just the trendy thing to do.

The question about the OEM is a good one as well, can the OEM version be used on 3 PCs? I need to sort my folk's/brother's PCs out with a license for this year and if it can then it well be the way forward.

For them I use Internet security rather than 360 because they dont need the extras in 360.
 
Norton is generally regarded as being as invidious, bloated, and resource hungry as the malware you are trying to protect yourself against. That said, I have no experience of 360 - things may have improved some but I doubt it....

;)
 
House said:
I havent had any issues with Norton and while its not light weight its not as bad as it was at its worst these days.
Click to expand...

I have had issues with every version of Norton, all on different machines, clean installs the lot. So I moved all of my friends over to NOD32.

Norton bashing has a little bit of the Microsoft/EA hating to it, and its just the trendy thing to do.
Click to expand...

Not really! Norton is being bashed for their Security and Anti-Virus packages as they are invasive and use a lot of system resources, and isn't the most effective virus scanner.

Ratbag said:
Norton is generally regarded as being as invidious, bloated, and resource hungry as the malware you are trying to protect yourself against. That said, I have no experience of 360 - things may have improved some but I doubt it....

;)
Click to expand...

Exactly. My friend swore by Norton 360, I got him to get a free anti-virus (Avast! Home Edition in this instance), uninstall Norton and install Avast and he said the machine was so much faster. He is now running NOD32 as he is willing to pay.
 
I note that in the marketing blurb for 360 V2 and some of the reviews it seems to indicate that improvements have been made as far as system resource requirements but how true that is I've no idea.

I've been on various different review / comparison sites and each one seems to recommend a different brand! Would obviously prefer an un-biased opinion from people who've tried and tested the products on a day-to-day basis though hence I'm here.

So am I correct in assuming the general preference for NOD32 would be more efficient running?

Thanks
 
Thanks Swinnie, that's the kind of experience and opinion I'm after.

One problem I noted with 360 was that to do a virus scan you had to scan the whole drive, you couldn't narrow down the search to a particular folder / newly downloaded file (unless I missed that option!). Can you do that with NOD32??
 
Frankly, with the reasonably decent quality freeware AV's out there I'm surprised anybody pays anymore. Antivir would be my freeware choice - good detection rate and low system overhead. If I was going to pay I'd get NOD though - its fast and effective. I wouldn't touch a Norton product with a specially disinfected bargepole.

You should be able to right click and choose to scan any file with any antivirus app. Yes, you can with NOD!

;)
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty confident 360 didn't have the scan file option.

Well I think my mind is made up now after a little searching. Think I'll give NOD32 / Smart Security package a go.

I'm interested in the comment made regarding paying for antivirus software. Do free antivirus apps really provide the same kind of level of protection as that of those you pay a subscription for?
 
Check out the link in my last post - http://www.av-comparatives.org/ - Antivir is regarded as having one of the very best detection engines out there and there is a link on the Avtivir website to some scan speed test results too, where it comes out on top. At the end of the day though, the best antivirus is common sense - if you are a savvy user you shouldn't need to worry about malware.
 
Last edited:
Norton is no way near as bad as it used to be (yes I work in a shop with it, Kaspersky, McAfee and happily recommend Avast [Not AVG!] etc), so if you just want an easy AV, you could do worse than Norton these days, McAfee is worse!
2009 has apparently directly been developed towards improving the footprint, load times and memory/cpu usage, so 2009 could be a step in the right direction, however I'll wait to see it before I agree with them.

If you were paying these days I'd recommend Nod32 or Kaspersky, or Norton if you wanted a more domestic, easier variant, Avast or Avira if you wanted a free AV (although IMO the professional packages are better these days)
 
I have been using AVG for the last few years, but I will be moving over to Avast! home edition as I format each machine in the house (they are all due for one - except the new lappy of course).
 
If you are leaning to a paid for package then try the demo of NOD32, or the Smart Security package for firewall and antivirus. Just to see if you think it's intuitive enough for your purposes.

Not used NOD32 myself, but have read of people not liking it on here. For example system scan not being able to process certain files if in use.

People also recommend Kaspersky, which you can pickup as OEM pretty cheaply. And again it's available as stand alone anti-virus and security package including firewall.

I myself am happy using Avast. Recommend changing the skin for an easier to understand layout.
 
If you like the idea's behind Norton 360, Anti Malware, Backup and Restore, Secure file / password area, Anti Spam, forget it's performace tweaking, best done manually. I would recommend:


NOD32 Anti-Virus (Malware Protection - approx £30)

Acronis True Image (Backup and Restore - approx £30)

TrueCrypt (Data security - USE WITH CAUTION, ask for advise here if needs be - FREE)

Gmail - (Very good spam filtering, you will need to set up a free email account with them, this account is then subject to their exeptional spam filtering - FREE)
 
norton =
surreal-pistol-25.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom