Norton Anti-virus let me down

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

I've been using Norton Anti-virus for a couple of years and 3 weeks ago my computer got a massive infection with trojans/spyware/hijackers which Norton Anti-virus was unable to quarantine or delete.

I went to the local computer store to get it fixed and they told me that Norton "was rubbish". They didn't fix the problems so I went to another store and they told me that "Norton has been unable to maintain its high standards". Everyone recommended discontinuing with Norton (even though I had only just paid my subscription 3 months ago) and using something else.

I recently joined a computer forum and I have not seen anyone recommend Norton Anti-virus as a good product. Am I the only one who didn't know?

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Norton is indeed rubish

Norton products - all of them not just the Anti-Virus stuff - were once the very best out there. But those days, and Peter Norton's leadership of the company, were over well over a decade ago. The current management has run the products into the ground but lives off the reputation of the founder.

The same is true for McAfee. Once an antivirus leader they have been sold off many times and the products have suffered.

If I see a Norton or McAffee "protected" PC I can be 90% sure it's infected despite having up to date signatures and a current license.

There are many, much more effective anti virus programs out there - some free many paid. Some I like are Trend Micro's PC-Cillin Internet Security Suite, Computer Associates EZ-Armor, Bitdefender and AVG. Norton and McAfee are to be avoided if you are serious about protecting your computer(s).

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

John, how about Panda Software which our two PC computers use but not the Mac. I use Trend Micro too with a free scan every once and a while. We switched to Panda when we had a virus once, while Norton was supposedly protecting our computer. I tried all the free scans that were out there and it was Panda that found the problem so we bought the program and have used it ever since. The downloaded program is temperamental, I have to admit, as I have to uninstall the program every once and a while and re-install it again. For some reason, the program gets corrupted after a while.

You can do a free scan with Trend Micro "HouseCall" and with Panda "ActiveScan" too but I don't know if they still correct the problem for free or not. They may tell you to buy the problem now once they find the virus.

I know that many people swear with the free "AVG" but very little is really offered for free when you read this web page so we will keep using what we are using now and re-evaluate again when the subscription runs out. What I like about Panda is that one program takes care of the whole lot and I don't need three different programs on our computers.

I also remember that someone here bought the Panda Software program and hated it so got rid of it immediately so I am not endorsing it in any way. We just use it and like it most of the time but not always! They are all about the same price, I believe, so take your pick.

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

[What I like about Panda is that one program takes care of the whole lot and I don't need three different programs on our computers

I was using the Norton Anti-virus in much the same way (ie only Norton) but the computer forum people told me -

"having several anti-spyware applications is a good idea, since every company has a slightly different set of criteria for what its application looks for"

I now have a number of programs and have found on a couple of occasions that one program will pick up problems that another wont! I run a full scan with the AVG once a week and run a "smart scan" at the end of every day (using a different program each day).

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

AntiVir


Norton has stunk for years. Run that and see what Norton has missed. It is free.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

John, how about Panda Software which our two PC computers use but not the Mac. I use Trend Micro too with a free scan every once and a while. We switched to Panda when we had a virus once, while Norton was supposedly protecting our computer. I tried all the free scans that were out there and it was Panda that found the problem so we bought the program and have used it ever since. The downloaded program is temperamental, I have to admit, as I have to uninstall the program every once and a while and re-install it again. For some reason, the program gets corrupted after a while.

You can do a free scan with Trend Micro "HouseCall" and with Panda "ActiveScan" too but I don't know if they still correct the problem for free or not. They may tell you to buy the problem now once they find the virus.

I know that many people swear with the free "AVG" but very little is really offered for free when you read this web page so we will keep using what we are using now and re-evaluate again when the subscription runs out. What I like about Panda is that one program takes care of the whole lot and I don't need three different programs on our computers.

I also remember that someone here bought the Panda Software program and hated it so got rid of it immediately so I am not endorsing it in any way. We just use it and like it most of the time but not always! They are all about the same price, I believe, so take your pick.

Emmy - I've used the online Panda version but never the downloaded/paid one. I do know that ever since I used the online I've been hit with so many emails from Panda that its borderline spam. I know that the ones I mentioned have good support and perform well so I'm not adding Panda to my list.

John

[rklein01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rklein01]

I bought a 2-year on-line subscription NOD32 antivirus from Eset. It updates itself almost every day, doesn't impair performance, and seems to do the job.