Antivirus

We have Norton antivirus that comes free with our ISP(Comcast)

But I am thinking of getting BitDefender since it looks like better software.
Would BitDefender 2012 be better than Norton 360?

 

Can I get an experts opinion on this?

 

Greetings, Atlantic44...

No opinion on the BitDefender, and I'm certainly not an expert on the subject - just wanted to point out that there are many good free alternatives available from the MajorGeeks software page. I'm an avast! user myself...

By the way: how do you know xiaokaige isn't an expert?

 

Atlantic_

Sorry, but I'm not going to directly answer your question because there's no 'best' when it comes to AVs. But I've used many, many AVs over many years and have some general suggestions.

Years ago Norton hogged resources and caused lots of problems, but I understand that it's much better these days. I have no experience with the recent version. And I've never used BitDefender so I can't give my two cents on on it, either.

There are probably a lot more opinions on AVs than there are AVs! It seems that the choice of an AV has a lot to do with someone's personality and what they want out of an AV, how technically inclined they are, their system and how they like it to run, etc. Some people want an AV to do everything in the background and not to bother them. Others want to know exactly what an AV is doing at all times. It just depends a lot on your 'druthers'.

Having said that, I obviously have not included how well an AV does its job, which is something else again. Weighing that with the above user preferences is what it boils down to for most folks.

For how well it does its job I refer you to http://www.av-comparatives.org/ but of course AVs change all the time and what was the latest and greatest 6 months or so ago might be near the bottom of a list now.

Don't forget that some free AVs are just as good if not better than paid versions, so that's another factor.

If you want a good 'background' AV, Microsoft Security Essentials seems to be pretty good. I use Avast and so far mostly like it. Others prefer others. I'm not sure that anyone can truthfully say that Norton is better than BitDefender or the reverse. It just depends on what feels 'right' for you balanced with how well it does its job.

 

I use AVG 2012 and malwarebytes Pro version both works good.

 

Agreeing with kipfeet. Personally I had Avast free for years and recently switched to Microsoft Security Essentials. Smooth and running great in the background. Prior to these I used several other AV's.

If you decide to switch to another AV be sure to use Norton's uninstall tool which you can find here at MG.

 

I can't answer your question. I'm a happy avast! Free user. But, if I were you, I think I'd keep the Norton 360 unless you have specific points of dissatisfaction with it. With Norton 360, you have more than antivirus protection, you have a more comprehensive protection suite. To see a comparison of Norton products, visit http://www.antivirusoffers.com/anti..._13687013499&gclid=CMurxLOCvK4CFULrKgodxnRzGw

By the way, is Comcast is providing it to you without extra charge? I assume so, and that's part of the reason I think I would keep it.

 

Norton is free with Comcast. But I also often get free AV software at newegg.com with MIR.

How much do you think the website TopTenReview.com is to be trusted? BitDefender has always been at the top there. Norton was at the bottom of the list before but did not even make the top10 list this time.

I already own BitDefender and am using it. I am just trying to get him to use my extra license since I'm sure it is better........

 

I don't trust Free AVs for some reason. They tend to either have a lot of false positives, telling you that this file or that file has a virus when they are clean. Plus, they aren't as good in cleaning an infected file, and are no where near as good as the paid AVs which have their definitions update more frequently and do a much better job in detecting new viruses.

I have been a very old user of Eset's Smart Security which is the lightest security suite you can install on a laptop or computer, you don't even feel you have an antivirus running. It is very good in detecting viruses and fast in scanning as well. BUT, I was reading online, and I read many negative reviews and posts about Eset Security's Firewall, in that, it allows a lot of connections by default. So unless you set it to interactive mode, which is like manual gear, where you would have to accept or decline every connection (very annoying), the Firewall isn't that good.

so I decided to ditch Eset Smart Security and was on a hunt for a new Security Suite...I tried Norton AntiVirus, although much better than the old 2008 versions, it was still heavy on my laptop. I could feel my laptop perform slower, not to mention that I don't really trust Norton now.

So I did some more reading online, and it was a tough choice between BitDefender and Kaspersky Internet Security.

I ended up purchasing a 2 year license for Kaspersky Internet Security for the following reasons:

1) It always scored great in many reviews

2) It has a very high detection rate, around 98.7% for detecting all viruses out there

3) Its virus definitions get updated several times during the day

4) It comes from the Russians, who are the best people in hacking and obviously counter hacking/detecting threats

5) It costs half the price of BitDefender for a 2 year license for 3 users (which is what I purchased)


After I installed Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 (which is much improved from the 201 version in terms of HIPS, detections, updated user interface which is very easy to use, and it is much lighter on the system, very similar to NOD32/Eset Smart Security.

The initial update takes about 5 minutes to complete, pretty long, but after that, it is very snappy, and you rarely notice its presense. Even though I have only used it for a month now, I can tell you it prevented me from visiting many sites which I used to visit because they contained malicious code which ESS never informed me about.

And Eset's customer service is crap! I bought my ESS license from their online site which directed me to the Asia server for the middle east. When I had a problem with them, I contacted their support. And they told me to contact me local dealer as they cannot assist me since I didn't purchase it from the USA website! That's what I call horrible customer service and I will never deal with that company anymore!

Hope my experience helps you with your decision.

PS: My ISP offers me a free for life license for Norton Internet Security 2010, LOL, I wonder why Norton is always bundled with ISPs as a freebie.....

 

Wow, we almost have the same story. Except that money was no object for me since I get them free.

I have been using ESET for the past few years but just like Norton, but then review websites stopped liking it and I noticed several problem with it.(like the "Auto Game Mode" it had)

I think I have him convinced now.

Thanks again for your help Major Geeks!!

 

Rubbish. I have yet to have a false positive with avast! Free Antivirus. And, it usually updates virus definitions several times each day. The difference between the free version and paid version is not the quality of virus detection, it's the difference in features offered. The paid version has more features which go beyond virus detection but the virus detection component is the same or very nearly the same.

 

Did you even see how well the free ones do against the paid ones in antivirus comparison tests? They don't catch as many as the paid ones.

Avast or Avira Antivir IMO are the best FREE antivirus programs if you HAD to go free. But MSE and AVG are utter crap.

 

Saavy computer users can get by with free. My parents cannot. I use MSE but am not connected for more than 2-3 hours in a day nor inclined to click on mystery links in my emails or trust that Google search results are safe.

I do not recommend MSE or the usual freebies for brand new computer users unless they are running a virtually disposable system. I recommend people to start with such a system, do no online banking or anything of that sort, and then find something more worthwhile after they've messed it up real good.

I then help them set up a good backup system.

 

My mother, in her 80's, can. I have her on avast! Free Antivirus.

The Real Time Shields in avast! Free Antivirus have those issues covered. The shields are: File System, Mail, Web, Network, and Scirpt.

 

(Insert *cough, cough* smilie). Ahum, I'm almost 70 and purchased my 1st computer in 2003 and was a complete noob about PC's and its software. Didn't even know what a (computer) virus meant. :-D I was mostly self taught and learned by reading a lot online.

Norton was included for the first 3 months. After that I purchased a subscription for 1 year. When it expired I since then installed only free AV's and never got bitten yet. *knock wood*. I must have been very lucky so far eh? Strange that I don't recall getting any false positives for all AV's that I tried. Currently using MSSE after years of free Avast!

BTW: worked in companies with a keyboard and a screen with menus, no PC's.

 

I started tinkering with my first computer in 1978 but couldn't afford one of my own until about 1990 when I picked up an XT clone with a 20MB hard drive after being forced out of college.

I personally haven't had any problems with AVG, Avast, or MSE. One trojan was intercepted in a cache and that's been it for the last several years. I've yet to have any false alarms but I run my systems pretty clean with few add-ons, widgets, and other unnecessary utilities.

The few noob friends I help out and my parents have merely required a bit more hand holding, i.e. tech support. When they buy a new PC, I generally tell them to leave the pre-installed A/V installed until it expires and then possibly subscribe for a second year before switching to a free A/V. The free A/V's seem to be getting better and better with their updates, default configurations, and general user friendliness over the last few years though so I may have to reconsider my attitude about that second year.

 

I have one question about my AV.

BitDefender has this feature where you can remotely control other computers that have BitDefender setup.

But I am having trouble setting this up on my XP computer from my computer with Win7. I think that is the problem, so would there be any solutions to this?