which security suites to avoid

I have bought and used Mcafee internet security suite for many years now. I have become disillusioned with their more draconian measures in getting you to renew your subscription early and constantly having to verify your subscription with McAfee.
I am considering switching to a different brand but am not sure who is any good,or if there are any I should specificly avoid ?
I prefer to stick with one suite to provide all my security, firewall, antivirus etc. any input on who is best and easiest to use would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=201190

 

I used to use Symantec products . . . but like you with Mcafee I got tired of them badgering me to pretty much buy a new program every year. Not to mention it seemed with each release the programs were more bloated and resource hogging.

I started using Avast antivirus in 2003, and have had a very good experience with it. I've used it with Win98, Win ME, Win2000, Win XP, Vista, and now Win7 64bit. It has perfomed flawlessly for me on all platforms . . . though I have not had Win7 long.

With 98 up to 2000 I prefered to use a software firewall, Zone Alarm, EVEN rather then the "one way" firewall provided with XP. Vista and Win7 have a better firewall then what came with XP.

For anti-malware I use several programs, including Spybot Search and destroy, and Spyware blaster.

 

I use Avast too, and am quite pleased with it, although its UI is not the most customizable. But whichever you use, be sure to follow the advice given above and use the McAfee Removal Tool when uninstalling your anti-virus app. I had a very, very bad experience last year with a brand new laptop, in which I uninstalled Norton (which came pre-installed on my system) without using the Norton Removal Tool, and the remnants of Norton files left on my computer after the, so called uninstall, caused conflicts and major problems when I downloaded the new anti-virus app (Avast). The problems that the conflict caused were so bad (and not repairable), that HP actually allowed me to exchange my laptop for a new one!!! So a word to the wise, use the Removal Tool. Norton or McAfee --- different apps but their removal causes similar conflicts with other anti-virus programs.

PS After using the Removal Tool on the new laptop, I was able to download and install Avast with no problem!

 

Yes, definitely use the removal tools, found at the bottom of the page of "Top freeware picks" here at MG.

I find either remnants of either Norton or Mcaffee on almost every machine I lay hands on and they are typically using up resources. If uncertain as to the history of the machine, run both, no harm can come, only good.