CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[AFryia]

I hate that the AntiVirus companies have adopted yearly subscriptions at the consumer level. I'm used to it from a corporate level.

It is just a pain in the butt to renew at home every year and at the prices demanded. I can find a new retail package cheaper than the company is offering a subscription renewal. WTH gives?

Anyway, what is the difference between Symatec's "Norton 360 Version 2.0" and their "System Works" products?

[garyfritz]

IMHO: very little. If it says "Symantec" or "Norton" on the package, run away. Those tend to be bloated monsters that really clog up your system.

I think you're better off with a lightweight freebie like Antivir, Avast!, or AVG Free. (AVG used to be the best, but they've been slipping.)

[AFryia]

I'm open to Freeware or similar.

I tried one (can't remember the name) last year. It bothered me with pop ups, advertising, and I suspect some tracking back to the mother ship.

Probably chose the wrong one.

[garyfritz]

I haven't used Antivir or Avast! but they get good reviews. I've used AVG and the only popups it used was notifying you of downloading new virus signatures. Antivir, Avast!, and AVG are the top 3 recommended freeware AV tools in the reviews I've seen.

[JustGreg]

I've noticed over the last 3 years or so that McAfee has gotten bloated and is a resource hog. We use McAfee for Business at work and I'm finishing out a home subscription and won't be renewing for the same reasons. The problem with the Biz Version is that when an app wants access to the internet a permission box pops up but there aren't any options other than Yes or No. I would prefer it to have an option to 'Prompt each time'.
I'll have to give the freebies a try when our subscription expires.

[Brooklyn]

I haven't used a virus scan in years without trouble, I have found that if you are careful what attachment/programs you open, you should be fine. I do run adaware/spybot every few months.

[rpruen]

You could try Eset NOD32 It's subscription, but better cost than Norton etc.

It's a light and unbloated antivirus, and can be tuned off with 2 clicks of the mouse if you need it out of the way.

I have been trying it on a touch tablet I use for media in my van. With a 600Mhz celeron and 256MB ram, there isn't a lot of room for bloat (using Win XP tablet). I often have winamp and autoroute running, and it works ok, where AVG causes major pauses in playback.

There is a free trial for 30 days, so it's worth a go.

Richard

[garyfritz]

Greg, let me amend my previous statement: " If it says "Symantec" or "Norton" OR MCAFEE on the package ..."

Brooklyn, I agree. If you're careful, AV is optional. I have NEVER run AV on my personal computer. The only time I ever got infected was one time when our *camera* picked up a virus at an overseas internet cafe. I've never gotten anything over the web.

Richard, yes Eset NOD32 is supposed to be quite good.

[MikeEby]

[WanMan]

[Angus_rg]

I use to work for Symantec, and their product(s) sucks. I use freeAVG, Avast and WinClam/ClamAV on my machine and they work great. I'd flip a coin between which is best. AVG found stuff Symantec didn't. WinClam found stuff AVG missed. Avast was the last installation, and it found nothing, however I bet it has better odds than Norton.

[WanMan]

I still have not found a freeware product that I can install on a USB thumb-drive and not have to have it run in resident memory. Thus, I have something installed on one computer in my house and give it access to all computers on the network.