I would have posted in this thread but i figured i would get a more centralized respose here rather than the mixed ones of reviving an old article thread and getting responses to the article. Enough jibjab, onto the question. My mom's norton internet security subscription is running out, and she is trying to decide between a few things. The options are: #1 Get 2007 Internet security as there is a deal on their site right now. #2 Get Windows Live OneCare as my grandpa has it on his business laptop and says it works well for him, granted he has only had it installed for 3 weeks. #3 Try a new solution, I am open to suggestions, i use avast and have for a couple weeks now and i like it, some quirks to work out but i'll get there. Thats it, gimme answers please!!
I would stay away from norton. I absolutely hate it. For antivirus, get Avast, or NOD32 if you want to pay. Not too sure about firewalls, I just use the windows firewall myself, and have never had any problems.
For antivirus, use common sense, cheap and does it's job... Not opening "OMG_I_HAVE_HUGE_BOOBS_.JPG.exe" saves a lot of trouble... For Firewall, does your router have one? That's much better then any software one. Altough the Windows one isn't that bad IMO.
That's like saying you hate dogs or Chinese food - it's your problem, not Nortons. I've used NAV for ever and never had a problem, virus or resource-hogging, but as my subscription was up decided to give the other big names a trial. After a month each on Kaspersky and Nod32 with no sign of any slicker performance and occasional problems (Kaspersky will not co-exist with Diskeeper), I spotted Norton Systemworks 2006 cheap in Comet (£20, less than the NAV re-subscription) and snapped it up. I don't like the Norton firewall (based only on a few minutes tring to get a Google Earth update going on the son-in-law's system), I prefer the free ZoneAlarm over the XP one, but tales of NAV resource-hogging are vastly exaggerated by the fanboys.
That I don't agree with, standard Norton setup is a resource hog, but if you configure it right (like disableing auto scanning stuff [don't know the exact terms, but I hope you get what I mean] and you're fine)
Agree with Glider, Norton is a much bigger resource-hog than a lot of others. I use NOD32 which is awesome. You never know its there unless it detects something fishy which is how it should be IMO. I also installed it on several laptops for PC n00bs at work and none of them have had any issues or viruses so I guess that's something. Not free but deffo the best I have used. I would pay for it myself even if work didn't pay for my copy. I've used AVG and Avast before too which were ok but nothing special. Avast seemed a bit flaky for me tbh.
I use Avast for antivirus. Works great and is 100% free. A good software firewall is Zone Alarm. Also free.
