Re: Norton Internet Security
- From: Bruce Chambers <bchambers@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:35:31 -0700
Terry Bennett wrote:
Forgive me if this is outside the remit of this forum ...
My annual subscription to Norton is due for renewal shortly and is now £55 Sterling (up from £39.99 last year). This does seem a steep rise just for the very basic package and I'm wondering whether it is worth it, or whether there are any cheaper alternatives.
I appreciate that non-renewal would mean that I would not receive any of the updates and, presumably, my PC would then become more vulnerable to new threats. Realistically, how much of an issue is this for a home user that accesses the Internet c 2-3 hours per day?
Any advice would be appreciated.
You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.
I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a good choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining stand-alone products.
I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton Internet Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP, all without any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that. But it's been several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee products. Their quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were acquired by Network Associates.
However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton Internet Security came up for renewal at a cost substantially higher than the preceding year's subscription, just as yours has done, I decided to try less expensive solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of GriSoft's AVG (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved to be easily installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable improvement in my PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec product. Another free (for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what I've used without problems on both WinXP Pro and Vista Business.
For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:
Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
Additionally, Microsoft has stepped up to provide Microsoft Security Essentials, free of charge. I've been using it exclusively for several weeks now, without problems on both WinXP and Windows 7 installations.
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
It's been well reviewed by some:
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/first-look-microsoft-security-essentials-impresses.ars
.... and upset other major security companies:
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/antivirus-makers-applaud-mock-microsoft-security-essentials.ars
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
.
- References:
- Norton Internet Security
- From: Terry Bennett
- Norton Internet Security
- Prev by Date: Norton Internet Security
- Next by Date: Desktop issue
- Previous by thread: Norton Internet Security
- Next by thread: Re: Norton Internet Security
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
