Re: Norton Internet Security 2009 - Update Causes Unbootable Syste

Jeff wrote:
Hi,

So.... I am ready to look at options other than Norton. It will take me a long time to get past the feeling that Symantec is solely responsible for all of the problems of the last three weeks. I will take responsibility for not being better at troubleshooting the problems; but, that doesn't make up for their liablities.

That being said...

Has anyone else used MS Security Essentials? Is anyone using it on a regular basis?


I've testing using it for a few days, now, with no problems. 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



Are there other program suites that I should be looking at? I ran Kaspersky on one system a year or so ago; but, I remember there being a lot of options involved before I could use it without constant tweaking.


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), 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/



--

Bruce Chambers

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~ Denis Diderot
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Symantec vs McAfee
    ... My old computer used Symantec Norton. ... Eventually I will have to make a decision about which antivirus program to use in my new computer. ... However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton Internet Security 2002 came up for renewal, I decided to try less expensive solutions. ... 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. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers)
  • Symantec Product Security: Symantec Device Driver Local Elevation of Privilege
    ... Symantec SYMTDI.SYS Device Driver Local Denial of Service ... Norton AntiVirus 2005, 2006 ... Norton Internet Security 2007and later ... Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.2.x ...
    (Bugtraq)
  • Re: Norton Internet Security
    ... 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. ... 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've been using it exclusively for several weeks now, without problems on both WinXP and Windows 7 installations. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)
  • Re: Comparison of antiVirus/antiSpyware/Firewall Software
    ... 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. ... However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton Internet Security 2002 came up for renewal, I decided to try less expensive solutions. ... Vista's built-in firewall is perfectly adequate for most people. ... Sphinx's Vista Firewall Control http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/) is a piece of freeware that makes the Vista Firewall much more easily manageable to the average user. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.general)
  • Re: NIS 2003 crash
    ... 2003 Pavel P. reported the following regarding Norton ... Symantec Norton Internet Security ICMP Packet ... A Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP system with Symantec Norton ...
    (Bugtraq)
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