Norton is the best Antivirus-Do you think about this?

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by TAP, Jul 17, 2004.

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  1. VikingStorm

    VikingStorm Registered Member

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    It also depends on how they count viruses. KAV and McAfee have around 93-94k, but detect more (atleast in most unofficial tests) than RAV and F-Prot with databases over 100k.
     
  2. bigc73542

    bigc73542 Retired Moderator

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    Command has a pretty good chunk of def files
     

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  3. Barney

    Barney Registered Member

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    I absolutely do not like Norton at all. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say "My computer is locked up, help me fix it". I take a look at their system and Norton isn't working at all, it's completely disabled and inop. I can't uninstall it, I can't reinstall it, tere is no choice left but to reinstall windows. I will never, never, never put that program on my computer. There are only 4 antivirus I use. They are DRWEB (the best), KAV, Nod32 and F-prot.

    Barney
     
  4. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    And avast! and AntiVir. Never couse problems and are easy to remove. No complications,easy and efficient. Um and free :)
     
  5. mVPstar

    mVPstar Registered Member

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    Avast is really good. I have it running on a computer I just got for free from my school. Here are the specs: :D
    P3 500MHz
    10GB HD
    128MB RAM
    Windows 2000 Pro

    My computer is still running at nice speeds, despite the fact that it is at 500MHz. My memory hasn't dropped down once. Consider Avast!

    My other computer with Norton Internet Security 2003 runs slow at times. Surprisingly, here are the specs:
    P4 1.9GHz
    256MB RAM
    80GB HD
    Windows 2000 Pro

    My comp is rather slow logging in and opening files and NIS takes ages to load. Of course, there are other factors like my HD is bigger than the other comp, thus making it harder to find system files.
     
  6. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    Free is not always good...

    I had a customer in one of my shops the other day with 44 viruses who insisted her free "avast" virus protection was good, and that it had come recommended by a “Microsoft shop” from the country she used to live in. That she didn't want to purchase a actual virus program that worked. Two of my team tried to say she needed it, to no avail. I stepped in when she arrived to collect her now clean PC and said she was here because her virus protection did not work, and that she would be reinfected again, that she was spending money on removal and would continue to spend even more money on removal, instead of prevention. It is beyond me as to why people will spend good money on removal of viruses, but won't spend the same amount of money on protection...

    She finally saw the light and purchased a good anti-virus program.

    Cheers :D
     
  7. Pigman

    Pigman Registered Member

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    44 viruses?

    As far as I know, the only way to get that sort of massive infection is to be click-happy beyond belief...

    Then again, I ain't seen nothin'. ;)
     
  8. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    Sure, however 99% of the time we are talking about the average public walking through my shops, we set them up like a fortress and yet I have still had 2 customers return within months having been “click happy”, well someone within their family anyway. They haven't learnt the first time round, money will make them learn the second time around...

    Some people get hit and don't want it to happen again, they seek a solution, and yet others seem to like being hit, and are continually dazed as to how or why it happened... doh, bashing my head against a brick wall hurts, why won’t the bricks move, why does my head hurt…lets try it again, I’m not sure if it does hurt… owww, must try that again… owww…

    It's the old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink...

    Cheers :D
     
  9. Tinribs

    Tinribs Registered Member

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    I have used many versions of symantec's offerings, varying ove several operating systems.
    I do find the offerings alot less memory intensive than many complain of (this I am sure is due to excesive start components/programs)
    Virus bulettin does give a glowing record and this cannot be ignored, so if you have a fast pc,(or sanely configured) then you should be fine as I have always found.
    Nortons detection is fine, many will find a reason to knock it but amongst a fiercly fought competition then Norton stands its ground, and I am not a fan!
     
  10. f123

    f123 Guest

    Avast was not capable of intercepting 44 bugs? Hard to believe. You wouldn't happen to have a list of those gremlins? Perhaps the progam was not working. It happens to many novice PC users, including Norton and McAfee.

    Those in the business of selling AV software would want the consumers to believe that paid AVs are MUCH better than free AVs. IMO, free AVs are at least 85 to 90% effective. Even the BEST AVs are only 95% effective in real-world application. Just remember that YOU are the best AV program.

    F.
     
  11. Chuck57

    Chuck57 Registered Member

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    44 viruses with Avast is a surprise. I wonder if she ever updated it. Personally, I've never cared for Avast. Not because there's anything wrong with it. I think it's probably the best of the free av's. I just didn't like it.

    I used AVG for a couple of years and it saved me several times. I now run Kaspersky 4.5 and though I haven't been hit with anything, I feel I've got probably the best all around antivirus/trojan/worm software available in one package. I had Norton on this machine briefly. It came with the machine. When the 3 month trial was up, I removed it as fast as I could.

    Virus programs are, I guess, like word processors. You either like them or you don't. Just as I prefer WordPerfect over Word, I like Kaspersky over any other antivirus I've tried.
     
  12. f123

    f123 Guest

    You would think that after the first 3 bugs, the user would know that there is a problem with the PC and seek help. Most PCs would have a difficult time linking with the internet to pick-up the other 41 bugs. Hehehehhh.

    I'm cheap. If the free products work for me since 2000, then why mess around with a good thing? Some people must have the very best of XYZ. Others prefer bells and whistles. And there are those who cannot sleep well at night because they didn't spend $40 to $60 on an AV program.

    Like they said in Wall Street, that's what makes the market!

    F.
     
  13. mVPstar

    mVPstar Registered Member

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    44 viruses? How long ago was this?
     
  14. Arin

    Arin Registered Member

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    could be the same bug infecting 44 files or maybe 4 or 5 bugs infecting 44 files. not a big deal to find such cases if you're in this field. depends on what AV was used to detect those bugs. its possible that those bugs were rare and hence AVAST missed it. could be the other way around also.

    i'm not selling any products, still i think there is a major difference between freeware AVs and commercial AVs. its childish to compare them IMHO.
     
  15. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    Now we got to second conlussion. Read my signature. If you are a moron,even a 20 engined AV cannot help you.

    Btw Home Edition is free and uses the same defs as Pro Edition. There is slight update speed difference since PUSH update system(avast! Pro) is much faster then standard interval one...
     
  16. Pigman

    Pigman Registered Member

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    RejZor, these people aren't morons, they're humans with human frailties. Don't be so bloody harsh. :p

    About the business with the click-happy Avast-user, maybe she didn't realize that no updates = no security... (Then again, perhaps this was one of those situations where heuristics is useful. You listening, RejZor? ;) )
     
  17. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    Hm i DID mentioned AntiVir there too btw... :p And no,i you have at least 1g of salt in your head you cannot get 40 malware files. Unless you still use FastTrack network based P2P programs...
     
  18. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    You have some very good posts f123, are you going to join us as a member some day?

    Yes indeed it was 44. I have never used Avast myself, I did try AVG, and when that failed on a known .scr virus, it annoyed me to the extreme, so that I went hunting for independent testing sites, and found www.virusbtn.com Over the coming 5 months I had 5 or so friends that also became infected while using AVG. I now use Nod32 as do they, and have done for 2 years now.

    I agree with you, the very best AV is still the one that sits on your shoulders... Unfortunately not everyone takes the time to educate themselves to a point that it is of use… they just want a product to work and if it doesn’t through their own habits, tend to blame the product, unless someone can get to them and show them the error of their ways…

    Cheers :D
     
  19. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    3 days ago.

    Cheers :D
     
  20. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    I don't know what she was using, we just cleaned up the mess and set up a little fortress for her, gave her instruction on its use and then backed it up with an email with step by step instructions on what we had just shown her...

    There is still only so much we can do, ultimately it comes down to the individual user...

    Cheers :D
     
  21. WilliamP

    WilliamP Registered Member

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    The best AV is the one that works on your system and does it job. I had Norton for a couple of years. It was supposed to update itself. It didn't, so I kept it updated. Then it started disabling itself. It would have the little red X I tried everything Symantec spelled out. Nothing would keep it enabled. If you rebooted it was down,and you had to jump through hoops to get it going again. Now I have NOD. It updates allmost daily, sometimes 2 or 3 times. Getting back to which is the best, who knows?
     
  22. f123

    f123 Guest

    No need to tweak F123 guest. Running a PC with 44 bugs is like driving a car without tires, windshields, and steering wheels. At some point, you would think that the driver would pull over and fix the first flat tire. Hehehehhh.

    I sense that this person does not have a lot of important data in the hard drive. The best option would be to save a few important folders on CD-Rs, format the HD, and reload Windows. I'd also burn her an image file of the tweaked OS for future restoration.

    F.
     
  23. f123

    f123 Guest

    Yup, LiveUpdate is crap! The neighbor installed NAV2003 last year. Found out in May of 2004 that there was no new virus definition update since the program was first installed. Replaced NAV with Avast. So far so good. The Avast virus definition update subroutine is one of the best in the business. Average update size is under 50KB...ideal for those with 56K dial-up.

    F.
     
  24. Blackspear

    Blackspear Global Moderator

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    LMAO, that's what pulled up outside my shop... damn, you must have esp ;)

    For someone that is security conscious, you could almost say any anti-virus would do, so long as it was updated regularly with definitions for the latest variants and had a reasonable heuristic engine to catch the newbies.

    Still, some like to drive a Ford, others like to drive a BMW. Yet others like to try and take their Ford sedan off-road, and others know they like off-road so they purchase a 4x4 that is designed for the job. Unfortuanely some of the average consumers out there try to go flat out with a sedan while 4x4ing and find they crash and burn. You always have to think of safety, otherwise it will remind you and it won’t hold back in doing so... it's a bit like gravity, very unforgiving ;)

    Cheers :D
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2004
  25. Randy_Bell

    Randy_Bell Registered Member

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    Earlier versions of NAV are still available on the Net. I run these versions:

    NAV 2004 {part of NSW Pro 2004} on WinXP {2.4 GHz CPU, 1024 Meg RAM}
    NAV 2002 {along with NU 2000} on Win98SE {200 MHz CPU, 128 Meg RAM}
    NAV 2001 {along with NU 4.5} on Win95C {133 MHz CPU, 64 Meg RAM}

    So you see I run the latest NAV on my fastest box, and earlier versions on my older slow machines. NAV 2001 has a quite small footprint, only few Megs in RAM used by the Auto-Protect. NAV 2002 is little more, and I think the biggest jump in RAM usage came with NAV 2003 {which I don't run}, and carried over of course into NAV 2004.

    For free AVs, the lightest on resources whilst providing decent protection is Grisoft's AVG. AVAST has better unpackers and probably little better detection but uses more resources. There is a tradeoff between having a nice GUI and feature-rich product, and having light demand on resources. As has been commented here already, for newer machines this isn't so much of a critical decision criterion for software, as it is for older machines.

    Bottom line, find the AV that provides good protection and plays well with your system, it's installed hardware and software. Everyone has a different "mix" of those, so one size does not fit all, and YMMV with any given product. Hope that helps. Thanks for an interesting discussion which, with exception of a few mildly bashing comments, has remained refreshingly civil.

    Warmly, Ran
     
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