Need opinions on new AV for in-laws.

Can someone confirm that if I buy Norton 2003 from ebay, I can then install the trial version of Norton Internet Security/Antivirus 2009 and have it activate ad a full version? I couldn't find this on Symantec's site. This will be much cheaper!

 

IIRC you need need 2006 or newer, older keys won't work...

 

2003 licence? And you really advice something like that, knowing that such an old licence doesn't work? It's cheap, that's for sure, but forget about it to work! We live in 2008!

 

Well, 2006 key then.... Same price!

Wanna come back with another abusive PM?

 

What kind of mail does she use? Mail-scanners are only useful for POP/IMAP, so if she uses webmail (Gmail, hotmail, yahoo...) they are of absolutely no use.

And the realtime-scanner will detect anyway when you try to open malicious attachements.

If you want even more security - swap Outlook (Express) with Thunderbird. In Thunderbird there is an antivirus-option that completely removes the need for a dedicated mail-scanner, because it relies on the regular realtime-scanner to check every incoming mail, even before they're opened

 

It still costs money. So when you're on a tight budget you should seriously consider the three A's:

AVG, Avast and Avira

Very few AVs have problems with excessive popups, unless they include classic HIPS functionality.

And FPs are not a big problem with Avira, especially if you run default settings. On the other hand, if you crank up heuristics to max, and enable additional minor threat categories, you may suffer from some FPs. But the solution is simple: just stick with the default setup

I use Avira myself and I've only had 1 FP the last year. And here we're talking about a computer with massive amounts of games and other software - not the typical "OAP-PC". And I sent the sample to Avira support, got a response a couple of hours later telling me they checked the file and it was clean. Next day the signatures was updated and the FP removed

The OP explicitly said Norton was out of the question.

Now who's trying to convert?

 

Your only Reading what you want to, and taking it in context that suits you.

They want norton off as it's a hog and brings their system down to a crawl, obviously not using the new version, as it's lighter than a feather.

 

I've tried Norton AV 2009, and I know it's light But I'm still not sure it's lighter than other light AVs.

And it still costs money, and to get an acceptable price you need to buy from ebay. What about delivery? Can you buy electronically or do you need a physical package? If the latter, it can add significantly to the cost depending on where you live, because of shipping and possibly VAT if the package is picked up in customs.

And what happens when the license expires? It probably popups a warning that the license must be renewed. Then it's all over again, either accept the high cost that Norton charges or go through the eBay-thing again.

Now, how can you justify this compared to using a free AV? From the OT's description these in-laws sound very careful and are probably the type of computer users who hardly need AV at all. So why go through all the trouble? Just because you don't like Avira? Then use Avast or AVG...

 

Well spoken, that's all I can add.

 

At least you can add something

Yep Nordmann, a constructive reply,

you are right that it will still cost some money, so for arguments sake, I'd recommend them Avast, as its the best free product that offers complete protection, but I still believe they should try the new norton and then decide, older licences can be picked up for next to nothing, it's certainly what I would do with those options.

 

I recommend Twister AV. It include an antivirus module, a behavior blocker module (FDDS), & registry protection module. Auto-updates 3 to 4 times daily. Very light on system resources. Very stable. Costs $29.99 for a lifetime license.

 

How light on resources?

 

Are you using Twister yourself?

 

Avast free has web and e-mail scanners, automatic updates, antispyware, antirootkit, and runs very light. That, in my opinion, should be your choice.

What about a firewall ?
Is their computer connected via a router with a hardware F/W ?

If you need a software firewall, I might go with Zone Alarm free. On my installs, it doesn't slow me down at all and is very non-intrusive.

Combining Avast free and ZA free equals great protection, little if any loss of speed, and no money spent. What more could you want ?

 

That's basically it, in a nutshell.We could try the new Norton, but just have a bad taste in my mouth from that program right now, and, even so, they charge more for the updates than you can buy the program for on Ebay each year, so like you said, getting a free or more reasonable AV is the way to go, especially for these folks. We'll go with the Avira premium, I'm pretty sure. You people keep fighting nice now

 

Just windows firewall....no router. I'll look at Avast also, but probably will go with Avira.

 

To make a long story short.......Great Choice!

 

I use Avira free on my pc's with some combination of a spyware scanner (which never finds anything!). But I am considering buying Norton 2009 for my parents and brother's laptop, because I think it will be easier to use for them, less popups and more user friendly when they do need to look at the popups. I'm sure both have equally great detection.

On ebay, 2006 Internet security is ~$15 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200282009383).

NIS 2009 is $30 for 3 pc's. Can the 2006 key can be used to activate 3 pc's?

 

yes even older versions do so if you have the old license they will convert it for the new one. good luck

 

AT PRESENT...
One visible process running, per Task Manager. As shown by screenie, in nearly 4 hours of computer usage, TAV used just 27+ seconds of cpu time. However, my assessment of "light" was mostly based on the feel of my computer when using TAV versus other AVs I have used. My computer just feels snappier/peppier.

Yes. I now use Twister in real-time, & Avira Premium on-demand.

 

Just to make sure I'm clear on this......Avira premium will have no popups of any kind,correct? Also, just so I know, the free version will not scan email, so if they were to happen to get a virus via email, it would catch after the fact is all, instead of as the email was coming in......am I correct? Most likely I will go with the premium one, but was thinking of trying the free one first. My wife said she hate to see Murphy's law come into play, and we take NAV off the computer and put something free that has a little less protection, and they get something. These are older folks, and probably wouldn't get anything, but I know what she's saying.......our luck. They always call us when something weird happens,and we are 45 minutes away, so I want to be able to set it up so it basically if something tries to get through, the software will catch it, notify them with a popup, or whatever, and deal with it without the need for their assistance, for the most part.

 

I think that you would be fine with the free version, as the on-access part will catch infected emails as well. The only thing I have experienced myself with this free Avira, was the update part and I found this very irritating. Therefore I bought the premium and have everything set to 'high' and the only pop-ups are from the updater! But some say, that updating the free version has been improved and therefore it should also be a good option. I would suggest: install the free version and you can always upgrade to the premium when you think it's needed. For me Avira is a very hassle free AV program and I don't notice it's presence, except for the update screen!
So, your in-laws shouldn't have any problem with either version! Good luck.

 

Wow. That maybe even lighter than PC Tools AV.

 

And what exactly is the update screen......just a balloon telling you you've updated, or like windows updates, telling you there are new updates? The premium version updates all on it's own, in the background, correct?

 

The update screen is a small window in the top right corner of your monitor, that shows that the updates are being checked with a count down of 10 seconds, so it closes automatically after 10 seconds. That's all!
I still wonder why you haven't tried it yourself instead of asking all these questions, which makes it hard to go into every detail, without you knowing how it looks and feels