Not pleased with Trend Micro, suggestions please

I have been using Trend Micro security products for probably 6 years and have no issue with the product but I do have issue with something that I find rather bizarre.

It is now time for me to renew my licence (expires in 8 days) and when I click on renew from within The Main Console I am taken to a page that would allow me to purchase an upgrade. The main problem is that each time I go to that page I get a different price for the 1 year up grade. Prices offered (randomly) are as follows $79.95, $69.95, $63.95, $55.95. To purchase a new licence from the home page the price would be $79.95 except that there is a sale on now whereby you can get the 1 year licence for $55.95 (or a 2 year licence for $111).

So basically its a gamble as to how much an existing subscriber will pay to get an upgrade (which ironically is called a renewal on the Trend Micro Main Console). They could pay full price, or get the sale price, or something in between.

I am not at all pleased with this and plan to contact TM sales in the morning but I don't think I want to do business with a company that will treat its existing clients in such a manner.

To that end I am asking for recommendations for software that will perform the same functions as the Trend Micro I am currently using. I currently have Trend Micro Internet Security Pro and the renewal program is called Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security. I have no problem paying for the program, I should mention that I do not feel comfortable with free offerings in this area.

 

just use Avast or MSE with sandboxie paid.

both work well.

 

You will probably get so many different answers to this question! I say that if you are happy with what you have been using, then give them a chance to correct the pricing issue by contacting them. It takes sometime to get a setup that works for you, so if you already have that going for you then try to keep it! If that does not work then research and experiment away!

 

They are many suites better than Trend Micro's suites.You can try Avira Premium security suite:http://www.avira.com/en/for-home-avira-premium-security-suite and it is even far lighter than Trend Micro or you can try ESET Smart Security(fairly light on resources)http://www.eset.com/home/products/smart-security/

 

I have been trying to do that but have been transfered to (at this point) 5 different people and still no explanation. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

Thank you, I will take a look at both of the programs you have suggested.

 

Since you have been using a suite for quite a while and it probably protected you well (I didn't see you mentioning you have been infected), I think you should stick to a suite because that is an easy to use and integrated solution.

Nowadays all vendors do offer 30 day trials for their suites. By testing a couple of internet security suites you can perfectly compare them to see how much a product slows down your pc and how easy it is to use the product. In general all the major vendors provide good protection (except McAfee).

My three favourite suites, which I recommend you to test out are the following:

1. ESET Smart Security (I use this one): a program which is fast and with a small footprint on your pc. It is really easy to use and unobtrusive, a real "set-and-forget" product. ESET has always been and still is a product which offers great protection. Also the support is good, there is an official ESET support forum here on Wilders, the knowledgebase is great or you can contact ESET support through the website.

2. Norton Internet Security: quite light, great protection and in the UK/US quite cheap (in my country it is way overpriced though). Also it is "set-and-forget", although the interface is quite messy in certain places. In the past Norton used to be bad and therefore still many people are very negative about Norton, however since 2009 Norton provides great consumer products.

3. Kaspersky Internet Security: top-notch technologies, easy to use. However version 2011 is really heavy on my system, also the initial signature download takes very long. Version 2012 is currently in public testing which hopefully improves those performance issues.

 

Thank you for your input, much appreciated. I was surprised to see you recommend I test Norton Internet Security since its a McAfee product and you said above McAfee is no good. I had bad experiences with McAfee products in the past and swore I would never use any of their products again. I will test EST though, thanks for mentioning it, I like the fact that it has a support forum here, its a bit of a bonus.

 

Last time I have heard Intel bought McAfee. Have I missed something?

 

When was Norton ever a Mcafee product? Norton is owned by Symantec.

 

bgoodman4,

If you want to stay with Trend, bypass them directly and purchase it from another trusted online store (e.g., Purplus at http://store.purplus.net/ is offering Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2011 3-User for $12.95 currently). If you want to replace Trend, I'd go with NIS which you can also pick up fairly cheap online.

 

They're not created by Symantec, just bought. Anyways, Norton and McAfee aren't related at all.

 

Thanks for confirming this for me. I've been told otherwise, mainly by my dad.

 

You're welcome. Here's more evidence if you or your dad needs more convincing.

 

Sorry, you are correct,,,,I am losing my memory as I age I guess. My problem was with Norton AntiVirus and I swore off of all Symantec products.

 

Hummmm, was looking around the site you provided a link to and I found the attached. A visit to Trend Micros website shows no such program available. So whats going on. Can this store be selling imitation programs?

PS, I am currently using Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2010

 

bgoodman4, you missed it here:http://us.trendmicro.com/us/products/personal/internet-security/

 

If you would like I can ask Rik Ferguson (Senior Security Advisor at Trend Micro and Director of something-or-other) about the pricing discrepancy?

 

Get rid of Trend Micro it had 290 in FP rate in the latest AV-C test

BTW, you will love ESET I promise

 

Actually I did not miss it, I just looked further and found Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2011 for sale (the one I attached an image of above) and since 2010 was (as I understand) the last version of this program offered by TM I am wondering whats going on with an advertised 2011 version. The fact of this program being offered for sale makes me suspicious of the integrity of the retailer and all of the products it is offering for sale.

Comments and clarification of whats what would be most appreciated.

 

I would appreciate that a great deal. I am still waiting for clarification from TM support.

 

I am def leaning towards getting rid of TM. I was just informed by TM support that their suite no longer has a firewall. They say MSs firewall is better and interferes with other programs less. Nice of them to let me know about this. Not sure if upgrading to the new TM product would turn MS firewall on or not since all MS security apps were turned off when TM was installed. If I had to do this manually and simply renewed my subscription I would (of course) not have known about the issue and left myself open for attack.

I am waiting for clarification on this from TM support.

Is MS Firewall a robust defence or would some other option be preferable.

All in all TM has pretty well lost my business already. Not very smart marketing IMO.

I will def give ESET a close look. ------ Anyone else using ESET,,,thoughts and comments welcome and appreciated.

 

I have been taking a look at top 10 type reviews as well as user ratings from CNET and the top contenders are as follows (no particular order)

WebRoot
Bit Defender
ESET
Avast

None of the above are clear winners (unfortunately).

BitDefender looks mighty good until you see the drag it puts on the system. 40 seconds added to the boot time,,,,,,wow.

Mind you all of the above beat Trend Micro hands down so any of them will be an improvement over what I would have had if I had simply renewed. For that I am grateful to TM for the really dumb marketing. All I need to do now is make a decision as to which program to pick.

I must say I am rather distressed to see Norton consistently ranked at or near the top of many of the reviews (mind you it was not all that well ranked by CNET users which I put a lot of stock in). I had such a bad experience with Norton I swore I would never again use their products. Is the software as good as the rankings would indicate? Has Symantec been reborn and now treats its customers with respect unlike in days past?

I never had an issue with the software itself but support was horrible and quite the rip-off. On 2 occasions I had problems after a program update (not sure at this point if it was virus def updates or some other) and had to contact tech support. They would not talk to me unless I paid the $35(?) per incident support fee. In both cases the problem was a faulty update. Not that the update was not properly installed, the update itself was faulty and a new, corrected update was, I was told, to be released shortly. I did not feel that I should have to pay for support to tell me this and in neither case was my support free refunded even though I suggested, politely, the first incident, less politely the 2nd, that I would expect a refund considering it was Norton who caused the problem. Add to this the extended time I spent in both cases waiting to actually speak to a tech and I was out of there vowing never to return. BTW, I am not considering Norton, just wondering and venting a bit.

 

I will repeat what I said in my first post [post 8]: "In the past Norton used to be bad and therefore still many people are very negative about Norton, however since 2009 Norton provides great consumer products."