Looking for Some Help in Picking a Suite...

However, a suite is less probably not likely to have conflicts among its components, there is a consistent interface and it will probably cost less than the sum of its components. But, there is no real answer.

 

Norton Internet Security 2008 and the NOD32 really do the better than you say.you can see from the av-comparatives repost on august just before.these two av softwares get the high score and the best compatability.
highly recommend you to use this.even about the firewall,suggestion for bitdefender..

 

I have noticed some slow down in F Secure over the last week. You mentioned being able to buy it in a store, therefore I would say that Norton is your best bet. Sorry for any confusion I caused.

 

Agree, that is the only way. I have chosen a suite instead of single programs because on my machines 'seem' to run better and have less issues with a suite.

I have chosen my suite because it works well on my machines, has good reviews here at Wilders and other fora, and is a good price. I have tried other leading suites and have discounted some because they do not run well for me or they cost too much.

I will probably change again over time but my choice will be based on the above.

 

Not my experience with ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Conflicts up the ying yang, and if I remember right, it wasn't cheap. I use NOD32 $40 2 years, SuperAntispyware $20,AVG antispyware $14.95 renewal, and Comodo FW free.

 

ZoneAlarm Security Suite 7
49,9$ 3 User license

Running fine, most conflicts are with other security tools (due to KAV)
Other conflicts will be sorted out with the new release.

But user already rejected KAV and ZASS use KAV, so again this is off topic.

Cheers,
Fax

 

I think what is making this hard for all of us trying to help is, based on the specific criteria, there may not be an answer. Thus the strays away suggestions. What this individual needs to do is, a total review of this thread and suggestions, and trial a few as he obviously did from his first post. The thread really cant be of anymore help to be perfectly honest.

 

I have tried many AV's as of late for mainly Vista bug free operation, and have found that no matter how much I disliked Norton's early versions they latest version 2008 of NIS or NAV has little or no compatibility problems or slow downs, I can give some examples of only 3 machines:
NIS on WinXP - AMD AthlonXP 1.1ghz 512mb pc100 belikin(RaLink) Wireless card - Negligible system impact on par with AVG Free

NAV on Vista/XP - AMD AthlonXP 2000+ 1 GB DDR333, ASUS mobo with nForce2 chipset, Nvidia 5200fx - no notable impact, light as a feather

NAV on Compaq presario v2010 US - PentiumM 1.7 1GB DDR333 Intel IGP - Nice feel to it played well with the notebooks drivers.

Also I believe NIS/NAV cover 3 pc's ?? I don't know as I got my licenses for free from the beta... HTH

 

Oh no, I knew this was the case (I've read / posted on these boards long enough to know that), however since there are so many options these days, I hoped that by presenting everything I'm looking for, I could get the list down to a reasonable 5-6

I have to admit, I'm finding this thread very informative, and its giving me a few good ideas to try out. I put so many criterion up as I'm really trying to narrow things down; Different criteria may (will?) come up with a completely different set of software I'm sure. Thanks and kudos to everyone here for really keeping that in mind and giving some really great suggestions.

Also, I think mentioning "brick and mortar" was a mistake - By store, I really should have included mainstream web retailers such as Amazon.com and NewEgg; What I'm trying to avoid with this requirement are any fly-by-night software providers that operate only out of their website.

Breaking things up into separate pieces (rather than a suite, as suggested) allows me to consider NOD32 again, which I really enjoy and run on my personal gaming rig. On that machine (Vista also), I only use the Windows Firewall (Outbound protection on and with rules set up for apps) and Defender to keep resource usage low. For the family machines that started the discussion, I probably want something a bit more robust on the Anti-spyware/rootkit side of things as well as with the firewall. The trouble is finding something that doesn't cause performance issues while meeting the other criteria above.

Heck, if the firewall and AS apps fit the bill and work really well, I might even put them on my own PC -- NOD32 notwithstanding, I feel kinda naked using just the Windows Firewall and Defender

 

A very good and honest response to your orginal question. Ultimately now you have to decide. You are also correct with your statement about being naked with just using windows firewall and defender. I think they call that,"Buck naked."

 

Well... It *is* the Vista firewall (with Outbound set to default to block) along with occasional checks with HijackThis and F-Secure Blacklight, so its not buck naked. More of a thin-Speedo naked...

It does put me in a spot though - The firewalls and AS apps I know of either consume lots of resources, slow down the machine, or don't fit the criteria above (or a combination of the three!).

 

One last thought. Since you threw in the idea of Vistas firewall Defender, and a AV. Try Nortons AV buy itself. It is a very good and light AV with great detections based on IBKs latest tests.

 

I'd say Norton AV is one to consider, definitely. I'd actually prefer a better firewall and AS, but I honestly don't know of any that fit the criteria (particularly when talking about Vista).

 

Based on your signature line, no one should therefore ask for advice on these forums.

 

think what you want but I think LowWaterMark would differ with you. If you want to, ask him.

 

Well, based on the feedback here I decided to give NIS 2008 a go. I'm in awe - My machine actually feels light with it on. I'll give it a month to see if it stays like that (360 seemed light at first too, then got sluggish with use) but so far its very promising.

Again, thank you all for the feedback, as usual this community was extremely helpful!

 

No no get NOD32. It's light on it's feet and affective. In my experience, Norton will infiltrate your computer to the extent you'll need help to get rid of it.

 

I started trial of NIS2008 on my Dell XPS400 last couple days to be sure would run good on both systems. So far doing very good. And as far as infiltrating the system and being hard to remove, if it works good then no problem. If a person first makes a ghost or clone image before installing then can go back and try something else to see which is best for him/her. I'm used to Avast Home and on my systems the NIS2008 seems to run very light so happy camper here.

 

Isnt this thread turning into exactly what they are trying to stop?
Will we ever learn.