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RESPONSES
Response 1
From: HatcherBob
Date Sent: 25 Sep 2005
Working on the assumption you are referring to just PC... the Internet Security package checks allegedly everything. So think of the TSA involved in all PC operations specifically I/O. I think Symantec (Norton) is a good package. I would recommend using the basic antivirus package and Microsoft AntiSpyware and operate as a user. You will speed up tremendously and not allow "the bad guys" access to the kernal level.
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Response 2
From: mousejn
Date Sent: 25 Sep 2005
If your main concern is preventing a virus, Norton is a good product, but if you also want performance from your PC it is a resource hog. Of the top 3 AV vendors, Norton increases the time it takes to open a file by 591%, McAfee by 198%, Trend Micro by 133%. The other problem I have with Norton is that it is the slowest at releasing definitions when new attacks happen.
I like Trend Micro much better than either Norton or McAfee. Norton is slow and McAfee tries to keep selling you a new product. Another problem I've had with both Norton and McAfee is that they require you to give them a valid e-mail address and a password to register their products. After the consumer has had the product a year and want to upgrade, they don't remember what was entered.
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Response 3
From: steves54
Date Sent: 25 Sep 2005
Try Computer Associates or Kaspersky -- two great programs -- you won't be sorry.
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Response 4
From: VenPhil
Date Sent: 25 Sep 2005
I've been using VCom Fix-It Utilities Version 6 for half a year now, after using Norton for many years, and find it useful and unobtrusive. It has automatic daily updates.
Aside from being a CPU hog, Norton works fine... until the OS begins to go south. Then it seems to mess things up even more. The main problem is that when this happens, you can't uninstall it -- and this often means you can't make repairs to the system.
So, I recommend Fix-It, which also has a registry cleaner and a few other nice things.
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Response 5
From: vijaysarathi
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
May I suggest AVG... It is a free antivirus program for individual users -- it is excellent.
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Response 6
From: HumbleNetAdmin
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
Is this for a single PC? I assume that it is. Norton and Mcafee are perfectly fine. Of course there are a few free virus scanners out there as well, such as AVG.
As far as what was slowing down your PC with Norton -- I can't say for sure, but one thing that will hurt the performance of your PC with Norton is the scan options for the Auto Protect, specifically having it set to scan files when accessed. This means that any file accessed will be scanned. This is a performance killer. You should try and set your auto protect options to scan files when they are newly created or modified. This protection level is just as good and will not kill your performance. Also make sure that you schedule daily scans of HDD and keep your Virus Defs up to date. I have been using Norton Antivirus Corp Edition for about 7 years while employed with two different organizations and have been satisfied with its performance.
Now granted, I have never used anything other than Norton in a corporate environment, but I have not found the need to try anything else.
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Response 7
From: robcord
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
After 7 years of admin on Exchange I have found Trend Micro to be the best soulution. It is fastest to respond to new virus releases and it has the necessary features to keep Exchange up to date. Even for home use it does a great job. The price is generally the lowest.
Use the total solution for desktops and servers, too.
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Response 8
From: poppaman2
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
I have used Symantec's Norton for years, and while still a fan, I have started to become a bit wary of their products for a variety of reasons, including the "resource hog" issue.
Currently using McAfee in a corporate environment, I am not much of a fan of theirs either...
Having done some research and testing in this field, I would recommend: Using an antivirus -- any antivirus... but this much you already know.
I would, as an alternative to Symantec or McAfee, suggest:
- Panda AV. A fully functional but non updateable trial version is available. It can be a MAJOR resource hog on older or slower systems, but the quality is first rate. Arguably, one of the top two or three AV products in the world. Panda is Europe's best seller (the company is located in Spain).
- NOD32. Some associates of mine use it and have had nothing but praise for how it functions, plus it's low profile. Oh, and did I mention that it's free.
- Sophos. A major player in non-US markets, and a good choice. Suffers from some of the same types of issues that Norton/Symantec and McAfee do, especially when attempting to utilize older versions on current platforms (can we say WinXP SP2???)
- Kaspersky. A good choice as well. I am a bit put off by some of Kaspersky's statements and approaches to security in general, but the product is solid.
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Response 9
From: JonP
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
I have just replaced Norton AV with Computer Associate's eTrust.
Norton is fine if you never need to upgrade it, but load a new version and it will screw up the registry eventually. It never (for me) uninstalls properly -- it leaves rubbish all over the place.
I started looking for an alternative when it roasted my third PC. It obviously happens so often that "how to" manually uninstall the product is on Norton's FAQs!
When I asked around, I found that McAfee has the same problems. CA was recommended, so I tried it. Clean install, non-intrusive, and the virus definitions are automatically updated -- and the updates come in daily, not once a week like Norton.
I've been very happy with it so far.
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Response 10
From: astronomer
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
Since our Microsoft instructor told me about it two years ago, I have used avast on my personal workstation. It's free for workstations and seems to work at least as well as Norton or McAfee.
The main slowdown I experience is launching applications with everything waiting for the antivirus check. Unfortunately, I think this is part of the current price for running Windows on a networked system today.
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Response 11
From: joshua2
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
Assuming you're talking about one PC, my recommendation is Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus + Antispyware. It is available for $15.
I like Symantec, but it may be true about the resources. I recommend avoiding any product from Computer Associates -- they have horrible customer service.
Freeware: I think you get what you pay for, so I recommend purchasing a product rather than using freeware. The freeware option is for those not willing to pay, and it's certainly tons better than no protection. However, if your PC is valuable, then paying a couple of bucks per month for a higher grade AV is worth it. AVG free is nice, no doubt, but if you like it, I would shell out a few bucks for the higher version.
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Response 12
From: hedgehog
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
For a very comprehensive and independent test of the most common antivirus products out there, check: AV-comparatives.org
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Response 13
From: jaysea
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
I stay away from all things Norton. CA's eTrust won me over. If you do the research and compare the products it will win you over as well.
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Response 14
From: stevesz
Date Sent: 26 Sep 2005
Most of my AV experience is in the corporate environment with centrally controlled AV products. However, I have done some testing and I am somewhat familar with a few personal AV packages. First, I'd advise anyone to stay away from Symantec's Norton Internet Security Suite. I do part time work for a small ISP and run into a problem with this package at least once a week, if not more. I believe that the McAfee package is okay, mainly because it uses the same engine and definition files as the corporate package.
Beyond that, the two packages I recommend to users are the Panda Software package. You can use either the Platinum or Titanium. The other package is Trend Micro.
While I was writing this, I had a call, and it was a problem with Norton -- this time the firewall decided that the machine should not allow any Internet connection either in or out. Sometimes restarting the machine resolves this, other times it doesn't and we need to shut the firewall down to restore the connection. In any case, I recommend they get a copy of Zone Alarm to replace the Norton firewall. The other problem is that Norton messes with your e-mail settings, and I often need to bypass Norton to restore the e-mail connectivity. I just don't understand why the reviewers like it so much.
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Response 15
From: andreibostan
Date Sent: 27 Sep 2005
McAfee Virus Scan is my personal favorite. You should also try BitDefender.
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Response 16
From: WiFiMnCFL
Date Sent: 27 Sep 2005
I concur with Mousein ( Response 2) on the issues with delays of release from Norton. I personally use one of two products, none of which is on your list. For workstations and Windows servers I use a product from Grisoft called AVG; it auto updates every night and performs daily scans, hassle free. For both Windows and Linux servers I use and recommend Kaspersky for high availability applications -- a little more pricey but worth the money in special situations.
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Response 17
From: amigus
Date Sent: 27 Sep 2005
I like Trend Micro. I use the OfficeScan suite and have found it to be very reliable and thorough while being pretty non-invasive and non-resource intensive. In fact, it found a number of threats other scanners I tested failed to find at all!
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Response 18
From: Wazzup
Date Sent: 28 Sep 2005
Thanks to all that responded. You gave me a lot of different options and I`m doing research as I write this!
Does anyone know or ever heard about the AV called F-Secure? Any recommendations or previous experiences with it?
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