Solved Norton/Avast merger

jeffbeish · Oct 16, 2022

After canceling auto-renewal due to a 2.6-times increase in subscription rate I am considering dropping Norton after using it for decades. Their marketing tactics stink. They also stopped my Norton Utilities Premium as well, but it in nice to have. With the 2.6-times increase in renewal cost for 360+LifeLock I think I'll wait until a few days before my subscription runs out then install a new subscription from Amazon or other source at a lower cost. It seems to me the wrong tactic for Norton to charge long-time users 2 to 3 times the rate that a new subscriber is charged. Something not right about such distorted marketing. Maybe Norton went "woke"? Are others thinking along the same lines?

BrianInEngland · Oct 16, 2022

I've not used either for years, and never will again. I have a Norton AV 2003 CD somewhere!

TraderGary · Oct 16, 2022

BrianInEngland said:
I've not used either for years, and never will again. I have a Norton AV 2003 CD somewhere!

It would make a good drink coaster!

Try3 · Oct 16, 2022

jeffbeish said:
After canceling auto-renewal due to a 2.6-times increase in subscription rate I am considering dropping Norton after using it for decades. Their marketing tactics stink. They also stopped my Norton Utilities Premium as well, but it in nice to have. With the 2.6-times increase in renewal cost for 360+LifeLock I think I'll wait until a few days before my subscription runs out then install a new subscription from Amazon or other source at a lower cost. It seems to me the wrong tactic for Norton to charge long-time users 2 to 3 times the rate that a new subscriber is charged. Something not right about such distorted marketing. Maybe Norton went "woke"? Are others thinking along the same lines?

Many others are just thinking, use Defender.
Download and run the Norton Remove and Reinstall tool for Windows
[It has a remove-only option]

Denis

HuntyFtw · Oct 16, 2022

Can anyone suggest a good Firewall app with easy UI like that present in Avast? I think I'll switch to Windows Defender again.

Try3 · Oct 16, 2022

HuntyFtw said:
Can anyone suggest a good Firewall app with easy UI

Defender.

Denis

jeffbeish · Oct 19, 2022

My brother thinks Windows defender is a full proof anti-virus program. Hum. Not sure about that. Anyone else think that?

Bree · Oct 19, 2022

jeffbeish said:
My brother thinks Windows defender is a full proof anti-virus program. Hum. Not sure about that. Anyone else think that?

I have been using just Defender since the launch of Windows 10 in August 2015. So far nothing bad has got through.....

WAI · Oct 19, 2022

Bree said:
I have been using just Defender since the launch of Windows 10 in August 2015. So far nothing bad has got through.....

2¢ that

clam1952 · Oct 19, 2022

Bree said:
I have been using just Defender since the launch of Windows 10 in August 2015. So far nothing bad has got through.....

Same here, nothing gets by it in my Experience.

Josey Wales · Oct 19, 2022

When a bad company merges with another bad company , that is something I will stay away from. Norton at one time was great, but that time has passed. Since Avast bought CCleaner, I wonder if that will be affected??

WAI · Oct 19, 2022

Josey Wales said:
Since Avast bought CCleaner, I wonder if that will be affected??

What? AVAST bought them? Well I only use the portable version so

Right....

Berton · Oct 19, 2022

I left Norton years ago when Symantec got involved and started doing away with some ancillary products that Norton had that were good.

jeffbeish · Oct 20, 2022

Thanks for the replies, gang. I am hesitant to drop Norton, as you may expect, but I may look into Defender more deeply. It run on all of my PCs, but I pay little attention to it except at update time. Is there any advice out yonder that would help this old computer engineer along? Yeah, I grew up in the analog world then fell into that ring of digital fire back in the late 1960's, but I still do not know everything.

Try3 · Oct 20, 2022

You might usefully include
AV-TestOrg
in your review.

From the main table, click the tiny arrow on the right to see the detailed results for each one & the definitions they use for their three categories of results.

Whilst AV-Test & others provide assessments of protection, they do not include such matters as ease of use or additional capabilities [e.g. Identity theft].

All the best,
Denis

jeffbeish · Oct 31, 2022

I am testing AVG Secure Browser and it works almost like Edge or Chrome, etc., so will see how it goes. I attempted to break into the top secret Microsoft world to see what the difference is between Microsoft Defender and Windows Defender -- got nowhere, one must learn a totally new language. MS goes out of its way to muddy the waters of information sharing. I just wanted to know what it cost and etc, so it led me to AVG Secure Browser. Thanks MS, it works great so far. Maybe I will trade Norton 360 for AVG.

Anyone else know about such?

jeffbeish · Oct 31, 2022

Wow, this AVG Secure Browser is the cat's meow. Works great, even better that Edge.

clam1952 · Oct 31, 2022

You are aware the Avast owns AVG so AVG is now also part of Norton, how many more companies are Norton going to take over before unfair competition comes into play?

Interesting how many companies have been swallowed up by Norton

How Norton's Acquisitions Changed the Antivirus Industry

Avira, Avast, BullGuard, and beyond: Norton has taken over loads of companies in the past, so how have these affected the wider antivirus industry?

www.makeuseof.com

jeffbeish · Oct 31, 2022

clam1952 said:
You are aware the Avast owns AVG so AVG is now also part of Norton, how many more companies are Norton going to take over before unfair competition comes into play?

Interesting how many companies have been swallowed up by Norton

How Norton's Acquisitions Changed the Antivirus Industry

Avira, Avast, BullGuard, and beyond: Norton has taken over loads of companies in the past, so how have these affected the wider antivirus industry?

www.makeuseof.com

They probably engage in spam, malware and virus spreading as well. I trust none of them. I just like the AVG browser and will continue testing it. The customer base will do to Norton what they deserve soon enough. I suspect Microsoft will see the profits in it and come down on Norton. Elon will make Twitter profitable and de-woke it.