Norton vs competition

jaree1961 · Jan 19, 2022

In answer to the Original Poster's (OP's) question I use Malwarebytes Premium and Defender

ish4d0w · Jan 20, 2022

Wynona said:
The fact is that there are "drive by" things that can do you in no matter how smart your security is. That's why I leave Windows Defender intact.

That is wise, but I'm not totally sure if it is enough. Windows Defender provides basic protection, no web/browser protection, and most of all, no URL filtering. Does not prevent you from visiting malicious websites, or loading malicious scripts or files that trigger an exploit. Also no spam protection for emails and little protection against active ransomware . Also it doesn't have a firewall, so you only have Windows Firewall then, which, again, is not as powerful as some of the Internet Securit offerings.

Kaspersky, Norton and ESET, only to name a few, do a much better job at this I believe. But there are others that are good too. However if someone is very careful and short on money, Windows Defender might just be (barely) enough.

The-Hive · Jan 20, 2022

I think these Threads about Norton have run there course, They are all because of crypto mining

BunnyJ · Jan 20, 2022

The-Hive said:
I think these Threads about Norton have run there course, They are all because of crypto mining

One was too many and now two? It's overkill IMO

The-Hive · Jan 20, 2022

I agree Jeff, just because someone got the wrong idea and didn't understand what it's all about

ShamrockRig · Jan 20, 2022

BunnyJ said:
One was too many and now two? It's overkill IMO

Couldn't agree more, There are so many threads recently that keep covering the same stuff over and over and over again.

BunnyJ · Jan 20, 2022

Devlin1888 said:
Couldn't agree more, There are so many threads recently that keep covering the same stuff over and over and over again.

True.. and it's from the same few people. But,, that's what we're here for .. to help out.

jimbo45 · Jan 20, 2022

Hi folks
Why are people on HOME based machines still bothering with a load of these old C20 A/V products -- on current W11 releases especially on these "preview" releases why even bother with this stuff any more -- WD is perfectly as safe as it gets on Windows these days.

Worry about scams, identity theft and fraud etc -- if only people posted as much on avoiding those issues as some old stuff about things like Norton which was probably out of date ever since "Pontius was a Pilot" (Pilate for our biblical scholars !!).

Corporates, Network admins, Web servers etc have other issues - but these days essentially on HOME "Mom and Pop" type machines --forget those things. They are History.

Cheers
jimbo

TheMystic · Jan 20, 2022

Crypto Mining and Internet Security (aka Antivirus) are two completely different products, and there is absolutely nothing common among them or synergies to be tapped for the benefit of customers.

On the contrary, crypto mining is very much an area that an internet security solution should prevent from running, unless the user whitelists this particular activity.

A company like Symantec bundling this new product with a completely unrelated product is unfortunate from a customer point of view. This is clearly a strategy that will benefit the company much more than benefiting the customer.

The question of opting in or out is irrelevant because such bundling shouldn't happen in the first place. And companies are well aware that most of their users are naive enough to just opt in because they would assume it is something their internet security product is doing for their benefit, which is clearly not what is happening.

Dch48 · Jan 20, 2022

As someone who feels that all crypto currencies should be outlawed, I certainly would not turn on the option. I used Norton for many years and liked it but I got tired of paying for protection. I first went with Comodo but grew to hate all the HIPS stuff so went with Avast Free for a few years. As soon as Windows 10 hit the scene, I went with the built in Defender and firewall and am very happy with that. I don't need any more and I don't think any home user does.

TheMystic · Jan 21, 2022

Dch48 said:
As someone who feels that all crypto currencies should be outlawed, I certainly would not turn on the option. I used Norton for many years and liked it but I got tired of paying for protection. I first went with Comodo but grew to hate all the HIPS stuff so went with Avast Free for a few years. As soon as Windows 10 hit the scene, I went with the built in Defender and firewall and am very happy with that. I don't need any more and I don't think any home user does.

Crypto currencies are pure scam. No one has been able to explain their intrinsic value, because it doesn't exist. Pure gambling for the common man.

Deleted member 952 · Jan 22, 2022

I use BullGuard Premium Protection and Sophos Premium Protection, really like them both.

cineman195 · Jan 22, 2022

I use Kaspersky internet security, it uses less RAM (around half) than Defender

ThrashZone · Jan 22, 2022

Hi,
Most people learning years ago norton is garbage the rest that stayed with them just like throwing money away lol

Only good thing norton did for me is introduce me to mbam seeing they used it to clean my system
The rest is rockin roll history and never looked back, mbam pro keys were the best one time purchases I've ever made and just a single mbam pro key was less than one year norton subscription cost lol
Best thing is all 4 are still working

glasskuter · Jan 22, 2022

Answering the original poster's question, I never used a paid antivirus program in my life as there were too many good free alternatives out there, my favorite always being Avira though I haven't used it since Windows 10 came out. What I have always disliked about Norton is how heavy it is on system resources. Most antivirus companies have some protection against malware these days, but in my opinion, nothing beats Malwarebytes track record in that regard. That's why I now use Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium which I was extremely lucky enough to have purchased WAAAY back when and was umbrellaed into a free lifetime license. Though they both work in realtime, they play nicely together. Competitively, MWB Premium is a bit cheaper than Norton. Because Malware causes more infections than viruses, I wouldn't run a machine these days without MWB.

ThrashZone · Jan 23, 2022

Hi,
Not sure there is any "answer" but lots of "responses"

TheMystic · Jan 23, 2022

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Not sure there is any "answer" but lots of "responses"

That's exactly why this is called a 'forum'. Whether there is an answer or not, there is always a discussion.

Dch48 · Jan 23, 2022

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Most people learning years ago norton is garbage the rest that stayed with them just like throwing money away lol

Only good thing norton did for me is introduce me to mbam seeing they used it to clean my system
The rest is rockin roll history and never looked back, mbam pro keys were the best one time purchases I've ever made and just a single mbam pro key was less than one year norton subscription cost lol
Best thing is all 4 are still working

Norton is not and never was garbage. I used it for many years. I started with just the AV and then went with the full NIS suite which always worked very well. NIS actually got lighter on resources with each successive version upgrade but I never had issues with it in that regard. It never slowed anything down or ate up memory. If it was free, I might still be using it. I just got away from it because I didn't want to pay any more and I wanted to try the new free internet security suite from Comodo. That worked very well but I grew tired of HIPS and the "default deny" policies that required interaction for safe things. I then went through the free versions of Avast, Panda, and BitDefender before just going with Microsoft when Windows 10 came out. I use Malwarebytes free as a backup on demand scanner but I would never pay for the premium version. With Windows 7 and earlier, you needed a third party solution. With 10 and 11, you don't.