Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

CHANGING VIRUS PROTECTION

by Sep 7, 2012 3:30AM PDT

I'M CURRENTLY RUNNING NORTON 360. I WANT TO KNOW IF THE 2013 NORTON INTERNET SECURITY WILL SLOW MY SYSTEM LESS THAN THE 360. I DON'T NEED THE 360 FEATURES. I WOULD LIKE TO TRY MICRO TREND TITANIUM OR KASPERSKY BUT HAVE A FEAR OF GETTING IN DOWNLOADED CORRECTLY AND HAVE HEARD GETTING SUPPORT IS KIND OF HARD. I'VE READ THAT THE NEW NORTON INTERNET SECURITY SLOWS YOUR COMPUTER LESS THAN THE 360 ALTHOUGH I CAN'T TELL MY COMPUTER RUNS SLOW OTHER THAN THE SLOW OLD PROCESSOR IT HAS AND I'M FIXING TO GET A BRAND NEW CUSTOM BUILT COMPUTER SO THAT WILL FIX THAT BUT MY 2 COMPUTERS THAT I HAVE LEFT WILL NOT BE BRAND NEW. ALL COMPUTERS RUN WINDOWS 7 EXCEPT ONE, IT RUNS XP. IT IS ONE OF THE COMPUTERS THAT WON'T BE REPLACED.
CAN ANYONE HELP ME DECIDE? I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR 2 WEEKS AND AM DRIVING MYSELF CRAZY.

Discussion is locked

6 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Answer
Do yourself a favor and ...
by Sep 7, 2012 4:37AM PDT

avoid Norton entirely.

Avast, Avira or AVG will do just as good a job and offer you a choice of free or paid versions.

Norton used to be the best but that was years and years ago (Windows NT had only progressed to NT 3.5 and by version 4 of NT Norton antivirus had managed to become the cause of many problems in Windows computers.

As a current example, should you let Norton AV expire or should you renew the subscription and have unseen problems with the renewal you thought went well, Norton shuts down your Internet access without warning you that it is doing so. That causes lots of hair pulling by end users and even a few monitors that become field expedient footballs.

Avast, AVG, and Avira all three tend to use less computer cycles than Norton too. I would suggest also installing MalwareBytes and Super Anti-Spyware for malware control but I suggest that even should you decide to stay with Norton. Of the Norton choices skip 360.

PS - for future posting please skip the upper case (it is like SHOUTING!) and break the post into readable paragraphs for ease of viewing.

- Collapse -
Sorry
by cupcakerobin Sep 7, 2012 9:31AM PDT

I'm very sorry. I've never done this before. I didn't mean to shout. I mostly email in all caps. Always have. One friend told me it meant I was shouting also.

Thanks for the info. Norton has convinced me to stay with them because they said they have come out with a new version that doesn't make your computer slow down. I'm very undecided now.

The other computer guru told me to go with Kaspersky or Micro Trend. I am currently running the free editions of Malwarebytes and Superantispyware. My computer is 6 years old from HP and was told by my cousin and another computer specialist that the Processor is an old slow processor so I'm having my cousin build me a computer with an updated processor and 4 gb . I really have never known my computer to go slow or hang up until recently. My music and videos won't play without skipping and stopping. All else is fine. I was told it is my processor. Norton 360 has always done good for me. I have never had a virus. I was told by a computer specialist that I had an infection once and he removed it and said an infection is different than a virus (??) and he installed Malwarebytes free edition and told me to run that. My husband keeps saying the radio computer guy said get away from Norton so that's why I was asking.

Hope to do better on these forums in the future. I've never been part of a forum. Again, sorry, and thanks a lot for the info.

- Collapse -
About Kapersky
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 7, 2012 12:31PM PDT

No one I know dislikes it but be aware that SYSTEM RESTORE (capitalized on purpose) may look borken after you install Kap. It's by design and Kapersky deserves your question how to work around that.
Bob

- Collapse -
Still Confused
by cupcakerobin Sep 8, 2012 3:20AM PDT

Since I'm still confused about this and don't understand computer guru terminology, I'm just sticking with Norton. It's done me good. Never had a virus. I thank all you guys for your input.

- Collapse -
Sadly, "System Restore" is a Windows term
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 8, 2012 11:13AM PDT

If one runs and maintains their own PCs they would encounter System Restore along the way. If you haven't then you are lucky.
Bob

- Collapse -
Answer
Not a product I use.
by Forum moderator Sep 7, 2012 5:04AM PDT

Why? Mostly about Symantec and how they handled flaws, omissions and answering questions about their products long ago. They lost me then and never really recovered. The product is pretty pervasive and reaches deep into the OS and can have the effect you are trying to avoid. In off the shelf machines it seems fine but as folk use their machine and time passes (or they do something like clean the registry *what a bad idea*) then we see troubles.

There are many fine alternatives but the antivirus is not what keeps my computer out of trouble.

What does? Oh, just me. Why would I head to shady web pages (nod to WOT !) or install cracked software or run a torrent or one of those registry cleaners (bombers?) when it all is so fine without?
Bob

Back to Spyware, Viruses, & Security forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info