So my Norton subscription just expired and it’s time to get protected again. I’ve read so many negative reviews about Norton that I think a change is in order. I’ve heard pretty positive stuff about AGV on this forum.
Before I try this:
Can anyone confirm the validity of these horror stories about not being able to remove Norton at the click of a button. I don’t really want to have a battle on my hands. As a basic user, will I be able to do it on my own?
AGV anti virus has a free version and a purchase option. Any recommendations on which is going to get the job done with the least hassle? I’m from the school of thought that you get what you pay for. In fact, is AGV all it is cracked up to be? Anyone got a better alternative?
When I bought my PC, it had a Chinese version of Norton on it, which was useless to me as I can’t read much Chinese. I was able to remove this easily through the Add/Remove Programs in Windows Control Panel.
2)I’m using the free version of AVG and have never had a virus. It updates automatically each day, and can be set to scan for viruses automatically as well. I think the purchase option is more for using commercially or across large networks, the free one is fine for a single home user, or a small home network.
I didn’t have much success with free AVG. I did loads of research and decided on NOD32. Check it out. Really stealthy. Just install and forget about it. Only pops up when it finds something. I use to use Norton too. Got a virus and never went back. Ditto with AVG. A lot of big system admins use NOD32 from Eset. Google it. My only complaint has to be that when you need to renew it doesn’t tell you or pop up some nag screen. It just stops updating the virus definitions. You can’t even check how much longer you have left on your yearly subscription. Anyway, quite painless and cheap to renew, so I don’t complain. My whole company uses it and super stable for the past year. Only my wife got a virus and had to reformat after her subscription ran out to NOD32 and she didn’t renew.
I’ve been using both the commercial ($$$) and free versions of AVG for several years. I’ve never had a big problem with either. Once I found a bug in the commercial version and filed a report with AVG. They posted a fix just 30 minutes later. (Note: A fix in 30 minutes not a ‘we value your input and will start thinking about it’ response.)
The free version is fairly decent and I use it on a couple of less critical systems and on my Dad’s PC. I also have 2 licenses of the commercial version for my main desktop and laptop. The main differences are the flexibility of updates and scheduling of scans. With the free version you are limited to one auto-download of updates per day. You can do more updates manually if you want. The free version also uses a different set of download servers which in general are a bit slower and occasionally very slow or time out. You can also only schedule one basic automated scan per day.
The commercial version on the other hand uses a faster set of download servers and I’ve never had any issue getting updates fast. You can also schedule it to check for updates more often, check for updates when you log in, and choose which type of updates to download. So for example on the systems with the commercial licenses I set it to look for ‘priority’ level updates once an hour and lower level ‘optional’ updates once a day. You also have more flexibility of how you do scheduled and manual scans. You can also get support if needed for the commercial version.
Both are good options, but the commercial version gives you a better level of service.
How have you found their support to be and where is their nearest support office (English speaking). I can see that support might be important for me as this comment on PC Mag.com gives me a little concern:
Inexperienced users beware: NOD32 is best suited to knowledgeable users who demand speed. A far cry from the ease of Norton AntiVirus (NAV) and PC-cillin, NOD32 requires you to know the purpose of cryptic scanners like AMON (real-time), IMON (Internet), and NMS (Exchange/Outlook) to configure and run them. Though these are not overly difficult, beginners may be overwhelmed even when changing basic settings. But power users will appreciate the extensive control over detection targets, scan methods, and alerts. NOD32 has free phone support from each of the support centers in at least 19 countries, but the calls are not toll-free. Geared more for do-it-yourselfers, Eset’s Web-based support doesn’t equal that of NAV or PC-cillin, but you can still get basic program help and details for repairing virus damage. Available on many platforms, including DOS, Linux, and NetWare, NOD32 offers blazing speed and rock-solid virus protection that make it best for experts but not an ideal choice for beginners.
Hobart, are you an experienced user or a novice like me? Could it be a little too technical for someone that is looking for a program to takes care of itself and my PC at the same time.
[quote=“jlick”]I’ve been using both the commercial ($$$) and free versions of AVG for several years. I’ve never had a big problem with either. Once I found a bug in the commercial version and filed a report with AVG. They posted a fix just 30 minutes later. (Note: A fix in 30 minutes not a ‘we value your input and will start thinking about it’ response.)
The free version is fairly decent and I use it on a couple of less critical systems and on my Dad’s PC. I also have 2 licenses of the commercial version for my main desktop and laptop. The main differences are the flexibility of updates and scheduling of scans. With the free version you are limited to one auto-download of updates per day. You can do more updates manually if you want. The free version also uses a different set of download servers which in general are a bit slower and occasionally very slow or time out. You can also only schedule one basic automated scan per day.
The commercial version on the other hand uses a faster set of download servers and I’ve never had any issue getting updates fast. You can also schedule it to check for updates more often, check for updates when you log in, and choose which type of updates to download. So for example on the systems with the commercial licenses I set it to look for ‘priority’ level updates once an hour and lower level ‘optional’ updates once a day. You also have more flexibility of how you do scheduled and manual scans. You can also get support if needed for the commercial version.
Both are good options, but the commercial version gives you a better level of service.[/quote]
jlick
I saw your post after I replied to Hobart. Thanks for the feedback.
BlackAdder: Download the free trial version of NOD32. See for yourself. There ain’t nothing to it. I am a novice. Support was fine. The guys in HK helped me with a problem and in the USA as well.
Do more research and see for yourself. But stay away from sources like PC Mag. They are notoriously corrupt. I know, I have been both an IT company dealing with them as a customer and I was in the IT Ad business as well for a number of years. Keep googling. Another good one Kapersky Labs, but I didn’t like their interface.
I have used AVG for years now. I found it high quality and quite stable. But like most recent virus scanners, you need a fairly good pc to run them. So six or seven year old systems may be less responsive when running AVG (or indeed any virus software). I posted some suggestions for other useful software for protecting your PC, all of which I have used.
Bingo. I worked in IT for a couple of years and its the one we recommended. It is the best anti-virus out there, never had a problem with it nor did out customers.
I worked in A Big Five Accounting Firm Which Shall Remain Nameless (OK, Toilet & Douche) and during our audit of [ahem] Associates they send the audit team a virus by email which was caught by our installation of McAfee. Tee hee.
I, too, am having tons of problems with the new computer that all seem to be related to my Norton product, which keeps reverting to the 2005 virus defs and causing Microsoft’s Data Execution Prevention to shut down Explorer and/or Windows when I’m first starting my computer. Yesterday I spent so much time downloading their removal tool, reinstalling the thing, and then I ended up with yet another script error, which caused me to once again have to download the latest virus defs! Wrote back to their tech help, and the instructions he sent to me look so time-consuming and complicated that I told him it was just easier to switch software, as my friends have been encouraging me to do for years.
Thanks for the advice everyone provided here. I guess I’ll have to make a decision on whether I should try AVG or NOD32.
Ahem I tried FREE AVG and I think you get what you pay for. Free didn’t work for me. Got a virus and never went back. Again Google and do your own research, I did and after more than a year of being virus free on our 11 PCs, its the one bit of software I am happy to pay for. As mentioned earlier after I researched for a while I settled on NOD32.
A mate of mine got a new PC last week and his office IT folk who loaded him up with other software advised on AVG. He copped a virus off some fairly benign website on the first day he fired it up.
Last year after rebuilding my home PC and noting my subscription to Norton had lapsed, I tried AVG and copped a virus that required me to wipe out most of my stuff. I went back to Norton and since then the only drama has been some shitty ad thing I copped from a link on Forumosa.