Norton SystemWorks 2006 or McAfee Total Protection 2007 ??

Norton SystemWorks 2006/Norton Personal Firewall 2006 Bundle

Is this any good? It is free with an $80 MIR from Buy.com. Will this help out my computer. Do you think this is a good thing to have and what exactly does it do that my windows xp home can't already do? I have money so I don't mind waiting the 8 weeks for the MIR.

Here is some more free software that might be usefull.

Free after $40 MIR
CA eTrust Internet Security Suite Rev. 2

Free after $25 MIR
eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware

Never use Norton's firewall. Ever. Bad thing. Ever. I can't tell you enough not to use their firewall. Your computer will be fucked up forever. SystemWorks however, I like, even though it slows your computer down a bit, (just at bootup).

So yea, go with it, just don't install their firewall. D

Use Sygate, oh wait, that's bought out by Symantec. Buy Sygate (as the firewall), they never changed the old version. ;)

Ok. so norton is bad? Does that
CA eTrust Internet Security Suite Rev. 2
include a spyware remover and a virus protector? Do you think eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware is included in the suite?

Norton AntiVirus/SystemWorks = Good.

All I said was to not install their Firewall. (Norton Personal Firewall 2006)

Norton = bad, in all forms. Except Ghost I guess.

How is McAfee?

McAfee Total Protection 2007

http//www.buy.com/prod/McAfee_Total_Protection_2007_Minibox_MTP07EMB1RUA/q/loc/105/202987887.html

I need to choose between the two!

Norton is horrible in all forms ESPECIALLY anti-virus. Among me and my colleagues around here, it's considered a virus itself.

McAfee is a close second in terms of bad.

The best AV program can be had for free, IMO. AVG Free. I've used it for years and always replace Norton with it when clients bring me their PC's to fix. I always get compliments about how much better it runs.

The best firewall can be had for free as well, Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall. I liked Kerio so much I paid for the Pro version, but the free version is plenty functional.

Yea I have AVG free. I just figured that these programs were better because they are known names and cost money. And they were free with a rebate so I thought I would try it. So you would just stay away from them?

[quote2e8305caf8="BD2006BD"]Yea I have AVG free. I just figured that these programs were better because they are known names and cost money. And they were free with a rebate so I thought I would try it. So you would just stay away from them?[/quote2e8305caf8]
Hell yes, I'd stay away from them. Just because they cost money doesn't make them better. If it makes you feel better to pay for AV, just pay for AVG Pro. ;) It's the exact same AV engine as the Free version, the only thing Pro gets you is more scheduling options for scans and updates -- the Free version can only be scheduled to scan and update once per day, which is plenty for most folks. You can always scan or update manually.

Actually, IMO a more important reason to upgrade to Pro, is to show your support for a wonderful product. That's why I paid for Kerio, and I've been intending to do that for AVG as well. Now that you've reminded me, I should go do that now. )

Norton is miles ahead of avg and so is Mcafee in terms of being effective as a av. Norton is quite bloatware even though the 2006 version is quite lite but Norton will protect your pc since it rates in the low 90's each month or virus test sites.


get Norton Internet Security 2006 off ebay for cheap, same scanner as 2007 but lighter on the pc, that is what I would do. Don't get Mcafee, too many bugs right now and it's bloat.

Etrust is pathetic, the cirporate version is nice but the home version is a disgrace and the spyware scanner is pestpatrol and pp will wipe out any p2p, torrent program you use.

More power to you, but I couldn't disagree more about Norton and McAfee being miles agead of AVG. ) The direct opposite, in my opinion. Definitely not worth the bloat and system drain for no more protection than I get from AVG. AVG Free updates for me virtually every single day, so it stays pretty much up-to-date. You have to be vary wary of AV "tests" because they're performed with synthetic virii benchmarks that are widely known not to be real-world accurate. Norton also tunes itself for those benchmarks.

I use both, because I'm forced to use Symantec at work. Plus I clean NAV and McAfee off a LOT of people's PC's and replace it with AVG, as I said. Nobody I know has EVER been infected while running AVG with auto-updates, nor has ANYONE -- of the dozens and dozens that I've converted over -- felt that NAV offered them better protection. I've been doing this for a living for a very long time, so I'm pretty confident in my own assessment of it. But opinions do vary so take anything I say with a grain of salt. )

[quote801ba34341="dmorris68"]Norton is horrible in all forms ESPECIALLY anti-virus. Among me and my colleagues around here, it's considered a virus itself.[/quote801ba34341]

Could not agree more.

As has been stated, forget using the MIR's in your favor..and stick with the free software...AVG rocks. Nuff said.

Funny, after many years of using Norton, I finally dropped it last night. )

I went and installed AVG, and it sure does run smoother. The only worry is that Norton would update several times a day, which "felt" more secure. That said, AVG picked out some things in rar's and zip's I've had for awhile that NAV never reported. That impressed me.

I've not tried the Kerio fw. Is it far better than AVG one? For that matter, is the AVG one better than the Windows one? (Not heard much about their fw)

I've had McAfee Corporate Edition for a year now since college gave it to me. Regardless I haven't recieved any viruses, but I do like how they ask you if you want a program to run. I'll give AVG a try, the popups asking me to check for updates on McAfee are driving me nuts.

[quote4073ac213a="Tholek"]Funny, after may years of using Norton, I finally dropped them last night. )

I went and installed AVG, and it sure does run smoother. The only worry is that Norton would update several times a day, which "felt" more secure. That said, AVG picked out some things in rar's and zip's I've had for awhile that NAV never reported. That impressed me. [/quote4073ac213a]
That's what I'm saying. People saying Norton is better than AVG have apparently never used AVG. ;)

AVG Free only allows a single scheduled update and scan per day (you can manually update and scan as often as you like, however). To get more flexible scheduling options, you have to pay for Pro, which is STILL cheaper than NAV, so it's a no brainer. For me, and probably most people, once a day is plenty.

[quote4073ac213a="Tholek"]I've not tried the Kerio fw. Is it far better than AVG one? For that matter, is the AVG one better than the Windows one? (Not heard much about their fw)[/quote4073ac213a]
AVG used to bundle Kerio, but when Kerio dropped the firewall (it was bought out by Sunbelt Software, hence the new name "Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall") AVG dropped Kerio and developed their own. I have no experience with AVG's firewall. However I'm a huge Kerio fan, it is MUCH better than Windows' firewall, and I prefer it to ZoneAlarm as well.

Windows' firewall does not block outbound access, so should you ever get a trojan or applicatoin who wants to phone home, you won't know with Windows' firewall. Kerio, ZA, and most 3rd party personal firewalls will alert you that something is trying to get out, and you can choose to allow or deny it, and also choose to save that as a permanent rule so you aren't prompted again for that process. The free version of Kerio offers this functionality, the Pro version which I paid for offers a lot of additional features, including optional adware/spyware blocking, network intrusion detection, etc.

I've never cared for either, but if forced to choose between the two I would probably say McAfee(don't really have much of a basis for that).

However, I wholeheartedly agree that you should completely forget about both of them and just go with AVG ftw!

NOD32 > AVG

If you gonna go free, get aol's new free av powered by kaspersky, don't install the toolbar since it's aol spyware. After you have that, head over to www.comodo.com and download the free firewall, it passed all leaktest and uses very little memory.

Forget about avg seriously, it's not a serious contender for a decent av and just becuase it lite doesn't mean it actually works(catching viruses).

If your a big fan of lightweight apps, head over to www.fprot.com and dl version 3.16d, it's as light as it get but doesn't perform well in testing.

Get decent apps for av and firewall, kerio is very good but ditch avg, use avast or aol's free one.

Dude, I understand you having a preference for other AV's -- that's fine, to each his own -- but please don't imply to people that AVG doesn't work, which is what you're doing. It most definitely DOES work, and is very highly rated. I've used it for years, ALL of my colleagues and customers are now using it, and it gets great reviews. Look at everybody else in this thread save for for a couple. The more you disparage it the more I'm convinced you yourself have probably never used it.

I've seen AVG trap many virii, in fact I can't think of a single machine, out of dozens and dozens I support or work on, that have been infected while running AVG. It's real-time protection is great.

Kasperky's stuff is good too, as is NOD32, but my argument was that AVG beats both Norton and McAfee senseless, and I'll stand by that. In fact I stake my professional reputation on it. I've only been in this business for 25+ years now. ;)

[quote1bbc25705b="dmorris68"]Dude, I understand you having a preference for other AV's -- that's fine, to each his own -- but please don't imply to people that AVG doesn't work, which is what you're doing. It most definitely DOES work, and is very highly rated. I've used it for years, ALL of my colleagues and customers are now using it, and it gets great reviews. Look at everybody else in this thread save for for a couple. The more you disparage it the more I'm convinced you yourself have probably never used it.

I've seen AVG trap many virii, in fact I can't think of a single machine, out of dozens and dozens I support or work on, that have been infected while running AVG. It's real-time protection is great.

Kasperky's stuff is good too, as is NOD32, but my argument was that AVG beats both Norton and McAfee senseless, and I'll stand by that. In fact I stake my professional reputation on it. I've only been in this business for 25+ years now. ;)[/quote1bbc25705b]

I won't say anymore, I promise D

You'll see for yourself.

http//www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2006_08.php

Take it easy, I recommend AOL kaspersky, that's my opinion but use what you like.

Oh don't worry, we're cool -- I'm not upset. D I just had to respond to what sounds like someone not experienced with the product, and basing their recommendations on an arbitrary article. I've seen numerous AV ratings that have Norton at the top, and Norton at bottom, and AVG at the top, and AVG at the bottom. They all test differently. That's why I said you can't base your judgement on an article.

Just as a quick example, check this PC Magazine comparison list.[=http//www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1874,4796,00.asp]this PC Magazine comparison list. Note the overall Editor's Rating and Reader's Ratings for AVG Free and Kasperskey

AVG [b41d03ba811]3.5/5[/b41d03ba811] Editor's Rating, [b41d03ba811]4.5/5[/b41d03ba811] Reader's Rating
Kasperskey [b41d03ba811]3/5[/b41d03ba811] Editor's Rating, [b41d03ba811]3/5[/b41d03ba811] Reader's Rating
Panda (one of the top rated from your article) [b41d03ba811]1.5/5[/b41d03ba811] Reader rating (no Editor Rating)

See? We can go back and forth all day comparing different reviews, but the bottom line comes down to real-world experience rather than a benchmark test.

Norton is almost universally accepted to be a resource hog, and all but unuseable to a lot of people. It has historically also had very poor detection record, although that has admittedly improved in the last version or two, but the fact remains it's a dog.

In real-world scenarios, AVG is plenty secure. I've watched it run on machines that were used heavily for P2P, that download tons of trojans and virii. As soon as the files hit the filesystem, AVG pops up. NOT ONCE has a virus been released on these AVG systems that I work with or support.

So I respect your opinion, but I don't want people to believe that AVG doesn't work, because that is simply not true. I won't even say Norton "doesn't work," and I hate it -- I would just never recommend it to anybody.

The OP asked for a comparison of Norton and McAfee, and I offered an alternative that I have a great amount of experience with side-by-side with both Norton and McAfee. AVG isn't the only AV I think is a good product, I also like NOD32, BitDefender, and Kaspersky and would recommend any of those in a heartbeat over the "big two." ;)

Opinions and results may certainly vary, and I make no promises about anything. I simply want to point out that my opinion doesn't come from an article I read, but from my hands-on experience with the products, as well as clients who have been burned by Norton.

D

Well, not to defend Symantec, but I think Norton's popularity is due to the consistent, and visible, updates, as well as the impression that it integrates itself into your system so totally. (Ironically, what many hate about it) That's what sold me, but I bet the "FREE after MIR" does them well too.

However, I've been sickened at the slow boot for years, and only upgraded out of familiarity with the product. I almost feel like I've finally gotten a divorce after years of a bad marriage. D

As for McAfee, I was annoyed at the prospect of having to pay for individual updates, versus Norton's free ones. I think that left a bad taste in many people's mouths, and permanently scarred their brand name, despite what may have been positive changes in the years since.

As for AVG, I'll stick with it for now. So far so good. However, after the flashy Norton GUI, AVG seems a downgrade visually. I'm guessing that's a plus for resources, but it was unsettling at first. Of course, it doesn't matter when compared to what it does.

Some skins wouldn't hurt though. ;)

I agree about AVG's sparse UI, but who cares? Once installed and configured, I never look at it again. I don't liwantli to see it, or notice it, and that's one thing AVG excels at. ;)

One thing I [iaf087d6498]don't[/iaf087d6498] understand is the comments about Norton's "consistent, and visible, updates." Unfortunately I have to run Norton at work, as it's the corporate standard. I never "see" it update, it updates behind the scenes. AFAIK all AV programs update -- otherwise they'd be pretty useless. So I don't understand this complaint/argument. I know my AVG Free updates something virtually every single day. Remember, the free version only lets you schedule one automatic update per day, but you can update manually as often as you like. Personally, once per day is plenty for most people, 99.9% of the time, but if you really must auto-update many times per day, the Pro version of AVG is quite inexpensive. )

Trust me, you'll grow to LOVE how much better your system performs without Norton!

Well, NAV, NIS and NSW ('05+) shows a quick popup when an automatic update occurs, and at least for me, that occured at least three times a day. (I say [if32706e820]at least[/if32706e820], because I don't have my eyes glued to the monitor 24/7 ;) ) Others I know who have Norton products, seem to be impressed by this enough to remain customers. ?

They must have that update notification turned off at work, because we don't see it on our NAV.

FWIW, AVG pops up when it updates too. I have all of mine scheduled to update at like 4am, so if I don't leave the PC's up all night, first thing on next reboot it will update, and show an update dialog with what has been updated, along with an OK button with a timer countdown that will dismiss itself automatically if you don't click it.

[quoteb37495db8f="dmorris68"]They must have that update notification turned off at work, because we don't see it on our NAV.

FWIW, AVG pops up when it updates too. I have all of mine scheduled to update at like 4am, so if I don't leave the PC's up all night, first thing on next reboot it will update, and show an update dialog with what has been updated, along with an OK button with a timer countdown that will dismiss itself automatically if you don't click it.[/quoteb37495db8f]

The Norton popups only lasted for about 5 seconds, and disappeared on their own. I'm also speaking of retail versions, not corporate or enterprise. (Not sure what you have exactly)

Like dmorris68 and AVG, I'm singing Kaspersky's praises. I've used it for years and never had a problem.

I used to have Norton and not only would it slow the computer down but it was impossible to remove. I'd never use any of their products again.

Kaspersky updates every hour, not bloated at all, tells you whenever it updates, tells you whenever it blocks something or if something asks for persmission, good amount of options to choose from, scans alot of files and like AVG is consistently rated one of the best (if not the best) AV on the market.