 How Good Is Norton? |
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 Aug 14 2006, 06:27 PM
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 New Member  Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 14-August 06 Member No.: 80,867  |
Thanks in advance! -------------------- The only thing we have to fear is fear it self... |
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Aug 14 2006, 06:38 PM
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 Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 398 Joined: 10-April 06 From: Nottingham England Home to the Hood of Robin Member No.: 63,547 |
Hello Stran93r and let me be the first to welcome you to BC.
Well i will be short on this one, but you will get many other opinions i can assure you of that. Norton all-in-all is a very good Anti-Virus, it does as it should and thats what you pay for. There are many anti-Norton users out there, this is mainly because it uses alot of your CPU to run,which hogs the speed at which your computer runs. Its ok on newer systems, but older ones will show a definate decrease in speed with it on them. Also,once Norton is on your system,it can be a bit of a pain to remove,possible, just awkward. If you have already paid for the full version of Norton and your system is running at a good speed, then keep it on there. No point in removing it if you have paid for it, unless your system is running really slow. Yes, there are many other AV's out there that you may wish to switch to once your subscription has expired, some very very good free AV's too. Have a browse around the forum and have a look HERE and see what you find. Oh, and you should run ewido at least once a week to be sure nothings creeped on there. Happy browsing 
This post has been edited by graveangel: Aug 14 2006, 06:44 PM -------------------- ....And on the 8th day God said, "When my children are intelligent, and create the Computer, for my sake may they never screw around with the registry or subscribe to AOL"
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Aug 14 2006, 06:50 PM
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#3
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 SPAM Magnet Group: Global Moderator Posts: 13,894 Joined: 6-May 04 From: SW Louisiana Member No.: 363 |
Norton is as good as any other Antivirus, since none are perfect.
The biggest complaints about Norton, as graveangel stated, is it's a systen hog (uses a lot of resources), and is a real bear to uninstall. For some freeware Antivirus alternatives, check graveangel's link, under the Antivirus heading. -------------------- I love being married.
It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy, for the rest of your life. |
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Aug 14 2006, 07:03 PM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 101 Joined: 12-August 06 From: North of Hadrians Wall. Member No.: 80,484 |
graveangel , for me you've summed it up perfectly. I don't like Norton for the reasons you stated but i must admit it gives good protection.
Stran93r , my advice............use up your prescription then arm yourself with the freebies , you'll be pleasantly surprised how effective they are. Of course as NIS 2006 includes a firewall and anti spam as well as antivirus you will need separate apps to cover all these areas. |
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Aug 14 2006, 07:13 PM
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#5
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 14-August 06 Member No.: 80,867 |
I guess because I've used Norton for so long and it's a brand name it seems like it's the best way to go...but in reality it isn't...
-------------------- The only thing we have to fear is fear it self... |
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Aug 14 2006, 11:21 PM
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#6
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 The Bookworm Group: Moderator Posts: 5,082 Joined: 14-July 06 From: Bloomington, IN Member No.: 76,150 |
One other problem that Norton has which may not be an issue for everyone, is that it doesn't scan IMAP mail. My University mail was IMAP, there was no POP option, consequently none of my mail was scanned by Norton - so if you have IMAP mail, make sure to choose a AV that scans IMAP mail, several of them don't.
Guess what? When Panda On-line found 6 related virus files on my computer, they were ALL attached to my IMAP mail, not one to my POP mail which Norton does scan for. Which reminds me: no one virus checker is 100% perfect, so it's a good idea to occasionally get a 2nd opinion, as it were, from various on-line scanners. Just be sure when you use them that you temporarily turn off the real-time protection to prevent conflicts. Turn it back on when the scanning is finished. Orange Blossom 
-------------------- Orange Blossom An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ESET NOD32, AVG Anti-spyware Free, SuperAntiSpyware Pro, SpywareBlaster, Spybot 1.5, WinPatrol Plus, Sunbelt Personal Firewall - Full, Comodo BOClean 4.27, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, NoScript Firefox ext., Norton noscript |
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Aug 16 2006, 06:47 AM
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 Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,875 Joined: 25-November 04 From: Finland Member No.: 5,870 |
Maybe I should point out that mail scanning doesn't contribute to your security, since the resident (real-time) scanner will scan the mail when you open it.
-------------------- "Anyone who cannot form a community with others, or who does not need to because he is self-sufficient [...] is either a beast or a god." Aristotle
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ | ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe | 2GB Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO | Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTX | Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS | ASUS PhysX P1 | Logitech G15 | Logitech MX Revolution | LG Flatron L2000C | Logitech Z-5500 Digital Stubborn attempts to think clearly |
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Aug 16 2006, 11:46 AM
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#8
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The Bookworm Group: Moderator Posts: 5,082 Joined: 14-July 06 From: Bloomington, IN Member No.: 76,150 |
Hmm. So you're saying that it doesn't matter if it's not scanned when it's downloaded? And what about the attachments? From my experience, the real-time mail protection in ZA and in Symantec scan mail as it's downloaded, but Symantec won't do this with IMAP mail. My ZA will even quarantine suspect attachments - as they are downloaded, and I suspect even whole messages if necessary. And there is still the fact that my IMAP mail had virus files whilst my POP mail didn't.
Orange Blossom
-------------------- Orange Blossom An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ESET NOD32, AVG Anti-spyware Free, SuperAntiSpyware Pro, SpywareBlaster, Spybot 1.5, WinPatrol Plus, Sunbelt Personal Firewall - Full, Comodo BOClean 4.27, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, NoScript Firefox ext., Norton noscript |
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Aug 16 2006, 01:20 PM
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Forum Addict Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,875 Joined: 25-November 04 From: Finland Member No.: 5,870 |
The mail-scanner scan emails and attachments as they are downloaded. The real-time scanner scan the mail and attachments as they are opened. So technically you scan them twice, and if one doesn't find the virus the other won't either.
-------------------- "Anyone who cannot form a community with others, or who does not need to because he is self-sufficient [...] is either a beast or a god." Aristotle
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ | ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe | 2GB Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO | Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTX | Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS | ASUS PhysX P1 | Logitech G15 | Logitech MX Revolution | LG Flatron L2000C | Logitech Z-5500 Digital Stubborn attempts to think clearly |
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Aug 16 2006, 01:40 PM
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Forum Addict Group: Members Posts: 3,349 Joined: 14-April 06 Member No.: 64,042 |
OK, that begs the question--will AVG (that is what I use) alert you if it finds a virus before you download an infected email or attachment? If it does, will deleting the infected email before opening prevent further infection?
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Aug 16 2006, 03:19 PM
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The Bookworm Group: Moderator Posts: 5,082 Joined: 14-July 06 From: Bloomington, IN Member No.: 76,150 |
I would think so. I'm a little leary of trusting an as-it's-opened scan. By that point it's been opened it may be too late. It seems to me that it's better to quarantine the bugger before it's opened, especially if there are both recognized and unrecognized viruses in the unopened mail. The latter might not get quarantined upon opening, but it certainly would upon downloading.
How about an analogy: sick animals that need surgery. Is it better to quarantine the sick animal before the surgery begins or after the surgery has begun? Orange Blossom
This post has been edited by Orange Blossom: Aug 17 2006, 01:55 AM -------------------- Orange Blossom An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ESET NOD32, AVG Anti-spyware Free, SuperAntiSpyware Pro, SpywareBlaster, Spybot 1.5, WinPatrol Plus, Sunbelt Personal Firewall - Full, Comodo BOClean 4.27, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, NoScript Firefox ext., Norton noscript |
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Aug 16 2006, 05:01 PM
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 Forum Addict Group: Global Moderator Posts: 20,642 Joined: 11-April 04 From: Chicago, Il. Member No.: 113 |
I think it is useful to remember that many ISPS/E-mail providers will ALSO scan your E-mail and attachments; in this case, your AV is a second layer of protection.
Regards, John -------------------- Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one should be silent.
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