Renew Norton or not?

[Ron Hunter]

My Norton Internet Security is scheduled to renew later this month. Do you think it is worth $69/yr or are free options acceptable?

I think I read on Muvipix that Windows has a good security product that is bundled with the OS.

It's hard to believe that performance of free products can compare with not-free.

What do you use for PC security, and are you happy with it?

[Ron]

MSE, period.

[Steve Grisetti]

Yep. Microsoft Security Essentials. Excellent, efficient, self-maintaining and, above all, FREE.

[Peru]

Agreed.

[RJ Johnston]

I've been using Webroot Secure Anywhere for the past two years. I just picked up another 3 seats for $9.99 at Fry's Electronics. I would describe it as small, quiet, and fast.

[BuddyB]

I find AVG quite good. Did have Norton because it comes with Comcast service free, but ditched it because of the overhead.

[Chuck Engels]

I use Security Essentials and ESET Nod 32, zero infections of any kind in over 3 years now

[momoffduty]

I switched from Trend to MSE a year ago when I got my new computer. No problems & free.

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks everyone! I've removed Norton and installed MSE.

Chuck, why did you install ESET Nod 32 in addition to MSE?

[Bob]

Personally, I think you should rethink using Microsoft Security Essentials. It's not as good as it used to be and scored the lowest in the AV-Test Institute's rankings. AV-Test in an independent lab that evaluates and rates antivirus products on a variety of different criteria. See the current (Jul/Aug 2013) rankings here. If you aren't happy with Norton Internet Security, switch to something else -- but, at least review the AV-Test rankings before you choose.

[Bubby Grub]

Thanks Bob for that link, found it very informative. Hubby and I started using Kaspersky way way back, and have never had
a problem. Actually right now we have it on our 2 notebooks, plus 4 other desktop computers. Just wondering do you have
any preference for any particular one, I notice that Kaspersky gets a pretty good rating, a friend of ours uses McAfee, he
switched to that from Kaspersky a few years back but I can't remember why. Think at the time it had something to do with the cost
but not sure. But as I said do you have any particular preference and why.
Thanks Bubby Grub

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks to everyone who posted, and a special thanks to Bob for posting that link. That was very useful information. I think I'll go back to Norton. Free is a compelling price, but the data on that website was pretty compelling too.

[Bob]

Hi Bubby Grub,

No program is perfect. But, pretty much any of the top rated products will do a good job of protection. They do differ in features and how they operate so there is plenty of room for personal preferences. What's right for me might not be right for you.

I'm currently using Norton Internet Security 2014. I just upgraded from the previous version, NIS 2013. The standard package allows for use on up to three computers and I'm using all three installations. I originally purchased it for use on my daughter's laptop. I was looking for something that did an excellent job of malware protection while not requiring a lot of hands-on effort. From the reviews and test results, NIS looked like it would fill the bill. And, it did. After seeing how well it performed on my daughter's system, I installed it on my computer and I've been happy with it. I do still look at the competition each year, but I haven't seen any compelling reason to switch so far.

NIS is definitely not like the old reviled Norton products. This one has a much smaller footprint and is very light on system resources. It behaves itself very well running scans in the background during idle periods and stepping aside when it detects activity. If it weren't for the icon in the system tray, I'd hardly know it was there. Updates to the malware signatures are done frequently and quietly in the background. Upgrades to the next version of NIS are free during the subscription period, but the upgrade isn't forced on you. There is a "check for updates" menu item to check for and install the new version. The two way firewall is excellent with dynamic automation of rules. You can manually add rules to the firewall, but I've not found that necessary. There is also a built-in task manager and default schedules for scans.

[Chuck Engels]

ESET is reasonably priced and I was introduced to it at work, we had the enterprise version for all of our workstations.
It was a good program and I never trust just one anti virus or anti spyware anymore. ESET has done a really great job and the cost is only $50 per year for 2 PCs
http://www.eset.com/us/search-brand-eav ... 7AodQE8A-A

[BuddyB]

Chuck, do the two anti-virus pgms not conflict and fight one another? BTW if any of you are on Comcast HSI Norton is free.