NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › Should I renew my norton anti virus?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Should I renew my norton anti virus?

post #1 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:26pm
Thread Starter 
I bought a notebook with norton and the subscription just ended. Is it worth $50 renew my subscription?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:33pm
no need for Norton

1. uninstall
2. reinstall
3.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:34pm
No there are several free one out there that do the job just as well and use less system resources. Personally, I use AntiVir, but Avast also seems popular.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:40pm
The most important question:

Do you plan on leaving your computer connected to the internet all the time, or are you only connected when you are physically present?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:42pm
Thread Starter 
internet is only connected when I'm using it.
So no, huh?
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:47pm
Like g00nter said, you have free options. If you like Norton you may get a better deal if you buy a boxed version from a store, it could end up costing $20 or less with rebates. Just keep an eye out for a good deal.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 30
8/21/05 at 10:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by this is me
internet is only connected when I'm using it.
So no, huh?
So, I wouldn't recommend you spend another $50 or so to renew the Norton subscription. If you have it connected all the time, the Norton features such as auto protect or script blocking is very useful; especially if you plan on running network services, continuously download data, or serving when you are not there.

If you don't connect when you are not there, then most of the threat would be apparent to you instantly, provided you are monitoring what processes are running on your machine at any given time. The greatest risk would be if you visit some unsavory websites that might execute something harmful on your machine. The most secure way to lock down your computer is actually to use XP-professional or a similarly equipped OS, and use some of the low level utilities to lock certain processes on your computer, unlock when you need to run (such as certain flash media installation programs); and set permissions to deny any changes to your system except under very restricted conditions.

Plus, Norton 2005 actually sucks up considerable CPU time when you have all of the services running, which could be a pretty substantial drain on your computer, when you need all the power you can for gaming or encoding, etc.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 30
8/21/05 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by awingedpig
no need for Norton

1. uninstall
2. reinstall
3.
As of 05 norton does subscription checking.
I would suggest something such as AVG or Avast if you're not interested in purchasing antivirus. I would, however, not suggest running with out it. You'll be kicking yourself for not having it once you've caught something.
Remember there are two kinds of comptuer users. Those who have lost data and those who will. Running without protection only increases this risk. Don't be an idiot.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 30
8/22/05 at 1:13am
I concur with digitalpunk. Norton is a memory and resource hog... plus, being a name brand, it leaves it open to more attacks. *ALL* anti-virus programs use the _same exact scanning method_. So when you buy Norton, you're not buying the program so much as (a) the extras bundled with the program, (b) the name, and (c) the subscription to their live update. The only difference if you go with another scanner like AVG or Avast (both of which digitalpunk mentioned above) is that you'll be getting your updates from a different source.

Speaking from my own experience, Norton would update once or twice a week, while PC-Cillin (another great program that I highly recommend) will update once or twice a day. Plus, its a lot less obtrusive...

EDIT: Ditto once more... its not like the viruses aren't going to come on your computer when you're sitting there using it!
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 30
8/22/05 at 2:28am
no do not renew norton, ditch it and get NOD32
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 30
8/22/05 at 5:59am
I'm not a fan of Norton....the anti virus is good, but much more of a resource hog than many others.....the rest of their stuff is unnecessary bloatage. Here's my free security suite; AVG antivirus, Zone Alarm free, Spybot search and destroy, Ad-aware se, Spywareblaster, Hijack this.

All of these are free, work superbly and you hardly notice they're on....

In my opinion, the most important of these is the firewall. I've had really good luck with zone alarm. The windows one is crap. If you don't have a firewall, get one now.

Evil programs placed on your computer are much more likely to collect info than crash your system. With a firewall, even if they're on it, they are handcuffed because they need access to the interweb and can't get through a firewall.

Good luck
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 30
8/22/05 at 8:07am
A

V

G


I

S


F

R

E

E

A

N

D


A

V

A

S

T
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 30
8/22/05 at 8:27am
www.nod32.com <---best scanner by far.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 30
8/22/05 at 1:11pm
ditch Norton but NEVER run without an antivirus program. Get a free one (Avast is recommended by me) or even if you want to pay for something, there are better programs out there than Norton.

Norton is similar to other products only the liveupdate updates less often (definitions are released with equal frequency but liveupdate doesn't update for every definition change) and Norton uses far more memory than other products.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 30
8/22/05 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone.
I'll get norton out of my system and install something else.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 30
8/22/05 at 6:30pm
I've had good luck with Trend Micro PC-Cillin. Don't know how "good" it is and I do see it taking a bit of resources (~35 MB for all the processes including the firewall) but I've never had problems since I installed it. Updates in the background without bothering me for input and I like that.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 30
8/22/05 at 6:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by this is me
I bought a notebook with norton and the subscription just ended. Is it worth $50 renew my subscription?
50 bucks? It cost me $30 canadian (~ $23 at the time). I'd say stick Norton and use something else if that's the case. AVG free works quite well. If you need guaranteed updates, spend a few bucks on AVG Pro. It costs about half of what NAV costs and you get two years of updates for that price, and renewal is also cheaper.

Quote:
1. uninstall
2. reinstall
Ouch, you mean the OS right? Norton has been known to leave a big mess behind it when uninstalling. I'd recommend formatting and re-installing your OS.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 30
8/22/05 at 6:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by epp_b
Ouch, you mean the OS right? Norton has been known to leave a big mess behind it when uninstalling. I'd recommend formatting and re-installing your OS.
What?!?!? Re-install the OS to get rid of a virus APP? That's what you do to get rid of a VIRUS. I would think the OUCH factor would be much higher from re-installing/re-formatting. It takes what like 2.5 hours after you re-install the drivers and apps? Not me man, uninstall and run some cleaner app that looks for orphaned files and such.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 30
8/22/05 at 7:05pm
Try out TuneUp Utilities 2004 for removing what's left behind
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 30
8/22/05 at 7:12pm
Quote:
What?!?!? Re-install the OS to get rid of a virus APP?
Not just any virus app...this is NAV, with the abominable uninstaller. Have you ever tried to uninstall NAV?

Quote:
It takes what like 2.5 hours after you re-install the drivers and apps?
Not if you have proper backups.

Quote:
Not me man, uninstall and run some cleaner app that looks for orphaned files and such.
Those can cause more harm than good.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › Should I renew my norton anti virus?