Norton Antivirus, Questions.

Question

Few friends said the program isn't really that great it doesn't pick up a majority of affected files on your computer, I was just wanted to see if that was true or is it actually a good program and second does Norton antivirus supply a firewall too or just a antivirus thing?

ky331 · Answer

On the first point, I don't know that the issue is Norton actually "missing" a majority of viral infections. Rather, the standard "gripes" against Norton/Symantec are:

1) that the program is very "bloated"... it takes up a great deal of system resources [and disk space], and tends to be a real HOG, and

2) once installed, it's very difficult to COMPLETELY remove all traces of the program (in case you want to switch to a competitive product).

On the 2nd question, it depends on precisely which Norton product you buy... for example, Norton AntiVirus 2007 protects you against Viruses/Worms (and their ad also mentions Spyware & Rootkits), whereas Norton Internet Security 2007 does all this as well as including a two-way firewall. There are several other Norton products --- you should carefully read their descriptions to see precisely which one fits your needs.

Personally, I would go with the freely available anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall programs.... for free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, see my comments here:

http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_virus&thread.id=61524

Message Edited by ky331 on 06-28-2007 11:39 AM

Mikeftw · Answer

So, Norton Internet Security 2007 is better compared To Norton Antivirus?

ky331 · Answer

What I'm trying to say is that N IS 2007 is a more ' complete' package than just the AV.   One can debate whether that makes it 'better', or whether the extra features are just additional 'bloatware' that (ab)use system resources.   I personally am not recommending any Symantec products.

1972vet · Answer

If you consider yourself a novice user, I would not recommend that you use anything from Symantec.

Norton antivirus was a very good product back in the day when Peter Norton still had a hand in it. I'd say the last good norton antivirus application was probably norton 2002. Since then, it's become just more bloatware, but still a good program. You will I predict, become frustrated with it in a short time if you DO consider yourself a novice.

The Symantec products are good for corporate settings but for home users, there's not a real good reason to use it over any of the free applications available.

Did you see This.

Mikeftw · Answer

Alright, I'm thinking of uninstalling Norton now seeing your opinions and others, now I am a novice so would downloading the avg antivirus thing and keeping Spybot- Search and destroy be fine to keep my computer safe, and would I need to download a firewall or would windows firewall be good to keep alone. Thanks for the help guys

dalem29 · Answer

Zone Alarm is free and is a good product...the Windows firewall only works on incoming data, not outgoing. Go to this link to download.

http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html

Forgot to add that that the ZA firewall will take a day or two to "train", it will show a lot alerts about how you want it to treat different sites...otherwise it is a simple set up and works automatically unless you want to search for updates manually. Right now it is downloading something, not sure what.

Message Edited by dalem29 on 06-28-2007 05:34 PM

Mikeftw · Answer

Alright thanks man, but can I rely on just using Spybot and AVG free Anti Virus only to keep my computer clean?

ky331 · Answer

As Dale pointed out, some form of firewall should be invoked.   Are you using a router? --- if so, it probably has at least a NAT firewall, and perhaps a more advanced firewall.   A router firewall, in conjunction with the Windows firewall,   might  suffice.   But Dale's suggestion of a two-way firewall offers additional protection.   Concerning SpyBot, a lot depends on just what aspect of SpyBot you're referring to.   Basically, there are three parts to it: 1)  The on-demand scanner --- which can try to clean things after the fact --- i.e., after the infection has already set in. 2)   The IMMUNIZATION and/or Browser Helper, which do a minimal job at trying to protect you from 'catching' malware. 3)  The TeaTimer feature, which offers RESIDENT (continually running in real-time) anti-spyware protection.   Unfortunately, the TeaTimer in Spybot 1.4 is 'buggy' in its display, so most people don't use it.   This has been corrected in SpyBot 1.5 --- but version 1.5 is still only BETA (it's undergoing testing, and has not been released in 'final' form yet).   I'm currently running some personal tests of TeaTimer, to get a better sense of it.  if you're interested, I'm summarizing my findings here: http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_virus&thread.id=61528   AVG Free anti-virus is a reasonable/good choice of A-V.   For anti-spyware, [unless/until I get a better sense of TeaTimer,] I'm currently recommending Windows Defender for its RESIDENT protection (as well as its on-demand scanner).   And since no single anti-spyware program catches everything, you should run at least one more SCANNER --- you can use SpyBot for that... but personally, I much prefer SuperAntiSpyware's scanning ability.   For links to these [and other] products, see my posts here:  http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_virus&thread.id=61524

Mikeftw · Answer

So, just to clarify I need to install Windows Defender, AVG Free Antivirus, and Zone alarm and I'll be set right? sorry if this seems obvious, I've ben trying to set this stuff up all day

ky331 · Answer

To keep things simple, yes, that would be a reasonable combination:

1) AVG Free anti-virus gives you RESIDENT anti-virus protection, plus on-demand scanning as wanted.

2) Windows Defender gives you RESIDENT anti-malware protection, plus on-demand scanning as wanted.

3) Zone Alarm gives you two-way firewall protection.

Please be sure to keep these products up-to-date:

AVG tends to update daily, Windows Defender tends to update at least weekly.

Also, you should keep up-to-date with all the Windows Critical/Security updates that are released each month!!

If you stop here, with these 3, you have minimal/basic protection in all areas.

I hope not to complicate matters further, but I've already mentioned that no single anti-spyware (anti-malware) SCANNER is sufficient... you should be using at least two anti-malware on-demand scanners. Windows Defender is a good choice for one, but it's prudent to have a second anti-malware scanner. I've already included (twice in fact) a link to some other recommended programs...

Message Edited by ky331 on 06-29-2007 09:10 AM

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Norton Antivirus, Questions.

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