Our Norton AntiVirus 2003 subscription is quickly coming to an end. I need to upgrade. !?
AOL, which we are currently brainlessly using, now has a free upgrade with free virus protection? If we install the upgrade does that do away with the need for further Norton protection?? Is the upgrade any good? I know alot of people hate AOL? I'm to ignorant to understand why.
Is Norton the best out there?
We're looking into finally doing away with this irritating dial-up habit of ours.
Who's the best out there? Cheap is good, however, service and quality are much better!
Help!
What do you have running on your computer?
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
I have no idea why people insist on calling it Norton; it's just the brand-name. Maybe when I refer to "Symantec's Antivirus", rather than "Symantec Norton AntiVirus" it makes me unique; ahhh, the Australian people is very weird indeed! (Do I sound like Lewis Carroll?)
Anyway, here's my suggestion:
Never, ever- ever- ever, trust AOL. They inisist on using Internet Exploder, in spite of Netscape's purcase. I suggest one of the following:
If you have a very good STEALTHED firewall, or you have a very fast computer - get Symntec Norton AntiVirus 2005. It's pretty good, to say the very least.
If you do NOT have a stealthed firewall you have two general options:
1) Buy Norton Internet Security 2005, easy to use and very good - I use it (but then, I got a fast computer).
Of course, you could go McAfee, Panda, or one of the lessers; but I'd go with either of these two. McAfee gave me a hassle in the past (whreas some of their versions were better than Symantec's), and Panda is known to have missed too many viruses and have a chewed up firewall, at times.
I never liked Avast! and AVG seemed too weak for my paranoia; I can't say much about Tiny, so that leaves me with offering you the cream for crop prices - either Symantes, for robust defences, or ZoneAlarm for quick performance and a very impressive reputation, not to mention performance.
Enjoy! Even with AOL
The miserable 14 year old who is (apparently) the only one who writes with capitals and punctuation on instant messenging. Sob.
Dagonee
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
I know it's free, but it never seemed strong enough to me.
Oh, well, I'm a bit paranoic when it comes to computers.
Jonny
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
I suppose I referred to Norton AntiVirus 2003 the way I did was because I was taking the name directly from the user's guide. I now see the word symantec in smaller print above it.
Please excuse my ignorance.
What if I combined two lowly versions, the free one you guys mentioned and the free one AOL offers? What type of resistance do you think I'd have?
We're probably going to go with the 2005 version because we can get it for $39.95..which I'm finding to be the best deal.
*shrugs* I hate to make decisions on things like this. It seems like I could read for days on this subject and still be confused.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Oh please, I've yet to hear anyone actually call it Symantec and not Norton.
It's all a matter of symantecs anyway.
-Trevor
AOL is garbage - if it's free, you might as well but I don't know if the extra load would bog down your machine.
I'd suggest Norton and occasionally scan with the freeware - but be warned, Norton and the freeware may flag each other as "unwanted programs."
[ December 12, 2004, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: TMedina ]
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
quote: Oh please, I've yet to hear anyone actually call it Symantec and not Norton.
That makes me very peculiar.
NEVER COMBINE TWO AV SOLUTIONS.
I did that mitake, I had to use 3 different Linuxes and only then was I able to return to my system. That included a live CD.
[ December 12, 2004, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: Jonathan Howard ]
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
It's all good - I didn't want Tammy feeling put out by your quirk.
Megan cringes every time someone says "Apple Martini" because, as she points out, the drink has nothing to do with a legitimate martini.
I've been known to twitch when people talk about gun "clips." Have no idea why.
-Trevor
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
I use Kaspersky, but I don't like it very much. My husband uses AVG. He seems to like it. I'll be switching soon. It's a good idea to have a bit of redundancy in your system.
You need AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy. Run them both, reboot, and run them again.
Then, go to GRC, click Shield's Up on the intro page, then find it again on the subsequent page, and proceed with a test. Your goal should be a fully stealth machine, so unsoliticed attacks don't make it through--they don't even know you exist. (No return packets are sent.) There's also a lot of good information on that site.
So, get something like AVG, AdAware, SpyBot Search and Destroy, check your PC on Housecall and GRC. And if you ever get broadband, it's a good idea to set up a router.
Oh, and update the programs often with new information.
And that's all I have to say about that...
-Katarain
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
AOL has offered free virus protection for years if you knew where to look. Community leaders were "strongly recommended" to download and run AOL's bastardized version of McAfee rather than whatever else they had on their computers (and I was a CL for 4 years).
The problem I had with AOL's version of the software was that I was locked out from any kind of customization. I couldn't set it to scan attachments upon download, to scan files when opened, I couldn't even set the system scan time - and that ran at REALLY inconvenient times for me, like in the middle of my scheduled chat! Repeated requests for assistance in unlocking the program simply to change the scan schedule were ignored and ridiculed. "why would I want to change it? it's fine just the way it is!" Oh, and it wouldn't auto-update DAT files, so I had to remember to manually go to McAfee's site at least weekly to update, and it wouldn't accept the SuperDAT updates which also update the engine at the same time.
I remember having problems uninstalling it, but I don't recall exactly what. Of course, there's problems uninstalling ANYTHING from AOL, so maybe it's just part of AOL's attempt at monopolizing everything.
I now use the free version of AVG 6.0 and have had no problems. Periodically I run Panda Software's online ActiveScan just as a doublecheck. I'm all for free stuff whenever possible!
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
I use Norton, but that's only because I get a free subscription from my school. If I didn't, I'd get AVG. It's definitely worth the price.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I would never go with AOL, but that's based on prejudice as opposed to any actual experience with AOL's products.
I currently have Norton Internet Security, which includes a firewall and anti-virus protection, but I'm seriously considering dumping it and going with AVG for antivirus and Agnipum Outpost for firewall. It's what hubby, the computer alpha geek, is suggestsing I go with and what he's currently using.
Problem with Norton is that it has a bigger RAM footprint plus it gets buggered up fairly easily. Temper that statement with a large dosage of impatience for software that's the least bit buggy. I reformatted my hard drive two weeks ago, and Norton is already giving me funny errors, same as it did before I reformatted. It wants to reinstall something every single time I reboot. No idea why, and it certainly isn't anything I've chosen to do. Plus it prevents email from working 100% properly. Long story, and I'm not getting into it. Don't feel like it.
McAfee is perfectly fine for antivirus, as is AVG. Norton is as well most of the time, but it can have compatibility problems with some systems.
And yes, definitely make sure you have some kind of firewall in place. The GRC website mentioned earlier is excellent. I highly recommend it.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
Thanks for all your excellent suggestions. You guys technically blow my mind.
I went for something easy.
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2005.
Okay, my mind is now officially blown. I'm surprised my computer even works with all the attacks it reports.
quote: Personal Firewall You were last attacked on: 12/13/2004 6:30:46 AM Recent Intrusion Attempts: 3 Most Frequent Attacker: 83.238.46.94
If that's your IP I just posted !
My ignorance is frightening!
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
You can go to Visual Route and track the IP address if ya like. Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
!
That's exactly the kind of link I was after!
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
You're welcome.
And thanks for providing the proof I needed that I am, indeed, a psychic. Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
Absolutely amazing, to me anyway.
The IP address was found in 16 hops, beginning in Englewood,CO and ending in Warszawa, Poland.
I'm not sure what to do with the information though.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Me either. But it was fun, wasn't it?
As you get more familiar with this, you'll realize that there are so many attempted hacks so often that it's not worth your time tracing them. It is worth it, however, to recognize that you're better protected now than you were before.
Have you been through the GRC site mentioned earlier? It really is a gold mine of information.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:I have no idea why people insist on calling it Norton; it's just the brand-name. Maybe when I refer to "Symantec's Antivirus", rather than "Symantec Norton AntiVirus" it makes me unique; ahhh, the Australian people is very weird indeed! (Do I sound like Lewis Carroll?)
Well, it's still sold as Norton Antivirus even though Peter Norton really has nothing to do with it, but it is still the product name. Just plain Symantec Antivirus is a different product for corporate and enterprise level protection. AOL's free antivirus service is really just Mcafee's Antivirus product.
Posted by raventh1 (Member # 3750) on :
std's are bad mmkay.
Well, I personally don't use any protection. Then again, I don't go around doing things I'm not supposed to .
My suggestions include: Not using IE(ActiveX can allow remote software to be installed rather easily), Not downloading things that could help me break the law(Copyright laws). Other than that, there isn't too much to worry about.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
'Symantec Antivirus', or 'Symantec's antivirus'?
A difference exists!
I know the Symantec AntiVirus (again, diffrent from Symantec Antivirus,) is a product for servers; I do occasionally call it Norton AntiVirus or SNAV, but I never got why people go to www.norton.com to download a trial, even though it's redirected.
GOD HELP ME!
Jonny
BTW, Tammy, good choice! Enjoy!
BTBTW, "quidscribis", I like the name! What about "ubisum?"?
[ December 13, 2004, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Jonathan Howard ]
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
raventh1, Windows IS secure. As long as you don't connect to the Internet.
Before I even started with downloads and other stuff, I had a firewall that monitoed 3 'red' alerts every 10 second. You can only IMAGINE what there is today, 3 years later!
You're surely infected. I read what a guy wrote about it in www.pcw.co.uk, and he only dropped an Antivirus! He even used Windows' firewall.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
quote:Well, I personally don't use any protection. Then again, I don't go around doing things I'm not supposed to
It's amazing how innocently you can pick up a bug in this modern world. No hanky panky necessary! All I have to do is log on and pull up Hatrack and I already have several "attacks" logged.
My protection is so wonderful now that I had to figure out how to make it let me log on to AOL. It obviously thinks AOL is a virus.
quote: Have you been through the GRC site mentioned earlier?
Not yet...but I will. Thanks!
[ December 13, 2004, 06:37 PM: Message edited by: Tammy ]
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
We used AVG in the computer shop I worked for. There was some weakness to the free version, but it caught a heck of a lot more than Norton did, and was able to successfully remove more viruses than Norton. One major example is the Netsky virus. Norton required a secondary utility to remove it, AVG took it out on the fly. The big weakness of AVG is it's inability to remove viruses that are running as processes in the background. To remove those, you have to write down the file name, boot into safe mode, and remove manually, since AVG doesn't run in safe more. Other than that, it worked well.
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