Topic: Norton v McAfee

[Simon]

I'm thinking of switching from Norton Internet Security, to the McAfee Security Suite, but am slightly nervous, because I have only ever used Norton.  The trouble is, the latest versions of Norton seem to significantly slow everything down, and working my PC is like wading through treacle at the moment, even with a half empty hard drive.  Has anyone used McAfee, and if so, what's your impression?

[Michelle]

I never could use norton, on all the computers I've had recently  :roll: - they hated it - I've never had any problems with Mcafee - seems fine to me.

[Simon]

Thanks Michelle!  1 point to McAfee.  

[sam]

go free, use AVG.

[Clive]

Avast is really good too Simon.  It's unobtrusive and does the business.  I've seen only good reports about it.

[Simon]

I've decided to give F-Secure a shot.  So far, it has taken an hour and a half to remove bloody Norton!

[Delgado]

I've decided to give F-Secure a shot.  So far, it has taken an hour and a half to remove bloody Norton!

   Norton is the biggest load of sh-t ever to grace a computer! Even people that have always used it are complaining. It was good in the beginning, but now with all this activation business, and bloat it carries, it is a burden. My mate had to reload his operating system after trying to activate his Norton.

   Im now using AVG Professional -first class! and my firewall is Look n Stop.

 Look n Stop is the lightest and best firewall ive ever used-its magic!!

http://www.looknstop.com/En/index2.htm


Link repaired by Simon.

[sam]

yes AVG is great and you are right about norton eating up your system... but they still sell loads of copies..

[Simon]

Never heard of looknstop, Delgado, but it looks good, and welcome back, by the way!  

I think there are pros and cons with any of the suites and stand alone utilities.  I have a bit of thing about all-in-ones, and tend to prefer them to separate utilities, hence my using the Mozilla Suite, instead of Firefox and Thunderbird.  Whereas the suites can use slightly more resources, I think they integrate with your system (and with themselves) better than stand alones, and there is less tendency towards conflicts.

I have now tried sevaral of the 'big' Security Suites, except McAfee, as I read some poor reviews about it being as bad as Norton for hogging resources.  The Zone Alarm Security Suite was quick to set up, but for some reason, didn't allow Mail Washer to check all my mail accounts simultaneously, no matter what settings I used, so it had to go.  I also tried Trend Micro PC-Cillin 14 Security Suite, but could only manage to get hold of a trial version.    Although not the best according to some online reviews, I have found F-Secure to be the best alternative to Norton, for my needs.  It's a bit long winded to install, but uses less system resources than Norton, and has AV, Firewall, Spyware and Spam protection all in one, with an easy to use, and fairly attractive interface.  It lost points with some reviews, because it reported some spyware as viruses, and wasn't strict enough with Spam, but I have Mail Washer, Spyware Doctor, Ad Aware and Spybot which should take care of that!  I have also found that my Bit Torrent client seems to run 5 times as fast with F-Secure, which is another bonus!  :whistle:

[sam]

I have also found that my Bit Torrent client seems to run 5 times as fast with F-Secure,

that has to be spurious, unless it is leaving open some ports.

[Simon]

According to Shields up I'm fully stealthed.  Maybe it allows a faster datastream, or perhaps I've just been lucky with the torrents I have chosen?  Seems fairly consistant though.  Web pages certainly seem to open quicker than with Norton.

[Delgado]

Glad you seem to be sorted Simon-and thanks for the "welcome back"