My current subscription is expiring, and I am wondering if there is a better source out there for PC protection.
Current: Norton (54.99 annually)
Any suggestions?
I use Avast, I think it was $30 annually, but $50 for a two year subscription
I have used AVG for a long time. They have a free edition that works like a champ. You can download it here:
http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html
Every once in a while it will try to upsell you to the paid version, but just continue on with the free version. It's a champ for antivirus. There is no reason to pay for antivirus software as an individual user.
For the love of pete, please, do not pay a dime.
There are two (or more) high quality, free anti-virus software out there. As Skatastrophy mentioned, AVG is probably the king.
Second is Microsoft's very own Security Essentials is also free.
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/
I've used AVG and Microsoft's .. I currently use Microsoft's on all my PCs. It just quietly works in the background, updating, etc. No ads, nothing.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Spybot Search & Destroy is pretty good on spyware (as long as you're not hitting up porn sites every week then I don't know what could stop that) and is free. Go to majorgeeks.com to download it for free.
I use Microsoft Security Essentials and it is awsome. And its free.
ount me in the Norton camp, I tried AVG a few years ago and it let me down (viruses) but I've never had a problem with NAV and have found if you can wait to buy it right around the time the new version is coming out you can score the older version for as little as $10.
this is usually around November IIRC
I use Eset NOD32. Every other anti-virus was too much of a resource hog. Most anti-virus programs have become so bloated now that they don't do much well as they're trying to do EVERYTHING.
I'll cosign on NOD32. We switched from Norton to NOD32 at our office (80 PCs) about 5 years ago. Great decision. We had a ton of problems with Norton. Every couple weeks, we were rebuilding a PC because it was badly infected.
NOD32 has been a champ, works great. Our virus and spyware problems disappeared.
Quote from: mu_hilltopper on July 16, 2010, 10:14:41 AM
I'll cosign on NOD32. We switched from Norton to NOD32 at our office (80 PCs) about 5 years ago. Great decision. We had a ton of problems with Norton. Every couple weeks, we were rebuilding a PC because it was badly infected.
NOD32 has been a champ, works great. Our virus and spyware problems disappeared.
But is it $40 a year good?
Hmm .. we buy bulk 2 year licenses .. at $13 a seat or so.
Otherwise, I'd say NO antivirus is worth $40 a year, when there are (at least) two good ones that are FREE.
You can get NOD32 from Frys.com or Newegg.com for $9.99 - $15 a copy, depending on the sale that's being offered at the time.
Quote from: lurch91 on July 16, 2010, 12:45:24 PM
You can get NOD32 from Frys.com or Newegg.com for $9.99 - $15 a copy, depending on the sale that's being offered at the time.
Right, but that doesn't cover the service renewal costs. You don't get to renew every year for $10, right?
I'm not trying to say that NOD32 isn't a good option. I'm just trying to understand how much I could get it for with a little legwork (and not having to buy a new copy every year).
Correct, you will need to renew the license or buy a new copy each year. I think to renew through the ESET website it's $20-25, but I normally buy 2-3 copies of the program from Newegg.com when I notice it hitting $9.99. It's not free, but it's worth it to me.