with my Nortan up for renewal, and me not really having the money to renew (or the desire) i'm in the market for new anti-virus software. for free >.> as i really don't have it in the budget for anything past my internet and phone bills
anti-virus software help
- Thread starter Lunar Templar
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SpyBot Search and Destroy is pretty decent. Only thing is is that it doesn't really actively scan your computer or automatically update. But it does immunize your browsers to stop them from downloading possible viruses, malware and spyware, and it has great community support.
Well, from one of the reviews you linked to:Matthew94 said:
I'm not saying it's terrible, but you can get much better value elsewhere.
Norton never changed, but "it isn't worth paying for" refers to the fact that you can get much better value for money elsewhere. Norton certainly has changed, but there are still better, free alternatives elsewhere.Matthew94 said:
Malware Bytes.
But just like the old minecraft saying, "Only you can prevent forest fires" the best defense against getting viruses and other malware is only downloading from trustworthy sites, and not visiting the dodgy ones. Avoid McAfee, and Norton like the plague.
But just like the old minecraft saying, "Only you can prevent forest fires" the best defense against getting viruses and other malware is only downloading from trustworthy sites, and not visiting the dodgy ones. Avoid McAfee, and Norton like the plague.
I only have the testimony of everyone I've ever met who uses avast or similar.Matthew94 said:
My point isn't that Avast is better than Norton though. I wouldn't know.
My point is that "The more you pay for it, the better it is" is a fallacious statement.
You yourself went from "Norton isn't a horrible evil anymore" to "You pay for norton, that means it is better than the free stuff", which clearly wasn't true in the past, so I'm not going to assume it's true today when free av is doing me and everyone I know fine.
Regardless of the technical superiority of any given av software though, I still don't think it's reasonable for an ordinary person (I can see how workplaces may want to make an investment) to pay for av when there are free alternatives.
Even if there was an expensive av which demonstrably blocked every bit of hostile code ever, I still wouldn't pay for it, as your average internet user only needs a certain level of protection.
A level of protection that's perfectly available for free.
Considering I can browse questionable porn sites without issue, it would take nothing short of intentional sabotage or utter computer dyslexia to contract something serious.
Thus I'm working off the assumption that anyone capable of creating a thread in a forum does not need to pay for av.
Two statements which are - as opposed to yours - not in conflict.Matthew94 said:
The reason I told OP to uninstall Norton is not that it is(was) horrible bloatware.
1. It's a useless program to have lying around when you've decided to get a new AV, so uninstalling it is the sensible thing to do.
2. I have a dislike for subscription based AV in personal computers and would like to see their traces deleted.
3. I intentionally exagerrated the importance of getting rid of Norton for a very slight humorous effect.
And never ever did I claim it was. You're fighting against a strawman, and you're accusing me of trying to change the rules of the game, when all I'm doing is trying to get the rules to apply to the point I'm actually making.
I'm sorry if the exaggeration in my original post was unclear and got you to think I was bringing up the old "Norton is horrible for your computer" point, but I did not intend that.
I can agree on that. Norton is probably the best alternative for those not competent with avoiding viruses and so on. That has the cost of not allowing customisation, however, which is why Norton is a terrible alternative for anyone that knows the slightest of what they're doing.Matthew94 said:
One problem that Norton does suffer from, however, is that it's torture to uninstall. It came with my laptop, and there are still plenty of traces from it.
You don't necessarily, no. There are plenty of Flash games that are (subjectively, of course) better than games that cost money.Matthew94 said:
It normally does.Matthew94 said:
Like I mentioned as a sidenote in an earlier post, I'm not opposed to companies and workplaces (Being the places where, from what I understand, software suppliers earn most their money) investing in subscription services. They might need the extra protection just to be sure.
This money can apparently responsibly finance the company while they provide free services to private persons as a pleasant gesture (and as a hook).
I call things like Norton, McAfee even kapersky in the last few years added services that are either over kill (firewalls) or unlikely to work very well such as anti phishing (oh they can scan web mail now? impressive) or anti account fraud (again, i would like to see that in action)
All that extra stuff is horseshit the average end user doesn't need and is usually robbing resources.
hence bloat ware.
Though I do notice they are just selling the AV now which is good to see.
All that extra stuff is horseshit the average end user doesn't need and is usually robbing resources.
hence bloat ware.
Though I do notice they are just selling the AV now which is good to see.