Alternative to Norton 360?

[Deleted1744345User]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good alternative to Norton 360. I absolutely hate the program because it hogs system resoures, is slow to respond, keeps spamming annoying messages like defragment my HD (even though it doesn't need to be), and fails to complete essential functions like disk check. I got it for free because I have Comcast as my ISP and they provide the service, but I guess that goes to show you that being free doesn't make it better. I'll need something that provides antivirus and antispyware protection and has some sort of internet security like Norton 360 (but works this time).

Also, I need to know if I can revert back to Norton 360 if I have to without having to pay for it, since right now it's a free service as I mentioned before. I think only other Comcast users would know the answer to this and if not, at least guide me in the right direction to finding an answer. Thanks in advance.

[TheReverendTholomewPlague]

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011. It's a full internet security and anti-virus package. It's annoying at first but when you've had it for about 1 month and correctly configured it you'll hardly notice that it's there.

 

I use it and I haven't had one single PC issue while it's been installed.

Edited July 2, 2011 by TheReverendTholomewPlague

[hoofhearted4]

i just download things like AVG and Spybot: S&D and stuff. i havent had any issues on any of my PCs.

[Deleted1744345User]

Thanks for the replies. I've heard a lot about AVG and Spybot, but I'll look into Kaspersky internet security. I still need to know if I can fall back on N360 though. Right now Comcast is epically failing because my RCA broadband modem keeps disconnecting every 5 minutes and I'm about ready to smash it into oblivion. :wallbash:

[MarkInMKUK]

Personally I was surprised how good Microsoft's own free antivirus was (Microsoft Security Essentials). Norton's a major resource hog though, as is Mcafee

[Deleted1744345User]

Personally I was surprised how good Microsoft's own free antivirus was (Microsoft Security Essentials). Norton's a major resource hog though, as is Mcafee

Definitely true. Before I had Norton 360, I had Mcafee as it too was provided for free by Comcast. I guess Comcast is just one big epic failure if their free services suck, like Norton 360 and On Demand. However, I don't trust Microsoft with the security of my computer.

[N3C14R]

I use McAfee Antivirus Plus. Seems decent, no annoying messages and such, the only thing I dislike about it is that it prevented some of my firefox plugins from working. :/

 

Avast is also another AV program I recommend, been using it flawlessly for just over 2 years, before I switched to McAfee.

[Qwaxalot]

At present, get rid of Norton (and McAfee) and use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's in Microsoft's best interests to keep your computer from being trashed.

[Deleted1744345User]

I think I might as well give Microsoft SE a try. It's not like I'm running an illegal version of a Windos OS, so I'll be able to install it with no problems. BTW, I saw on the Comcast website that they let you redownload Norton 360 for free if you provide your valid Comcast email address (which I have).

[Vagrant0]

I use McAfee Antivirus Plus. Seems decent, no annoying messages and such, the only thing I dislike about it is that it prevented some of my firefox plugins from working. :/

I guess you didn't notice the fact that it can't detect anything other than false positives. Its heuristics are a joke, its definitions are often months behind. The company only exists at this point because they have bundle contracts with computer manufacturers and can get the occasional uninformed consumer. Norton is almost just as bad. A company which exists less for their product than the name of their product.

 

In general, any product pushed by an ISP or as bundled software tends to be utter crap. There are few exceptions.

 

I would recommend Kaspersky, except that their internet security 2011 package seems to have a small memory leak somewhere that can result in the program taking up 1gb+ of memory if you leave your computer running for a few days. Only a handful of customers seem to experience it, but they don't particularly seem inclined to solve it. This is just the latest step in the trend of Kaspersky becoming more and more like Norton, lack of quality or support for their product, lack of timely updates, dependency on obtrusive scans and constant popups. For instance an anti-spam feature which gives you a big flashy warning if you havn't trained it on e-mails, and gives you constant warnings when it is disabled. Not a big deal for those of us who need/want a program deciding what is and is not spam for them, but fairly annoying otherwise.

 

My best recommendation at this point would actually be AVG and Spybot, maybe with Malwarebytes as a safety net. AVG seems the most relaible out of all out there, and is free, so you don't have to pay a subscription fee unless you really like the program and want some extra features. Spybot has rather consistently always been good for finding stuff other softwares miss and can prevent many threats from even taking hold.

 

But if you need some of the firewall stuff from Norton and Kaspersky, Comodo is a good alternative to AVG, provided you can sit down and spend the time getting it setup and working.