How-To Geek

I am learning new English words every day. 'Renual' was one I did not know yet, but it sounds good, LOL.

I observed on many forums that the English native speakers are the worst offenders - Americans, Brits, Australians, etc. The foreign speakers are usually very good.

@ispalten I base my statement ("In my opinion Norton is crap") in my own experience, having cleaned multiple infections from PCs 'protected' (so to speak) with Norton Internet Security Suites. I admit this was some time ago, the last time was about a year and a half ago on a Windows XP. Most of those people had renewed the Norton subscription only because it was preinstalled in their PC. I find Norton's UI overwhelming for the casual computer user, and invasive in some ways (read Norton toolbar).

I admit also I've had several requests of people with that "Your PC is locked, pay $100 to unlock it" malware, that were using MSE. But for the ones looking for a free antivirus product I find it the best one in terms of protection, and also because of its UI (I can still remember when my friend's AV voice-alerted the whole library that the virus database was updated, that was hilarious, can't remember the AV's name though).

The only AV I did not have a single problem with (as of now) was ESET Smart Security, which I used for 4 years. And yes, I do prefer the suite for myself and for tech users, but not for the casual user (maybe I should have clarified that). To the people seeking help from me I always recommended the antivirus-only ESET NOD 32 as a paid solution, and those of them using it did not have a single problem either. A full security suite is of little help if one doesn't know how to use it properly and to configure it to their needs, and in my opinion paying more for it is non-sense.

Now, in my case, I use Ubuntu, with MSE on my Windows partition just in case. For everybody else those are my recommendations: Remove Norton if it came preinstalled with your PC (don't wait for the trial to end), then use MSE (free) or ESET NOD 32 (paid) with Windows Firewall, and ESET Smart Security if you want a full suite. I know free is not the same as paid, that's why I offer both options.

But, as I said, this is just my opinion. And I have no problem in debating it. Thanks for your post!

@Xhi "Before you buy a renual you have to first buy something nu." - You made my day!!

As if anyone cares, for about 3 years now this has been the foundation of my security regimen:
Standard User for daily surfing
Avast! (which was probably the voice in the library!! lol)
Windows Defender
Firefox
NoScript
3rd-party cookies with permission ONLY
Click-to play Flash (only recently)
Undesired services disabled (blackviper.com)
Java (recently) uninstalled

I also maintain my Dad's computer. Neither of us has contracted a single virus in these 3 years.

Under 'general' usage MANY suites and individual products ARE set for maximum warnings it seems, not for little interaction with the user. They appear to WANT you to know what is happening. This has been my feeling with almost every suite and A/V I've used. In many cases this IS daunting to users and sort of scares them away and makes them think the apps are slow and annoying. Just like UAC is when it bings and blackens the screen, it is done SO YOU KNOW.

I personally feel I'd rather have a paid app (and if you understand what I wrote about Black Friday, it is FREE or cheap) than rely on protection getting to me late because the free app isn't updated as often. Even if I had to spend the list price of $80 for 3 PC's a year I don't think it is that much per PC. Apps like Nero costs the same, and many give you NO credit when a new version is released, you have to buy again, and again, ...

What IS important is SYSTEM LOAD (Performance) and PERCENT CATCHING, which is hard to really calculate. Something that catches 100% of the known exploits is useless if it can't catch all the latest ones on a timely manner. Yeah, someone has to be hit by a Zero-day and have it reported before it can be remedied, but the speed and accuracy of getting the Zero-day Exploit protection out is paramount.

Like WHS says, in almost all A/V tests/reviews I've seen, MSE doesn't fare well. Think about this, MS would be a in world of hurt if they made a product that put other A/V makers out of business, especially if they used hidden API calls. MSE is just 'good enough' so you have some level of protection I suspect. Can you say 'bundling'? They are NOT about to do that, think IE...

Irv S.

"LOL. "it has a lot more settings". That's exactly what I, and newbies, don't want"

LH, I understand. There must be AV programs for the simple folks. Then they are easy pray.