Norton Internet Security.

Graceland

I have Norton Internet Security 2011. I usually get an upgrade every year but they didn't have any when I went in to buy it. However the salesman told me that I could get the Norton Internet Security performance pack for 2012 instead. He said that would be as good.

Would it be alright for me to go for this pack or would it be better to try and find an upgrade instead. I don't want to lose any of my security by putting the performance pack in instead of an upgrade.

chin_grin

I'm going to warn you now. This thread (like all the others) are just going to descend in to "use this anti virus instead".

I'll admit there are as good as if not better free anti virus programs (I myself have used Microsoft Security Essentials combined with Malwarebytes for the last two years and have gotten absolutely nothing).

From experience norton is a bloated mess, same goes for mcafee.

paddyandy

My experience is similar to chin grin .Don't buy anything .

Beagslife

Try amazon for your Norton. It usually works out cheaper.

Have a look at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Norton-Internet-Security-Computers-Subscription/dp/B005INFE3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333756291&sr=8-1 with free shipping to Ireland.

There are also some upgrade packs there.

ZENER

Doesn't Norton allow you to buy an upgrade direct from their site ?

Ken

zenno

chin_grin wrote: »

I'm going to warn you now. This thread (like all the others) are just going to descend in to "use this anti virus instead".

I'll admit there are as good as if not better free anti virus programs (I myself have used Microsoft Security Essentials combined with Malwarebytes for the last two years and have gotten absolutely nothing).

From experience norton is a bloated mess, same goes for mcafee.

I have to sincerely agree with this comment especially from being a long term user and tester of most security software.

Bloatware is a major downside to norton and mc afee and obviously slows down computer performance but on a side note I have always used kaspersky myself and the reason being is that it has an anti add-banner mode that blocks out all adds but this is my preference and I also use malwarebytes.

kippy

chin_grin wrote: »

I'm going to warn you now. This thread (like all the others) are just going to descend in to "use this anti virus instead".

I'll admit there are as good as if not better free anti virus programs (I myself have used Microsoft Security Essentials combined with Malwarebytes for the last two years and have gotten absolutely nothing).

From experience norton is a bloated mess, same goes for mcafee.

Why would that be classed as a descent?

Haven't you started the ball rolling on this so called descent?

Ultimately, the poster has asked a specific question. I, and many others on this forum have no real experience with Norton, McAfee or paid for products on home computers. Why? Because, as you say they are a bloated mess, there are as good or better security products out there, and oh, yeah, there are free methods out there.
It's often good to assist people in:
a. Saving money.
b. Understand security

OP,
From a personal PoV (From a person who works on technology every day), I wouldnt go near Norton/McAfee etc.
I would recommend installing Microsoft Security Essentials:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

Also install Malwarebytes and run a scan every few weeks:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

For the internet security part of it you can install K9 internet Security:
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

It is critical that you have windows update switched on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRgWChkqaRg

Ensure the firewall is switched on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dGQGXdnTSk

As additional tips for use on any PC, best practice says that you should use a limited account for "normal" use or use by your kids, and an administrator account only when doing administrator tasks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H12lwqmZXmA

You may at some point also require parental controls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qwP1Adz9lI

The first three pieces of software replace norton directly, the rest are just best practices.

You will find reviews of Nortan Performance pack here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B005INFE1E
If you wish to continue along this route.

uncle_sam_ie

+1 for Microsoft Security Essentials. I hit a link on Youtube once and MSE went mental with a keylogger trying to install on my PC. It works. Save your money, free doesn't mean crap in this situation.

PogMoThoin

chin_grin wrote: »

I'm going to warn you now. This thread (like all the others) are just going to descend in to "use this anti virus instead".

I'll admit there are as good as if not better free anti virus programs (I myself have used Microsoft Security Essentials combined with Malwarebytes for the last two years and have gotten absolutely nothing).

From experience norton is a bloated mess, same goes for mcafee.

+1, but AVG is now in the bloated group too.

paddyandy

D'on't be seduced by slick sales pitch just download microsoft security essentials with regular updates and keep a good logon code of say 15 characters upper and lowercase etc. I spent a lot of money a few years ago on nicely packaged discs that i never needed in the first place . Feck AVG NORTON MC AFEE and all the rest of them . I use C.Cleaner gets rid of the droppings that all web sites leave behind .Free trial 'C Cleaner' is not a security download; just does what it says and you'll be surprised at how much space these web pages take up with what thy leave behind .

chinwag

My BullGuard anti virus is due to expire very soon and I'm thinking of using MSE instead as I've read good reports on it. I've no real complaints about BullGuard (apart from subscription) but I suspect it may be slowing down my computer. By the way, is it not inadvisable to install a second anti virus? Thanks for any suggestions.

kippy

chinwag wrote: »

By the way, is it not inadvisable to install a second anti virus?

Any antivirus will in theory "slow down your computer".
The antivirus is a piece of software, using RAM, CPU and hard drive space on your PC. Indeed antivirus software is almost always scanning files "on demand", files you open, or the operating system opens and for this very reason it will use hardware on your PC, in theory taking up the hardwares time that could have been used for something else.
However some put more strain on the PC than others, either because they are doing more scanning, are setup to do more types of scans or, because the are just written poorly.
For this and other reasons, you don't want to have two different resident antivirus programs on your PC.
Its okay to have an antivirus program such as Microsoft Security Essential and something like Malwarebytes (as malwarebytes does a manual scan) but not to install it with another AV.

It is possible to run windows securely without an antivirus at all but following some of the steps I mentioned above and educating yourself as to where the biggest threats come from and how to mitigate against them.

Torqay

It's filarious that you can't ask a question about a particular security suite anymore without the horde coming along telling us not to use <enter the antivirus software you hate most> but to use <enter the antivirus software you love best> instead. The same goes for web browsers.

If someone is happy with a program and willing to pay for it, so let them, for Pete's sake.

As for the question at hand, the Norton Internet Security 2012 Performance Pack includes the Norton Utilities suite, other than that you'll have exactly the same security as with the stand-alone product.

If you don't need the Norton Utilities and your software vendor doesn't have NIS 2012 in store, you can always download and install the trial version and buy the license online.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

It's filarious that you can't ask a question about a particular security suite anymore without the horde coming along telling us not to use <enter the antivirus software you hate most> but to use <enter the antivirus software you love best> instead. The same goes for web browsers.

If someone is happy with a program and willing to pay for it, so let them, for Pete's sake.

As for the question at hand, the Norton Internet Security 2012 Performance Pack includes the Norton Utilities suite, other than that you'll have exactly the same security as with the stand-alone product.

If you don't need the Norton Utilities and your software vendor doesn't have NIS 2012 in store, you can always download and install the trial version and buy the license online.

The OP (and many who come on here looking for advice) may not be aware that there are products out there, that are free, and potentially better than the one which they are currently using.

One of the main reasons I like this, and other parts of this site, is that over the years it has helped me save countless euros as well as increased my awareness of what other options are out there outside of the standard ones.

I don't particularily hate any software, or indeed love any software. Software, its effectiveness and indeed it's pros and cons, change over time. It's a good idea to keep up to date with these trends using this and other sites.

Browsers tend to be free, and different browsers have different pros and cons, so not the same argument.

Torqay

Someone must be living behind the moon if they haven't heard of any free antivirus software.

That you or I wouldn't touch anything Norton with a 12 ft bargepole is of little or no relevance to the question asked. It's not everyone's cup of tea to install 3 or 4 different security programs, many prefer a single product that covers all their needs and know that they do get customer support if needed. If they want to pay for it, so be it.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

Someone must be living behind the moon if they haven't heard of any free antivirus software.

That you or I wouldn't touch anything Norton with a 12 ft bargepole is of little or no relevance to the question asked. It's not everyone's cup of tea to install 3 or 4 different security programs, many prefer a single product that covers all their needs and know that they do get customer support if needed. If they want to pay for it, so be it.

I deal regularly with members of the public (ones who you wouldn't be as tech savvy as 90% of the people on here (perhaps even the OP).
There are still a large proportion of people out there who aren't aware of the existence of free security software (indeed free software in general) and more still who haven't gotten a billies about IT Security at all.

The OP hasn't stated whether they are or are not aware of the alternatives available to them, so giving ones opinion, as well as answering the original query is no harm.

BopNiblets

I use Panda Cloud, does the job well except all the database updates are done on the cloud side so the only updates you need to download are when they update the frontend, and I think I've only had about 3 of those, so it's very lightweight.

omg a kitty

Used Norton 360 for 4 years and I eventually got sick of it
I switched to Kaspersky PURE last year and it's coming up to renewal on Tuesday.
So far Kaspersky hasn't annoyed me at all and I haven't got my computer infected.

Norton was sooo annoying and I had to remove a good amount of trojans.

I think I'm gonna stick with Kaspersky
It's a shame I didn't see this earlier
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9254998/Trail/searchtext%3EKASPERSKY.htm
Out of stock

I only really buy at €30 or something, even though the ones I buy are usually worth €70+
I don't mind paying €30 for 3 computers

I have a dual boot set up and the secondary OS is Windows 8 Consumer Preview, I believe it's only protected through Essentials built into Defender. I never looked up how it worked

uncle_sam_ie

kippy wrote: »

I deal regularly with members of the public (ones who you wouldn't be as tech savvy as 90% of the people on here (perhaps even the OP).
There are still a large proportion of people out there who aren't aware of the existence of free security software (indeed free software in general) and more still who haven't gotten a billies about IT Security at all.

My dad still thinks he needs to go into a brick & mortar store to buy sotfware. He informed me the other day that a pc repair man charged him $100 to "clean" his PC but, all he really did was just reinstall windows. It's the same with Virus protection, his thinks he needs to buy it. These guy's really get away with sticking it to those who aren't aware.

Graceland

Thanks for all the replies. I've used Norton for a few years now and was always happy with it. I'm just after reading reviews of the performance pack in Amazon and a lot of people think it is very good. I am aware that there are different security out there, but as I said, Norton has been ok for me so far.

bette

The question you must ask yourself is; do the genii who recommend or disapprove of certain software have the requisite knowledge to properly advise?

kippy

bette wrote: »

The question you must ask yourself is; do the genii who recommend or disapprove of certain software have the requisite knowledge to properly advise?

I speak for myself here when I say yes.

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

Then why didn't you answer the question?

I think we're wasting our time here, since the OP has decided to go with the recommendations from Amazon's customer reviews (which are well filtered), as a result of the answers here. Nobody actually bothered to point out the difference between the two packages. If all I hear is "don't buy this PoS (piece of software), "get this and that for free instead" then I'd wonder why I have asked the question in the first place.

I answered the question and more tbf.

It is a sad day when people don't appreciate good advice (am not speaking about the OP here)

_AVALANCHE_

kippy wrote: »

I answered the question and more tbf.

It is a sad day when people don't appreciate good advice (am not speaking about the OP here)

Where are you quoting Torqay from?

Torqay

kippy wrote: »

I answered the question and more tbf.

It is a sad day when people don't appreciate good advice (am not speaking about the OP here)

Nothing wrong good advice, but why don't you post it where it belongs? 340 threads here already, if anyone is interested.



We were asked about the difference between Norton Internet Security 2012 and the Performance Pack... where exactly did you answer it?

@ Avalanche: I deleted my post a minute later (apparently not fast enough).

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

Nothing wrong good advice, but why don't you post it where it belongs? 340 threads here already, if anyone is interested.



We were asked about the difference between Norton Internet Security 2012 and the Performance Pack... where exactly did you answer it?

@ Avalanche: I deleted my post a minute later (apparently not fast enough).

If someone (I knew in "real life") asked me the same question that the OP posted here, I would give them exactly the same answer. Why? Because in my experienced opinion, a lot of people are completely unaware of the fact that there is copious amount of free software out there, as good as or better than the paid for versions. They are also unaware that there is a youtube video tutorial for almost everything nowadays as well.

I've posted before in various "best" antivirus topics, that there is no one "Best" antivirus. And the best antivirus in the world isnt gonna help you if your machine isn't:
Patched
Firewall enabled
Operated by a finger happy person.

Your antivirus is just on layer of security on your PC. Paying for this privilege is, in my opinion, not required and the more people that realise this the better.

Torqay

I don't doubt your expertise, but when someone asks you to explain the difference between two commercial software packages and you tell them to install SuperAntiVirus, SuperAntiMalware, SuperWebProtection and SuperFirewall because they're free, that's just bad form.

Overheal

I missed the part where the OP was looking for a fan-war about antivirus. Seemed like a pretty innocent question about the differences Orange A and Orange B without wanting some banana shoved down their throat because it was free.

Where were we? OP, the Performance pack is a UK bundle that includes:

-1 year, 3 user license of Norton Internet Security 2012
-Norton Ghost (Hard drive clone utility)
-Norton Utlities (combines functions of several free utilities into one UI, like defrag, registry cleaning, and un-deleting files. will do things like defrag and registry repairs as needed where most free utilities are 'on demand' and don't run until you remember to ask them to: http://us.norton.com/norton-utilities/)

I mean, was that really that difficult to answer? Youtube guides for Automatic Updates? Really?

kippy

Torqay wrote: »

I don't doubt your expertise, but when someone asks you to explain the difference between two commercial software packages and you tell them to install SuperAntiVirus, SuperAntiMalware, SuperWebProtection and SuperFirewall because they're free, that's just bad form.

I pointed the OP towards amazon where there are tonnes of reviews, indeed google would have thrown up the same results.
My reply was something that would take hours to research on google and I am glad that some people appreciated it.

Bad form?
The standards of replies in this forum have gone to pot if that is the case.

Overheal

kippy wrote: »

Bad form?
The standards of replies in this forum have gone to pot if that is the case.

Comp and Tech Charter:

Not answering the question asked
If people are having issues with their current machine please do not post "Get Windows", "Get Google Chrome", "Get a Mac" etc. type responses. These are neither helpful to the user or a solution.

Yours was a good answer, but did absolutely nothing to fit the question asked.

kippy

Overheal wrote: »

Comp and Tech Charter:

Not answering the question asked
If people are having issues with their current machine please do not post "Get Windows", "Get Google Chrome", "Get a Mac" etc. type responses. These are neither helpful to the user or a solution.

Yours was a good answer, but did absolutely nothing to fit the question asked.

I would disagree that this thread and the OP fits in with that particular part of the charter, but I suppose that is neither here nor there.

I have been using MS Security Essentials on my PC and the kids laptops and never had an issue. definitely recommend it instead of the paid for software.