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for a pc: avg or norton IS for internet security

K

Keebler

macrumors 68030
Original poster
hi folks,

i know...i know...this is a mac forum and i'm posting a pc question.

why is that? b/c i find mac users are very knowledgeable wrt both platforms! and i know that some of you still use peecees.

so, which is better - avg or norton IS for security? i've been using norton for the last few years...no major complaints. BUT, i would like to explore any options and possibly not spend $60 CDN on norton's next upgrade if i don't have to.

and before you say, "GET A MAC"... i have 2 of them and they are my 'workhorses' for video/photo editing. and i would love another, but when i buy one, it will become the 3rd workhorse. my peecee is my once-in-a-blue moon gaming machine and for email/quickbooks etc... - the business side of things.

any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Keebler
 
AVG. Visit free.grisoft.com and get the free version. It's all you need for virus protection as long as you allow it to keep itself updated.

Also make sure and run Spybot and Ad-Aware SE every so often.

Not to sound cocky, but do yourself a favor and don't listen to anyone that votes for Norton. This is one of few areas in which I actually know what I'm talking about.
 
someguy said:
AVG. Visit free.grisoft.com and get the free version. It's all you need for virus protection as long as you allow it to keep itself updated.

Also make sure and run Spybot and Ad-Aware SE every so often.

Not to sound cocky, but do yourself a favor and don't listen to anyone that votes for Norton. This is one of few areas in which I actually know what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...

I second avg. Haven't had any problems yet with its detection engine.
 
AVG, and if it is a professional office, go and buy the AVG suite - it's less than 1/2 the price of Noron and is better than the free edition.
 
Norton is a memory pig and slow. Norton is so bad that someday they will make a Norton product that will take advantage of multiple cores / cpus. Then it will slow down your entire system instead of just one of your cores.
 
I know I am being a wiseass here, but if you put your e-mail on your Mac you will have much less need for a virus scanner on your PC 😀
 
Ever considered NOD?!?! In almost every test it comes out as the best and it takes much less resources then Norton does.
 
I've had bad experiences with AVG, so have others I personally know who've tried it, although I hear it does work... (it wouldnt allow my windows 98 box to boot up back in the day ~2000... so had to do a complete clean install.. lost everything)

I use Norton IS on my Windows partition on the Mac Pro, but I dont buy it from a store... go on eBay and you can get the official version for a damn sight cheaper.

I paid £16.99 inc P&P.... retail in the UK is £50 I believe.
 
Wirelessly posted (NokiaN70-1/2.0539.1.2/SN359380002126483 Series60/2.8 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

Id go for avg.
Oem version of norton which came with my pc was a real pain.
Ended up with 5 entries in add/remove programs with no valid uninstall link.
 
I saw one person mention it, but how does everyone feel about Avast? I've been using it on my Windows partition (MBP), though I use the Windows side so infrequently, I'm not sure how well Avast truly works. Would it hurt to run AVG with Avast?
 
erikamsterdam said:
I know I am being a wiseass here, but if you put your e-mail on your Mac you will have much less need for a virus scanner on your PC 😀
Click to expand...

lol i know erik...believe me, the only solution i want to find is another mac, but as mentioned, my 2 macs are my workhorses and i don't like to use them for anything other.

thank everyone for your suggestions. i've dloaded avg and installed.

cheers,
keebler
 
now, here's a good question. some colleges require norton for your anti virus system. can you plead to the tech services of the school to let you use avg instead, since norton is such a memory hog?
 
furcalchick said:
now, here's a good question. some colleges require norton for your anti virus system. can you plead to the tech services of the school to let you use avg instead, since norton is such a memory hog?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen any slowdown with Norton AV Corporate that my University made me install.

Having said that, I'd take Avast over Norton any day... I used AVG once, not bad... I prefer Avast or Norton Corporate though.
 
deputy_doofy said:
I saw one person mention it, but how does everyone feel about Avast? I've been using it on my Windows partition (MBP), though I use the Windows side so infrequently, I'm not sure how well Avast truly works. Would it hurt to run AVG with Avast?
Click to expand...
I would think no, why do u want to run two softwares at the same time who basically do the same work? its like spending double system resource on one task.
 
erikamsterdam said:
I know I am being a wiseass here, but if you put your e-mail on your Mac you will have much less need for a virus scanner on your PC 😀
Click to expand...

Because your customers with Windows machines get all upset with you when you forward mail with virus attachments, trojans or macro-virus infected MS Office documents, which your Mac blithely passes through. If you are in business you have a responsibility not to put your customers at risk.

Removing a macro-virus from a Macintosh MS Office installation is a nasty job - it reinfects all of your Word documents if you miss cleaning even one of them.
I haven't seen any slowdown with Norton AV Corporate that my University made me install.
Click to expand...
It depends on the machine. If you have RAM and CPU speed to burn, then there's not much of a drawback. But it you are running an older machine, or something with 512 Mb RAM, the CPU and RAM drain of Norton can bring the machine to its knees.
 
When I used a PC I had to uninstall Norton because it slowed the system right down. Serious system slow down on what was (before Norton) a fast set up.

FJ
 
deputy_doofy said:
Would it hurt to run AVG with Avast?
Click to expand...
You will most likely run into problems trying to run two AV programs at the same time. Some can be configured to run in conjunction with one another, but it is often a lost cause.

You should be just fine running AVG on it's own.
 
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