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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: GOODDOG on Thursday 08 November 12 18:25 GMT (UK)
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i have just had my pc security renewal for £55. has anybody any suggestions or can say which they use (if this is allowed.)
if you can reply dont include Norton as i dont like it. the one i have at the moment came free with the laptop i bought, my previous one for my tower was £39.99. i let it lapse as i got the free one.
Maybe it is like car/house insurance. rises every year now. i just thought £55 was a lot.( mcafee )
it is 2 years since i last renewed one.
thanking you
michael ???
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I threw out McAfee and installed Norton! ;D
I didn't appreciate McAfee dictating to me what software I should use (anti-spyware and browser).
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my niece had Norton and had lots of bother with it and that is why i dont like it. it came on my laptop but i never installed it, i had to delete it off the laptop before i could play a dvd as it stopped dvds playing. ::)
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Recently bought 2 laptops, both had McAfee on (not anymore).
Uninstalled before even doing a disc image.
(If you put into your websearch, 'uninstall McAfee', special uninstaller required to rid your machine of it :))
Brian
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Thank you brian... i downloaded a special tool to delete norton from my laptop. what i really want to know is is £55 dear. my last one was pcdoctor.i was happy with it. truthfully i have no complaints with mcafee. it has never tried to get me to change/alter anything.
mike
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Thank you brian... i downloaded a special tool to delete norton from my laptop. what i really want to know is is £55 dear. my last one was pcdoctor.i was happy with it. truthfully i have no complaints with mcafee. it has never tried to get me to change/alter anything.
mike
Yes .... the latest version of McAfee 2013 for multiple machines can be purchased at retail prices around £28 with an upgrade version available from around £12
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hello
i use avg never had a problem with it wont use norton or macfee as they just seem to have a mind of there own
ray
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Won't say anymore then!
I don't want to start off a war between Norton and McAfee users.
I have only ever used Norton even in a work environment.
Brian
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I had McAfee because it was already on the laptop so had cheap sub, then when time came for renewal it had shot up in price (and I didn't like it anyway) so I rang them to cancel. The young lady was very pleasant and helpful, tried hard to make me stay with them - offered to let me have it at half-price ;) I'd already had another one installed by my friendly IT people when my laptop crashed so didn't take up their offer - but it might be worth negotiating if you want to keep it ;D
Pat
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I use AVG, first thing I did when getting a new PC was to remove the pre installed Norton. Dont like Mcafee either
Been very satisfied with AVG for a number of years
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I like Avast, had AVG before that but prefer Avast.
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Thank you Falkyrn, Ray,Brian, Pat and Mavals for your replies. funny how we all seem to have our likes and dislikes re different of other security names. i had avg (free version)on my xp and had bother with it so got rid of it.
i only wanted to know prices other people paid in relation to mine. now which company do i go with.
We dont argue on here Brian. We just have different opinions ; :-X
i am going to try all the ones i know and weigh up the pros and cons.
Your post has just arrived sstarr.thank you. Another one to check out.
Thank you all.
Michael ;D
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AVG Free (which is £55 cheaper than the £55 you were going to spend....) Never had problems, good updates etc. I found Norton, which I had on an earlier machine, slowed it down appreciably, particularly on start-up.
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You do know that you can download any of the norton products and try free for 3 months.
(Just remember to fully uninstall if it doesn't suit you)
Most of the named security suits cost about 50-60pounds for 12months cover for 3 machines.
It maybe that you hit on say a couple of products for free 1 antivirus and 1 firewall.
I wish you good luck in your search.
Brian
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I stopped using Norton a few years ago because it seemed to slow things down but my last-but-one new PC came with Norton Internet Security and I've been happily using it ever since.
Every PC is slightly different and people use different programs so we all have different experiences and no antivirus suits everyone . . .
Mike.
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Kaspersky is very good and reasonably cheap if you shop around. Eset is even better, but because it can only be bought from the Eset website, you won't get any cheap deals.
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Eset is the one my IT people installed for me and because it's for 3 machines (or 2??? can't remember ::)) I shared it with my brother so obviously made it cheaper.
Pat
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I've noticed a few posts recently on RC and other forums where people have had trouble logging in to password-protected sites, and one where someone couldn't communicate with an online printer, and in each case the cause was their virus checker.
To most people, if an AV program checks for viruses, and blocks intruders, then that's all they think they need. What they should also ask themselves is....
Will it significantly slow my computer down ?
Will I get any nasty surprises when suddenly I can't log in to my printer, or access my favourite sites ?
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One thing I found when we changed our security a couple of years ago was that many of the mainstream providers were available on disk in either shops or online from big sites at a lot less than signing up direct online, so whichever you choose it could be worth shopping around before you buy or renew.
FWIW we moved from McAfee to Norton (3 user licence) & have been happy, but as others say we all like different things!
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Comodo Internet security premium is Free No need to pay for the likes of those mentioned.
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Maybe it's free because no-one in their right mind would pay for it ? It is said to be the worst of all the freebies :-\
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/security/3355481/comodo-internet-security-premium-5-review/
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That is a bold statement and is unfounded. The report does not say that it is the worst of the freebies. Not many reviews can be relied on and I see that there are no user comments! Have you even tried it? And also by that statement you sound like you are not akin to any free software. For me it does it's job.
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Thank you GrahamSimons, Brian, Mike175, Nick29, roopat, mshrmh, and Midase for your replies.Sorry for delay in replying but i was away. You have all given me a lot to think about re new security I will scout around different stores etc. next week and see what catches my eye.
Some i have looked at cover 3 pcs, others say pc +ipad+something else. does this only cover 1 pc. I have a tower plus laptop.
Will have a check on google etc. whilst watching Rugby.
Many thanks to you all
Michael :-\
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My previous one was PCTOOLS not PCDOCTOR. I had said that i did not like Norton but in 2008
SYMANTEC bought out PCTOOLS. For 5 years i had been using a company which i did not like and had been happy with it.
Can any experts tell me would they still use PCTOOLS system without altering it with NORTON system. I wonder how many others are owned bywhat we would call competiters.
Ah well back to the drawing board as they say.
You learn something new every day.
Cheers
Michael :-[ :-[
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That is a bold statement and is unfounded. The report does not say that it is the worst of the freebies. Not many reviews can be relied on and I see that there are no user comments! Have you even tried it? And also by that statement you sound like you are not akin to any free software. For me it does it's job.
How do you know it's doing its job ? As I've said so many times before, viruses and malware don't advertise their presence. They don't slow the average machine down. Comodo was blasted in that article because it handled malware very poorly. The other day I needed an instruction manual for something, and I found a site which claimed to supply them free, so I tried downloading the one I wanted. Within 15 seconds all sorts of alarms were going off on my machine, which was being continuously infected, disinfected, and reinfected by malware. I dread to think what would have been happening if I had not been using one of the top AV programs - absolutely nothing, I suspect ::)
As for 'not being akin to free software' - that's not the case, I do use free software, but the free software that I use has been written for a very limited market, so is unlikely to make any substantial income for its writers, who instead ask for a small donation either for themselves or to charity.
With software with mass appeal the situation is different. Why would someone give their software away for free, if they could make lots of money selling it ? As far as I'm concerned, the virus checker/firewall is the second most important part in a computer (the first one being the fan that cools the processor chip). When something is that important, I prefer not to take gambles on software that people are unable to make any money out of !
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I currently run Avast a/v, and Online Armor (both free versions) on my XP p.c. I also scan weekly for malware.
I use the Comodo firewall (free version) on my XP lappy, with no a/v. Again, I scan weekly.
The only problem I ever had was having my e-mail "spoofed", but that was after someone else posted it on a public website. Thank you very much.
My son uses the Comodo suite (free version) on his Vista lappy. As far as I'm aware he hasn't had any problems, though I haven't checked it recently. My other son uses Norton that came with his Win7 lappy. No problems there, either.
I've tried most of the free security softwares (I'll try anything on this lappy!), and the biggest problems I've encountered are failed updates/upgrades and resource hogging. The difference with paid-for software is that you should get full technical support if something does go wrong - obviously using free software I don't expect any!
I believe the best security is just being very careful how we use the 'net.
Just my opinion, and not something I want to get into a debate about!
Best o' luck, Gooddog. :)
'Hat.
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That is a bold statement and is unfounded. The report does not say that it is the worst of the freebies. Not many reviews can be relied on and I see that there are no user comments! Have you even tried it? And also by that statement you sound like you are not akin to any free software. For me it does it's job.
How do you know it's doing its job ? As I've said so many times before, viruses and malware don't advertise their presence. They don't slow the average machine down. Comodo was blasted in that article because it handled malware very poorly. The other day I needed an instruction manual for something, and I found a site which claimed to supply them free, so I tried downloading the one I wanted. Within 15 seconds all sorts of alarms were going off on my machine, which was being continuously infected, disinfected, and reinfected by malware. I dread to think what would have been happening if I had not been using one of the top AV programs - absolutely nothing, I suspect ::)
As for 'not being akin to free software' - that's not the case, I do use free software, but the free software that I use has been written for a very limited market, so is unlikely to make any substantial income for its writers, who instead ask for a small donation either for themselves or to charity.
With software with mass appeal the situation is different. Why would someone give their software away for free, if they could make lots of money selling it ? As far as I'm concerned, the virus checker/firewall is the second most important part in a computer (the first one being the fan that cools the processor chip). When something is that important, I prefer not to take gambles on software that people are unable to make any money out of !
Each to his or her own I guess!
Comodo does throw up warnings and indeed blocks websites with malicious content etc starightaway.
As for free stuff, not everyone is flush with money to purchase top of the range and often bloated software.
I will leave it at that as I have no wish to get into any kind of long debate about this. The OP has thanked everyone for their help and now has his/her own mind to make up.
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When i asked for Security advice i never intended that people would argue with themselves. i know we all have our own opinions. All i wanted was advice re different companies and prices if possible.
I have been given advice, and other security names. As Midase says the final decision is up to me.
Many thanks to all who replied.
Michael :-\
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As distinct from each person's idea of which antivirus is best, this is a link to a website that checks each a/v program's effectiveness and publishes the results - including this very easy to understand chart:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/latest_comparative/index
Michael J.
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Except:
No Norton
No AVG
No Comodo
Just to name the first three that came to mind?!
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AVG is in the chart - look for the initials at 80%/80%. As regards the other two the website states this:
The latest VB100 test on Windows 7 generally saw better product stability than expected, although a lower pass rate than the last test - one third of products failing to achieve VB100 certification this time.
The detection figures from any test during which a product generated false positives are omitted.
Michael.
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Hmmm!
Norton wasn't even tested?
Comodo failed.
AVG was there - I missed it before :-[
And, easy to understand?
VB100? Not defined anywhere?
RAP - yet another TLA (Three Letter Acronym).
Sorry! Not impressed.
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Have you checked the website?
Michael.
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I did indeed check the website!
Clicked on your link.
Then under "View Results" I clicked on "Click Here" (to find out which products earned a VB100 award, and which failed to make the grade.)
No mention of Norton in that list! ???
Alphabetical list runs from Sophos to Tencent.
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Panda also seems to be missing!
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As for free stuff, not everyone is flush with money to purchase top of the range and often bloated software.
Me, flush ? I don't think so. However, if you can afford a computer, you can afford protection software.
I don't think you can call Eset 'bloated' - it is one of the few that use pre-compiled code which actually reduces CPU loading.
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If you are running Windows you might consider trying Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE is completely free. I see no reason to pay money for another program, when the program I have does the job more than satisfactorily.
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MSE only scans for known viruses, and depends upon regular downloads of Microsoft Security updates. It does not appear to do any 'heuristic' checking (i.e. analysis of files to look for suspicious code), which more sophisticated programs do. So a malicious file can be out there 'in the wild' for some time before it appears on virus bulletins. It also does not have a firewall.
Windows Firewall (another part of Windows) only works one-way (checking on what's coming in) on Windows XP and earlier. It does work in both directions in Windows Vista and Windows 7, but it is nowhere near as easy to set up as some of the top security programs which automatically set the firewall for the installed program. A badly set up firewall is as useless as no firewall at all.
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If you look hard enough you can find fault with just about anything. I was just saying that I had used the program for three years without a single problem. :)
MSE only scans for known viruses, and depends upon regular downloads of Microsoft Security updates. It does not appear to do any 'heuristic' checking (i.e. analysis of files to look for suspicious code), which more sophisticated programs do. So a malicious file can be out there 'in the wild' for some time before it appears on virus bulletins.
That is not true anymore.
It is true that MSE does not have its own firewall, but Windows Firewall is more than adequate in my experience.
Regards,
Alexander
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Well, I should think the answer is pretty clear now . . . ??? ??? ???
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Microsoft are rather 'wooly' on what MSE actually does and doesn't do.
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Well, I should think the answer is pretty clear now . . . ??? ??? ???
Quite right! ;D
1. Don't trust Microsoft. ;D
2. There's no such thing as a free lunch. ;D
3. Remember - there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. ;D
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Call me naive, but I've never had much patience for all the Microsoft conspiracy theories out there. ;) :P :D
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I don't like keeping all my eggs in 1 basket!
So I don't trust multi-national conglomerates, who want me to use their stuff at the exclusion of all else. ;D
As a result, I don't use Internet ExploderExplorer, and I use my own choice of Firewall and Anti-Virus software.
It's not just MS either! I use an Android phone, and don't own an iPod, iPad or anything made by Apple! ::)
Similarly when McAfee (who I used to use) tried to insist that:
1) I uninstall Spyware Doctor, just because it 'wasn't compatible' with McAfee, abd
2) I had to use IE (rather than Firefox or Chrome) if I wanted them to take a look at why the backup facility didn't work.
Then I simply uninstalled McAfee and installed Norton! Problem solved!!
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I just get so annoyed when people say "I use XYZ Anti-Virus and Firewall and I don't have any problems".
My AV/Security software gives me plenty of problems.
It finds at least 2 problem emails a week which are virus-infected.
It stops me from going to at least 2 problem phishing sites a week.
It catches at least one problem 'dodgy' file a week that I'm trying to install.
It warns me when newly-installed applications are trying to access the internet, which may not have any right to do so.
If yours isn't doing the same, you should be asking yourself whether it's doing anything at all? :o
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Comodo does all of that ::)
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Just for the record, Nick, when I said I had no problems with MSE I didn't mean it did not function as an antivirus software. Of course it finds and eliminates threats of the kinds you mention. ;)
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The IT chap where I work recommends MSE. It looks pretty good to me.