McAfee or Norton AntiVirus which is best?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I have Norton 2003. I'm thinking about replacing it with McAfee 2004, version 8.0 along with McAfee Spamkiller 2004 ver. 5.0.

It makes you shut down Outlook to do virus updates. Since I keep my machine on 24/7 with Outlook always open to collect my e-mail, this was a real pain.

Mainly the corporate (enterprise) version. I've got nothing but good things to say about it - they are extremely quick with the virus updates, and I've never seen any incompatibilities with the software I run.

However, I tried SpamKiller and was not impressed. But that was the previous version - maybe the new one is better!

We just did an analysis of virus protection at the office.

Trend Micro won hands down.

I've had to reconfigure more computers that had had their system files corrupted by Norton products than I care to remember.

I think Trend Micro wins hands down and their on-line scanning
is also pretty damn cool. (and nice of them)

Was it price, performance or what?

McAfee sux ass. Don't use it.

Didn't work worth a damn and I had to use Trend to disinfect their computers.

and almost anything is better than McAfee.

I've used them all, and PC-cillin Is by far the best. :thumbsup:

I always ran the updates but it still wasn't very effective. I have Norton for about 6 months and it's working great!

I got the anti-virus + firewall and it is awesome. It scans every email coming in and going out. I'm pretty happy with it.

Why bother getting an alarm system when you leave the front door wide open?

Seriously.
If you're on a broadband connection get a software firewall and preferrably a router as well.

AVG will do anything Norton or McAfee does to detect and remove viruses.
Get AdAware and Spybot to remove the crap you pick up while surfing.
I've noticed my Yahoo account actually has a usable Spam filter now.
And my Earthlink account implemented an excellent one this year as well.
Anyone know if there is a freeware Outlook replacement that isn't so vulnerable?

And to top it off, switch to Mozilla Firebird to surf and never worry about pop-ups again.
Keep IE for all the neato security updates from MS.

And of course, stop kissing on those nasty girls on those porn sites.
:D

Mojo

I'm on a cable connection, and understand the need for a firewall, but is a router indeed needed for a simple user like me?

If you do it doesn't matter if you actually use IE because it is "integrated" into the OS. If you open that file containing a virus, bing, you got it.

was because years ago my cpu would freeze more often with IE than netscape and I got use to their format. Make sense? I know what your saying about IE being integrated into OS.

I'm not looking for a freebie. I willing to buy a system that I can be safe with. In fact I've already bought the McAfee 2004 ver. 80 and the spam killer. I just don't know whether to install it, or just upgrade my Norton system in a few days. From what I learned here tonight I'm leaning toward the Trend Micro system, so far.

The last office I worked at we used Norton.
I think there are actual differences in the AV products at the enterprise/network level that effect productivity, IOW just how much time Tech Support has to spend paying attention to it.
But at individual user levels, I'm thinking there isn't that much difference.
I started using AVG because ZDNET tested it against Norton/McAfee and it caught more viruses than all of the other AV progs of the time(probably 3/4 years ago now) and was free.

I also use AVG because it doesn't do wonky things to the OS or other software as some AV progs seem capable of doing.
I can install software without needing to shut down AVG.
It updates automatically without a subscription and it has a small resources footprint, about 1Mb.

Since you already bought McAfee, install it and give it a try.
Let us know how it works.
If you don't like it, get Trend Micro, install it, give it a try and let us know how it works.
:D

Mojo

//but is a router indeed needed for a simple user like me?//
They're cheap.
You can pick up a 2/4 port router for $40 these days.
And why not be safe?
Check out "Shields Up" at GRC.com.
He explains the benefit of these things better than I ever could.

Mojo

Lots of mail from around the world. No problems with Outlook....fact, I think it works extremely well. I am also happy with Nortons 2003 AV, works as advertised. I get lots of virus attachments, but NAV has quarantined them all. I use Spamfighter add-on in Outlook and I get almost zero spam. I also use Zone-Alarm for backdoor protection. I use Ad-Aware for rooting out dataminers/malware.
'
I haven't had any virus/trojan problems with this set-up and XP Pro OS.

You sound like a knowledgable power-user and that is a good thing.
But not everyone runs a tight ship, ya know?

I'm not saying it isn't possible to use Outlook and Norton and not be safe.
But the fact is that most virus problems arise because of Outlook security issues.
Whether they stem from MS code or end-user dysfunctionality isn't the point.

Limiting your surfing to a non-IE browers, keeping your security patches up-to-date and not using Outlook will limit exposure to all those nasty elements out there without having to know your system inside and out.

//I am also happy with Nortons 2003 AV, works as advertised. I get lots of virus attachments, but NAV has quarantined them all.//
Even the stuff you might happen to download before the patch comes out?
Between VB script and the possibility of an actual programmer writing virus code and not some script-kiddies, I feel that using Outlook is a bit like playing Russian roulette.
But thats just me.

//"I process maybe 12,000 e-mails/year through Outlook"//
Is this at home or are you in an office?
Because typically, single user AV files tend not to be updated as frequently as network/enterprise users.

Mojo

Just my two cents, but I'm currently moving to linux platform only and ditching windows emulation anyway...

//but I'm currently moving to linux platform only and ditching windows emulation anyway...//
I wonder how long before Linux viruses start showing up with so many folks moving to it as a solution.

Wish I could, but business won't allow it for now.

Mojo

There is a Linux antivirus program called Bit_____ (forgot the whole name). I am looking into it, naturally.

I occasionally go to management and tell them of Linux and other MS-alternatives (StarOffice, et al) but they continue to sign multi-thousand dollar contracts with MS. :eyes: Wasteful spending, man, wasteful spending.

Buy a hardware router, use mozilla for web surfing and mail and set windows update to auto-update.

The router stops any port-scanning viruses.

Mozilla stops the stuff that attacks IE and Outlook vulnerabilities.

With Windows auto-updating you won't have to worry about missing a patch.

When you stop the vectors that virii can attack, then you eliminate the need for anti-virus software.


Things are different at the office place though.