TheMudge
The Real Mudge
2886 posts
Jul 31, 2008
10:37 PM
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Homer: You're going to see even more opinions on this than there were on browsers. Here's my experience, for what it's worth. I don't mess around with freeware in the security department. If I can get a user-friendly, effective program that protects me from viruses, spyware, and other malware for $50 a year or less, it's worth the cost. No program is foolproof, however, especially if the user doesn't regularly update it and doesn't run regularly scheduled scans. Personally, I had it long ago with the McAfee program, which I found hard to use. It also tended to block things I didn't want it to block and interfered with legitimate programs that I was running. Trying to uninstall that bugger once you have it installed is a nightmare. For the last few years, until this June, I had been using Norton (Symantec) for antivirus and Webroot's Spy Sweeper for antispyware. (I have since read in PC World that most decent antivirus programs now block spyware so that buying an antispyware program in addition to an antivirus is a waste of money.) Anyway, I had developed some serious complaints about both programs and decided to let them lapse in June, despite two months of constant reminders that it was time to renew. Both did the job, but Norton seemed to be slowing the start-up of my computer to a crawl and was tremendously slow at installing updates. I had some glitches with Webroot (too complicated to describe), and, in a long effort to resolve them, found their support people to be, to put it politely, raving idiots. Their chief solution to all problems is to uninstall and reinstall Spy Sweeper. I did that four times in the past year and resolved never to use their software again. After studying the reviews, I bought two copies of AVG antivirus plus antispyware at $26 apiece at Sam's Club, one for each of our desktops. This is certainly a good deal because it is not only cheaper than most but is good for a two-year subscription. Actually, all the reviews I read noted that AVG also offers a free download (go to this website), but most said that the paid version is much better. Heck, for $13 a year per computer, why not? We've now had AVG running on two desktops for about six weeks. In both cases, it found, when I ran the first scan, spyware that both Webroot and Norton had missed. The user interface, which was said to be one of the weaknesses (especially in the free version), took some figuring out but was certainly no more complicated than Norton's. That could be a reason to get the paid version. The slowness that I experienced when I had Norton and Webroot has disappeared. Automatic updates run behind the scenes with no effect on CPU speed. When I suspect I've missed an auto update, it takes less than a minute to check and install an update, versus much longer with Norton. My only complaint is that a complete system scan seems to take forever, but that is true with anything, given the number of files (and external drive backups) that I have. I can continue to work while the scan is running, but everything works much more slowly – though not as slowly as it did with Norton. I've adopted a policy of scheduling a weekly system scan on an evening when I'm likely to be away from the computer but can leave it turned on. It's easy enough to cancel and reschedule. My laptop has Trend Micro, which was recommended by the salesman who sold the laptop. However, we don't use the laptop much, so I can't fairly assess how good Trend Micro is, though it has fairly high ratings in the tech magazines. It's pricey, though, which may be why the salesman pushed it. Before I knew about AIG I renewed Trend Micro for a year at a cost of nearly $50, but if AIG continues to work well on the desktops, I'll get it for the laptop when the current Trend Micro subscription expires.
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Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)
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Bradd
506 posts
Aug 01, 2008
12:06 AM
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I've had a computer about 15 years now and I've tried them all - from freeware to paid. Strangely enough, freeware has been much better than anything I've paid for. Norton and McAfee (paid) are so bad, I can't understand how they're still in business. ANTI-VIRUS (Avira)is good. Lavasoft (AD-AWARE) is also good. By far, the best for me has been SUPERAntiSpyware. It tracks both spyware and viruses and PREVENTS bad stuff in addition to ferreting them out if they've infected your machine. All three are free with an option to upgrade for a price. I've so far not found it necessary to upgrade.
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