I'm tired of biased advice...esp. from computer "experts"

[Evil_T0NY {CLR}]

Personally, and if you guys are computer gurus, don't think I'm insulting you...but I've been on other support message boards....one I know of is a moderator.

Somehow we got into a conversation Norton AV....I've heard so-called "rumors" or perhaps even conspiracy theroies on how they "take over your system" and infect it with nasties that are even WORSE than the typical virus.

This guy starts launching into his "Anti-Norton" speech, I've heard these speeches before, so being with THIS bias, you can never get an honest answer about your product (ie Norton)

For example:

"Hi, I'm a user of Norton and I have a question"

"Blah blah blah blah blah blah...whatever you do UNINTSALL that CRAP from your system...blah blah blah blah....if you don't have it don't TOUCH it with a 10-foot ball...blah blah blah!!!!!!"

And then, I'm taking a double take at this quite infantile response, and then try to ask why.

ME, personally, I've used norton probably for 10 years....never understood the issue these so-called experts are speaking off on how it "takes over your system" and is "a virus itself"

This can take the thread into total derailment, and the initial SIMPLE question you asked is long forgotten.

Any reason why people do this?

Perhaps, I want to keep using Norton, seems a lot of so called techs like to use the "throw the baby out with the bathwater" technique or "Cutting your nose to spite your face" attitude to troubleshooting.

My parents are kind of old-school, and me too....I'd be like "Um..>NOoooo, I dont' plan on UN-installing Norton.....I plan on keeping it for as long as I have, so how about addressing the ISSUE that I have with ANYTHING other than, "Don't use Norton"

How about being a REAL professional, and address the issue as if having whatever TYPE of AV software is entirely irrelevant.

THAT being said, do you think my attitude on not caving to un-installing norton and using something else unreasonable? I think not.

I think that's why there's a lot of failed computer technicians out there, because they address the issue by the way they described. Solving a problem by telling people not to even have it on their system? Not quite the computer expert I would think they are.

Agreed..any feedback on this?

[juneau]

Norton does and will not take over any system. If they even attempted this they would be found out pretty quickly and fined extremely heavily. Probably to the point of bankruptcy.

Norton/Symantec was the famous a/v of choice through the 90's and early 00's. This is also when they started to, in my eyes and many others, give up increasing protection and removal for viruses and started to concentrate more on bulking up their products with uneeded junk. Pretty quickly they became a fully fledged member of the bloatware group.

This coupled with the rise of free, light weight and great detection rate A/V apps gave Norton a bad rep and stigma that stuck.... even though their products have been getting a little better as of late.

[Evil_T0NY {CLR}]

Yes, I have heard that it is apparently taxing on computer systems, however, haven't really noticed that on my end. <shrug> I dunno

Norton does and will not take over any system. If they even attempted this they would be found out pretty quickly and fined extremely heavily. Probably to the point of bankruptcy.

Norton/Symantec was the famous a/v of choice through the 90's and early 00's. This is also when they started to, in my eyes and many others, give up increasing protection and removal for viruses and started to concentrate more on bulking up their products with uneeded junk. Pretty quickly they became a fully fledged member of the bloatware group.

This coupled with the rise of free, light weight and great detection rate A/V apps gave Norton a bad rep and stigma that stuck.... even though their products have been getting a little better as of late.

[Apache Warrior]

They have gotten better. Recently Maximum PC rated them the number 1 paid AV. They still offer more product than I want. They constantly push there on line backup services.
Apache

[Qicmee]

On a modern PC you probably won't notice the effects of poorly written software unless you compare & measure (not a one-step process). These folks say Symantec/Norton is average.
AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Performance Tests

I rarely "need" AV, but 1-2 times per year it alerts me that a clicked link is a problem. Plus, it's cheap insurance against potential mistakes, e.g. infected USB or disk. If you're savvy enough, you don't need this kind of insurance.

"support message boards" - I'm assuming that you weren't in a Symantec/Norton forum? Typically, if I'm in a Harley-Davidson bar, I wouldn't ask how to fix a Honda CB1000R. The replies would be insightful, but probably not helpful.

[Grisu]

When I was young Norton AV was famous. I think it was around 2003 when I finally gave up on their products.

[mapes]

Sigh this again...

Look

1. use a webmail emailer
2. don't open unknown attachments
3. don't use limewire or equivs

There you don't need an antivirus

[ch33s3r]

Sigh this again...

Look

1. use a webmail emailer
2. don't open unknown attachments
3. don't use limewire or equivs

There you don't need an antivirus

You left out 4. Don't visit porn sites

[Caddys83]

Sigh this again...

Look

1. use a webmail emailer
2. don't open unknown attachments
3. don't use limewire or equivs

There you don't need an antivirus

this^ don't do stupid things,like vist free crap sites, install demos, screensavers ect.. ect.. ect..

Microsoft Security Essentials and Google is the A team Google Does a good job at letting you know its a malware site.




/insert troll
Oh and people still use Norton

[DougBob]

You're right Tony, there is a lot of biased opinions when it comes to computers and software. The main thing is always check cnet.com and such reviews and see who are the top raters for free and paid. As apache said Symantec (aka Norton) has come a long way. The DoD is using an enterprise license so they can't be all that bad

The performance chatter you'll hear about symantec is when you use the whole utilities with the anti-virus and all the software and extra libraries it loads up takes a lot more overhead processor and memory. If you're just using the anti-virus you're fine.