MSE or Paid AV?

[Windows 911]

Hello Everyone,

I just recently reformated my computer and it is running great! Right now, I am using MSE, and I love it! Practically no resource use, it's quiet, and from what I heard, a very good AV. However, my ISP is offering Norton 360 v4 for free, and I am wondering if I should use that. The only thing I am hesitant about is the resource usage. I used Norton on my old setup and sometimes it would slow my cpu down to a crawl. I have seen other threads on the forum saying that people have installed a paid AV over MSE, and found all sorts of bad things that weren't found before. Is it worth it to switch? (Also consider, my old setup had a bunch of old bloatware on it from Dell, and I never did a full reinstall when I upgraded from Vista to 7, I just used the Upgrade option.) Any experience from Norton?

Thanks guys!

 

[marsmimar]

A lot of people on this forum recommend MSE. A lot of people also recommend Norton. Since they're both free, why not give Norton a try and see how your computer responds? Norton from a few years ago was a real dog and slowed systems down. Norton in the past year or two has improved greatly. Whichever one you decide to keep, I'd augment your weekly or monthly scanning with either Malwarebytes or Hitman Pro (both free.)

 

[DBone]

If you are happy with MSE then I say stick with it. FYI, MSE is not light on resources. On any machine I have ever seen it run on, it uses over 60mb's. Norton will be lighter

 

[I be he]

Add Sandboxie to your system and it wont matter what A/V you have.

 

[mjf]

Many seem to like MSE but I had problems with it so just paid my money and bought a Norton NIS 2011 3 license pack. I have no complaints so far but run Malwarebytes from time to time as a check. Malwarebytes hasn't disgraced Norton so far.

 

[Golden]

Hi,

I have experience with both MSE and NIS2011. NIS is very good, but I found it to be a resource hog, especially at boot-up - I changed to MSE and halved my boot-up time.

In addition to MSE, I also use the paid version of Malwarebyes. Both are resident and "play nicely" with each other.

I suggest trying Norton seeing as it won't cost you, and see how you go wiith that. If you find it to be too resource hungry for your needs, you can always switch back to MSE.

Regards,
Golden

 

[marsmimar]

Just one caution I forgot to mention in my earlier post. If you decide to try Norton, and if you later decide to uninstall it, don't try to uninstall through Control Panel > Programs and Features. Norton has a history of leaving behind partially deleted files, registry entries, etc that could prevent you from installing another anti-malware program. It's best to use the Norton Removal Tool:

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product | Norton Support

 

[D3ftOn3Z]

My experience with MSE has been good. No errors, lagness whatsoever since the 1st day i installed it. I personally would recommend it. Seeing that you have 4GB ram, i don't see a problem with that. Anyways if you're not satisfied with MSE, you could always switch to other AV.

Do add MBAM & SAS for extra protection.

 

[malexous]

I had an almost opposite experience. Microsoft Security Essentials 2 was the CPU hog, while Norton Internet Security 2011 only had a noticeable effect on log-in time.

I suggest installing Norton and seeing how it likes your new computer.

 

[yowanvista]

MSE is good but it is not advanced as other AVs, it won't protect you against most online attacks and won't be a good choice if you download a lot...
Use Norton 360 since you got it for free

The new versions of Norton are light on system resources

 

[sreedhav]

It is very difficult to come to a decision, is it not? The recourse is a totally unbiased comparative study like the AV Comparatives and your experience (if any) with the products in question! AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Detection Tests. Read the analysis in the August or the November pro active studies and you will be surprised that MSE came slightly ahead! Kindly view the snaps below :

Regards,
Sreedhav

 

[Victek]

Hello Everyone,

I just recently reformated my computer and it is running great! Right now, I am using MSE, and I love it! Practically no resource use, it's quiet, and from what I heard, a very good AV. However, my ISP is offering Norton 360 v4 for free, and I am wondering if I should use that. The only thing I am hesitant about is the resource usage. I used Norton on my old setup and sometimes it would slow my cpu down to a crawl. I have seen other threads on the forum saying that people have installed a paid AV over MSE, and found all sorts of bad things that weren't found before. Is it worth it to switch? (Also consider, my old setup had a bunch of old bloatware on it from Dell, and I never did a full reinstall when I upgraded from Vista to 7, I just used the Upgrade option.) Any experience from Norton?

Thanks guys!

It might help if you compare features. I believe Norton 360 v4 includes a free 2gb online backup, in addition to a firewall, download protection, email protection, etc. The integrated online backup may be useful if 2gb is enough. It may also be possible after you install N360 to upgrade it to version 5, depending on the license from the ISP. MSE is a simpler product which I would want to supplement with at least one other security program, such as Prevx SafeOnline (free through Facebook).

As others have mentioned the latest versions of Norton software no longer slow the computer down. They also install and uninstall very quickly so it would be easy for you to test N360. Regarding uninstalling it I would recommend using the regular uninstaller. Afterward you can use the Norton Removal Tool if you want to scrape out every last bit, but I only use it if the regular uninstaller fails.

 

[malexous]

The above comparative aimed to only test one type of technology in an antivirus.

Roundup of Antivirus Tests 2010 (Final) - Wilders Security Forums
Flash Test Results « Malware Research Group

 

[Windows 911]

Thank you for the fantastic replies everyone! I will try the 360 out, but I have also seen that it leaves registry keys behind. Maybe I will use Revo unistaller or the Removal tool from Norton. For other protection, I am using EMET 2.0 (Which is great) and tweaked my wireless permissions and Windows Firewall. I have never had a virus before, hopefully I can keep that up. I will let you know how it goes! Should i uninstall MSE before installing Norton? Or, would it be okay to keep it there?

 

[DBone]

Don't use Revo to uninstall antivirus programs. Always use the manufacturers uninstall tool. I would save your new choice of antivirus' installer to your desktop, then uninstall MSE, reboot, then install your new AV.

If you really want to make sure that MSE is 100% removed, you could run the MSE uninstall tool from this helpful link at Panda Cloud Forums http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum/thread.jspa?threadID=51755&tstart=0 after your reboot, but before you install your new AV.

I had MSE on my machine and I chose to run the tool and it seemed to remove a few things from the firewall, a folder and a couple of active x entries that were left behind from MSE's on-board uninstaller.

edit: you need to save the MSE uninstall tool to your desktop, close all programs, right click MSE tool, run as administrator.

 

[mjf]

I didn't notice you had the opportunity for a free copy. I'd definitely install it like you've decided. I didn't find it slowed my PC boot (SP1 maybe).
I find on the rare occasion I need to totally "turn it off" it's a little tedious.

 

[malexous]

I find on the rare occasion I need to totally "turn it off" it's a little tedious.

What causes that?

 

[mjf]

I find on the rare occasion I need to totally "turn it off" it's a little tedious.

What causes that?

Nothing sinister.
eg. when I do major software installs I like it off. Also Norton has a habit of sometimes running a background scan when I'm imaging.

 

[malexous]

If you turn on Silent Mode when you are performing imaging, a background scan will not start. You could even set Norton up to detect when the imaging programme (except Windows own, it would seem) is running and it would automatically turn on Quiet Mode.

 

[MWRed]

I've used MSE since it was first released. But like others said, I think taking into account what you do mostly on your pc should weigh into the decision.
I don't download a lot of things other than images, and I mostly browse/surf/read stuff.
I haven't had anything happen at all.

But, like I always have to say....your browsing habits are the first defense of safety, and not a single AV is perfect.