Deciding which Security Suite

[metalmania31]

I've been using Trend Micro for the last 6-7 years and I'm starting to review new suites and find the Trend Micro is not ranking very good or not being reviewed at all, which is a bad sign. Plus the auto renewal is a bit violating, but anyway I'm in search of a new Anti-virus suite for 4 computers with a mix of Win XP pro and Win 7 Pro. I've been looking at Norton, but there are so many conflicting points of views I have no idea how I'm supposed to make an informed decision. Whether the info comes from an independent lab or individuals there's always one who says it's the greatest and another who says it's the biggest piece of whatever expletive. AV-comparatives says G data, Panda, Avira seem to rank high but, then there was another report from Matousec.com that ranks them down low or in the middle. This is one of the most irritating research subjects I've had in a while. And then I think many people who had an issue with an AV suite probably had some configuration issue or software conflict, but blame it on the AV suite. Most opinions aren't really objective just basing it on there own experience on their one machine. For example I've read many horror stories or frustrating scenarios with Trend Micro, but I haven't had any real issues with it. I've never used Norton but I see the same type of discussion where it's just based on that individual experience rather than finding the root cause of the issue. I'm wanting to get rid of Trend not because of a bad experience, but that many reviews are stating that it's not as effective as other suites at detecting or preventing viruses/malware. That's my primary concern an AV Suites effectiveness. And with that like I mentioned earlier there are many conflicting views, opinions, stats. How is one supposed to make an informed decision with all this garbage information out there mixed with trusted information?

 

[Jonathan_King]

Here you go: http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html

 

[metalmania31]

Here you go: http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html

I read that and a number of other threads on here before posting my rant/question. I just want a good source for disseminating all this information. Like I said there's too many conflicting views and stats for the same software. What's the truth?

 

[whs]

There is no "truth". It is like asking what is the best beer or the best wine. Depends on your taste. All you can do is study all the available resources and than make up your own opinion/preference.

 

[housry23]

I like Kaspersky best. All people like different things. I used to prefer ESET until their latest version. You might be ok with Microsoft Security Essentials(free), Windows built in Firewall and Malwarebytes AntiMalware(free edition). If you really want to pay for one Norton is very good and has a very high detection rate, but it is slower than others. They have gotten better in this area in the past couple years. ESET is very light and unintrusive and has very good protection, Most power users and gamers prefer ESET Nod 32. I have a subscription to MaximumPC Magazine and they just had their antivirus review and the new Macafee scored very high(and it was one of the lowest last year). You can create a nice suite for free, but you will be using three different products. As for free Antivirus I personally recommend Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast 5 Free.

 

[tw33k]

The best way to decide is to trial a few products. Most vendors offer 30 day trial periods. Try a few different programs then choose the one that suits you best. Nobody can answer this question for you. You have to decide for yourself.

 

[metalmania31]

The best way to decide is to trial a few products. Most vendors offer 30 day trial periods. Try a few different programs then choose the one that suits you best. Nobody can answer this question for you. You have to decide for yourself.

You're right, I was really venting my frustration with all the conflicting view points and stats regarding the effectiveness of these AV suites. I'm going to download the Norton trial on my laptop and see how it goes.

 

[electrotune1200]

A good place to start... I've been quite pleased with Norton products the past few years.

 

[steve-pressman]

Highy recommend Kaspersky Internet Suite 2010
Does what is says on the box easy to set up, easy to run and you will never know it's there until it kicks in. Best security I have ever used and I have been through them all over the years

http://usa.kaspersky.com/products_services/internet-security.php?icid=50000028

Steve

 

[metalmania31]

Highy recommend Kaspersky Internet Suite 2010
Does what is says on the box easy to set up, easy to run and you will never know it's there until it kicks in. Best security I have ever used and I have been through them all over the years

Internet Security Software 2010 for Home Computer Security - Kaspersky Lab United States

Steve

Well, if Norton doesn't pan out I'll definitely give KIS a try. That suite has also had too many conflicting reviews. Anecdotally, people and some magazine reviews say great things, but then you get an indy lab that says otherwise. I guess it boil down to faith in the product and how it affects your particular machine. On a completely different note why do so many spell checkers in these forums get correctly spelled words wrong. "anecdotally" is correctly spelled. Is that the grammar police at work?

 

[AussieGuy92]

well i would have to say Avast internet sercurity

 

[malexous]

Norton is very good and has a very high detection rate, but it is slower than others. They have gotten better in this area in the past couple years. ESET is very light and unintrusive and has very good protection,

Norton "have gotten better in this area in the past couple years." So much so that they are almost the lightest around these days. Lighter than ESET.

 

[metalmania31]

Norton is very good and has a very high detection rate, but it is slower than others. They have gotten better in this area in the past couple years. ESET is very light and unintrusive and has very good protection,

Norton "have gotten better in this area in the past couple years." So much so that they are almost the lightest around these days. Lighter than ESET.

Well, I have installed trial version on my laptop with Win 7 Pro. So far I've noticed it slowed my boot times. But once it got started it seemed smooth. Surfing the net didn't seem to have too much impact that was noticeable. It did crash once and I had to reboot the laptop. So I'm still on the fence about it. I'll give it a couple weeks of use and see how it goes.

 

[Arc]

Avast freeware or eset smart security is my choice. The proper discrimination is done by only these two . All the others leave some risk ... either not identifying a real threat, or catching and killing things those are just cannot be a virus at all.

 

[malexous]

Norton is very good and has a very high detection rate, but it is slower than others. They have gotten better in this area in the past couple years. ESET is very light and unintrusive and has very good protection,

Norton "have gotten better in this area in the past couple years." So much so that they are almost the lightest around these days. Lighter than ESET.

Well, I have installed trial version on my laptop with Win 7 Pro. So far I've noticed it slowed my boot times. But once it got started it seemed smooth. Surfing the net didn't seem to have too much impact that was noticeable. It did crash once and I had to reboot the laptop. So I'm still on the fence about it. I'll give it a couple weeks of use and see how it goes.

Did you turn Early Load on? Even if you didn't, Norton probably does add a longer boot time than the others mentioned in this thread so far.

 

[metalmania31]

Norton "have gotten better in this area in the past couple years." So much so that they are almost the lightest around these days. Lighter than ESET.

Well, I have installed trial version on my laptop with Win 7 Pro. So far I've noticed it slowed my boot times. But once it got started it seemed smooth. Surfing the net didn't seem to have too much impact that was noticeable. It did crash once and I had to reboot the laptop. So I'm still on the fence about it. I'll give it a couple weeks of use and see how it goes.

Did you turn Early Load on? Even if you didn't, Norton probably does add a longer boot time than the others mentioned in this thread so far.

No it's off by default and I didn't even know about. But when I had Trend Micro installed it booted almost instantly. Now it's like I went back to Win XP. But like I said once it gets going the system seems to run smooth.

 

[Jonathan_King]

If you want fast boot times, you can't beat MSE.

 

[malexous]

Well, I have installed trial version on my laptop with Win 7 Pro. So far I've noticed it slowed my boot times. But once it got started it seemed smooth. Surfing the net didn't seem to have too much impact that was noticeable. It did crash once and I had to reboot the laptop. So I'm still on the fence about it. I'll give it a couple weeks of use and see how it goes.

Did you turn Early Load on? Even if you didn't, Norton probably does add a longer boot time than the others mentioned in this thread so far.

No it's off by default and I didn't even know about. But when I had Trend Micro installed it booted almost instantly. Now it's like I went back to Win XP. But like I said once it gets going the system seems to run smooth.

Best Performing (Speed and Memory Usage) Antivirus and Internet Security for 2010 Raymond.CC Blog

 

[Layback Bear]

I have used most of the big brands. Norton, KIS, Z/A, ect. At the present I'm using Trend Micro and like you the reports are not as good as I would like to see. My research is sending me to Webroot anti virus because I have a W7 Home premium 64 bit. Bitdefender has in the past has had a problem with 64 bit. If I had a 32 bit O/S I would go with Bitdefender anti virus. I have for ours went through reviews and those two IMHO would be my best choices. My T/M anti virus expires in Dec. but I'm going out today and buy Webroot anti virus. I use W/7 fire wall because my Intel Dealer has many home,commercial and government customers that use it and have no problems. He recommends it so I use it. I'm having no problems.

 

[seag33k]

I just got a new laptop and went through a lot of similar research trying to find some of the best solutions out there. What I've found is that your decision or anyone's recommendation is fairly subjective. You can choose separate AV, Malware, Firewall, ... or a suite which includes all or most of these solutions. There is an argument that a suite may not have the best of the best for each category which I can see their argument because its difficult for vendors to be the best of all. Personally, having separate products for all is a matter of inconvenience, but for others it makes sense. Right now I am using Avast Internet Security's trial and like the interface. I'll be testing and researching other tools such as anti malware and rootkits detectors for additional piece of mind to provide more layers of detection on demand. In combination of either a suite or using separate tools, it is critical to keep your OS and applications patched to limit the attack vectors of your machine

Good luck and hopefully you can share your experiences with the tools you like.

Seag33k