Avast,Norton or AVG???

K

Ken Blake, MVP

Which antivirus is better: Avast, AVG or Norton???



As always when it comes to questions like this, it's a matter of
opinion, and opinions differ. Here's my opinion: Norton is far and
away the *worst*, not only of those three, but of all anti-virus
programs. I strongly recommend *against* Norton Anti-Virus, or
anything else Norton.

Regarding Avast and AVG, I personally prefer Avast, but some people
prefer AVG.
 
F

FromTheRafters

What is "better" is purely objective.

Norton tries to do too much for the user (read as bloat), but
probably has the better detection history. I have used both
AVG and Avast! and highly recommend them. You also
might want to check out Antivir - Its detection rating is
rumored to be one of the better ones recently. I used an
earlier version of it also, and would recommend it even
if not for the recent glowing reports.

All but Norton above offer free versions - and I *like* free. :blush:)
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Gui.. said:
Which antivirus is better: Avast, AVG or Norton???


You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.

I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a
good choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining
stand-alone products.

I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton
Internet Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP,
all without any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that.
But it's been several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee
products. Their quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were
acquired by Network Associates.

However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton
Internet Security came up for renewal (at a cost substantially higher
than the preceding year's subscription), I decided to try less expensive
solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of GriSoft's AVG
(http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved to be easily
installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable improvement in
my PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec product. Another
free (for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! 4 Home Edition
(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what I'd been
using without problems on Vista Business, until recently. I'm currently
testing ESET's NOD32, which isn't free, but has a small footprint that
doesn't bog the system down.

For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:

Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
D

Dustin Harper

Not Norton! :) I like AVG, but Avast! does a very good job as well. Norton
is probably the worse of the bunch.
 

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