Should I get Norton AV 2003 or 2004??

[Bill]

It seems both are available at Best Buy at the same time.

The 2003 comes bundled with Norton Firewall, which I could also use. But it
seems strnge to buy something that appears to be already obsolete.

Is there any difference between the two versions? If you Norton AV just
expired, which one would you buy??

PS - I also hear that the 2004 version requires product activaion, which I
am never a big fan of.

 

[W.S. Blevins]

It seems both are available at Best Buy at the same time.

So are a lot of other/better products.

 

[YoKenny]

It seems both are available at Best Buy at the same time.

The 2003 comes bundled with Norton Firewall, which I could also use.
But it seems strnge to buy something that appears to be already
obsolete.

Not obsolete but does not have the features of the latest version. It will
work for one year and then you have to pay all over again.

Is there any difference between the two versions? If you Norton AV
just expired, which one would you buy??

Neither. I use AVG free from Grisoft but other people will tell you of
other applications.

PS - I also hear that the 2004 version requires product activaion,
which I am never a big fan of.

That is true from what I hear.

 

[John .]

Is there any difference between the two versions?

Detection of non-viral security threats

Besides viruses, Trojans, and worms, NAV now includes expanded threat
detection the following types of known and emerging threats that could
put your computer at risk.

Adware
Spyware
Hack tools
Dialers
Remote access programs
Joke programs
Security risks

Auto-Protect now scans and repairs threats in compressed files
(Windows 2000/XP only)

On Windows 2000 and XP, NAV Auto-Protect now scans compressed files
whenever they are downloaded from the Internet, created, changed,
opened or moved.

Pause a Manual scan
The manual scan can now be paused. When the scan is resumed, it
continues on from where it was paused.

 

[Rob]

Not obsolete but does not have the features of the latest version.
It will work for one year and then you have to pay all over again.


Neither. I use AVG free from Grisoft but other people will tell
you of other applications.


That is true from what I hear.

I just switched from Norton AV to the FREE AVG AV program at
www.grosoft.com. My computer is now running a lot faster!
I couldn't believe how much NAV slowed down my computer. In my view, NAV
is real Bloatware. You may want to try
something else.

If you really want to spend $$, you may want t o try NOD32......

Rob

 

[Swingman]

NAV2004 is a available as 15 trialware download from the Symantec website if you want to try it. I've been using NAV2003 for the past year without problems. I like the fact that virus definition updates are fairly small - usually less then 100k - which makes for a quick download on a dialup connection. Some of the free antivirus program updates, e.g. AVG and AntiVir, are in the 1.5meg range. NAV2004 adds spyware and adware detection to the feature set, but I don't know if this is "real-time" via AutoProtect or only available during disk scans. It makes sense to go with the new product unless there is a significant price difference or some other incentive IMHO.

 

[Name withheld by request]

I wouldn't get either........I'd get NOD32, AVG or something similar
Although NAV is an "ok" program, it kind of takes over your computer,
burying itself into the registry, making it kind of hard to get rid of
if you ever want to remove it. If you are "computer literate", you
might want to get something like AVG (there is a free version), NOD32,
etc.... If you don't know much about your computer, then NAV is a
good choise.

 

[Ka Khiong Kwok]

I'm using NAV 2000 (yes I know, there are better stuff out there) and it's
detecting a lot of the non viral threats already, half the time it comes up
as bloodhound or something like that.
I'm interested to see that it's detecting spyware now (about time). I'm just
wondering what the level legality of spyware is. Anyone know of any rulings
anywhere I could read up on?
I know the Australian government's done something, but as usual I'm not sure
what and I doubt if the legislators themselves know either.

Oh yeah, the original point: Norton has a tendency to stop supporting
software that's around two-three years old. The main advantage (if you
intend to buy Norton) is to get latest to make full use of their support.

Kind regards,

Ka Kwok

 

[Stephen Rabinowitz]

My computer came with a 60 day free trial of Nortons 2003, really want the
disk so probably won't extend ssubscription but if I go with Nortons 2004 do
I have to delete the 60 day 2003?

 

[Michael Cecil]

My computer came with a 60 day free trial of Nortons 2003, really want the
disk so probably won't extend ssubscription but if I go with Nortons 2004 do
I have to delete the 60 day 2003?

NAV 2004 will require the previous version be uninstalled before it
will install.

 

[Ka Khiong Kwok]

Unfortunately, yes you will. You would think that it'd just run an upgrade
but well, there you go. I think the logic was that they probably didn't
wanted to have to deal with legacy libraries.

Hope we've helped.

Regards,

Ka.

 

[MinnesotaKid]

Why would you assume the 2003 version is obsolete? You get updates
for a year from installation. Actually, you can find Norton 2003 on
eBay for under 10 bucks. I've done that for a few years now. Get
'last years' version while everybody else rushes out for the latest
version. Like I said, just stay current with the updates and you'll
be fine.

Otherwise, NOD32 is growing fast in popularity. It gets fantastic
ratings from independent testing sites, such as vb100.

Grisoft's AVG scores horribly for detection.

Look for yourself:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml

 

[Ka Khiong Kwok]

Naaaah, it's not obsolete, they still support it. I'm on 2000 and I'm still
getting patch updates. I'm referring to their e-mail support. If you're
product is around two or three years old, they basically start pushing for
you to upgrade (from a business and technical perspective, rightly so). I'm
just still using this version cause I can't afford the upgrade and in any
case, since I'm opting by a new system within the next six months, it's not
going to matter.
Personally, I like VET and NOD meself. Norman defence systems used to have a
fairly good package but I'm not too sure what heck happened to them. I think
they might've been swallowed by CA or someone.

Have a nice one.

Yours truly,

Ka Kwok

 

[YoKenny]

Why would you assume the 2003 version is obsolete? You get updates
for a year from installation. Actually, you can find Norton 2003 on
eBay for under 10 bucks. I've done that for a few years now. Get
'last years' version while everybody else rushes out for the latest
version. Like I said, just stay current with the updates and you'll
be fine.

Otherwise, NOD32 is growing fast in popularity. It gets fantastic
ratings from independent testing sites, such as vb100.

Grisoft's AVG scores horribly for detection.

Look for yourself:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml

Read a bit closer. They got a 100% pass.
June 2003: Windows XP Professional
Status: PASS
Product name: Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus System 6.0.478 275
More: June 2003 in full

Also great rating of 100% detection rate of AVG Anti-Virus System is
continuously certified by independent ICSA laboratories.
http://www.icsalabs.com/html/communities/antivirus/certifiedproducts.shtml

 

[someone]

Someone repeats yet again:

I've had NOD32 for three years after a disastrous year with Norton, and it's
been excellent.

Although I'm sure AVG is very good, I figured you get what you pay for, so I
chose to pay. I needed to email NOD once with a small prob and they
responded instantly (unlike Norton, who I was never able to contact).

s.

I wouldn't get either........I'd get NOD32, AVG or something similar
Although NAV is an "ok" program, it kind of takes over your computer,
burying itself into the registry, making it kind of hard to get rid of
if you ever want to remove it. If you are "computer literate", you
might want to get something like AVG (there is a free version), NOD32,
etc.... If you don't know much about your computer, then NAV is a
good choise.

if you want to try it. I've been using NAV2003 for the past year without
problems. I like the fact that virus definition updates are fairly small -
usually less then 100k - which makes for a quick download on a dialup
connection. Some of the free antivirus program updates, e.g. AVG and
AntiVir, are in the 1.5meg range. NAV2004 adds spyware and adware detection
to the feature set, but I don't know if this is "real-time" via AutoProtect
or only available during disk scans. It makes sense to go with the new
product unless there is a significant price difference or some other
incentive IMHO.