Finally dumped Norton
 

Yep, after it screwing my email several times, I got rid of it. I am now using PC-cillin Internet Security and am loving it. So far, all the features and none of the problems of Norton.

Norton on the Mac side was fantastic at one time but then it started causing more problems then it solved. Haven't used their products in many years but it is all still made. Back when I did consulting I was forever removing it from systems.

I dumped that resource hog a couple years ago. Now I have a separate standalone firewall.

I've used pc-cillin for several years and am very satisified with it. the company i work for also uses it.

What problems were you having with it? I haven't had any (that I know of - LOL) since I upgraded last year to the newest version.

Norton was the cause of most of the pc issues I have had, the anti spam takes a huge amount of resources, once I realized it was that, I just changed my email to be checked from 1 minute to 15 minutes and have had little issues since.

I will continue to use Norton, but I am curious on pc-cillin

Eudora wouldn't connect with the mail server sometimes. So, I would shut down norton and it would work. No problems with the new one so far.

I don't use the anti-spam nor firewall in Norton (Eudora & Zone Alarm handle those things) so maybe that's why I have no issues?

I've been using AVG for awhile and haven't had a single problem of any sort so it must be doing it's job....I've heard lots of good things about PC-cillin and was tempted to try it but I took the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude.

I use Norton with no problems, but I do here good things about PC-cillin too.

If I did not have to use IE and a few windows apps I would use FreeBSD full time though.

|waves|

I knew I had to get rid of Norton so I went to cnet to check the reviews and PC-cillin had the best. It was $50 and well worth it. Of course, I have a physical firewall now so I probably don't even need it.

Even with a physical firewall you still need Anti-Virus software.

My biggest problem with Norton is that it won't just do anti-virus and stay out of the rest of my stuff. The first thing I do when configuring a new computer for someone is remove the bundled Norton security package and install the free version of AVG and if a firewall is needed Zone Alarm.

I've dumped Norton about 2 years ago from all machines...

I'm now running the AVG free version, and must say it's doing a fab job (except that with the free version you can't set automatic scans for individual partitions - that's a feature of the paid version).

|peace|

It's funny, I hear a lot of people saying the same awful things about Norton all the time, but it's never done me wrong and I've been using Norton products for over 10 years. Maybe all you people go to the wrong Witchdoctor :D

i too dumped nortons along time ago, it seemed to cause alot of problems for me when i was on win98 se..now ive upgraded xp, but dont think i wanna slap it back on..

i prefer zone alarm too for a firewall..

ive always heard good things about pc-chillin too.

I used to use nortons but there was a bug that will cause it to hang if an email has the html code for a space in the subject. I started using AVG it is the free version and it works much better but I left nortons to do daily checks of my hd for viruses also so I actually run both now

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like everybody who has had problems with Norton is using the Internet Security software. I've used the Norton SystemWorks software ever since I got a computer in the mid 90's and haven't had a problem with a virus ever. It usually catches and deletes the viruses when they are downloaded. And I run the anti virus scan almost every night and it usually finds no infection. The software team that I use that keeps my computer clean is Norton SystemWorks, the free version of Zone Alarm as my firewall, and AdAware for spyware. If anyone is interested in a good way to protect their comp. that's what I'd recommend.:) Unless the people that are having problems are using Norton SystemWorks already.

I have used Mc A shit and norton I never update my version. It stays 8.1 I did have problems with the broader security version with all the bells so I uninstalled it and went back to the old one. I get them for free as my government account is still active. I never have to worry about paying for the updates. I never use a firewall. I don't see the point. If your sitting behind a NAT router you are safe unless you place yourself in the dmz and forget to remove yourself. Not many people can get threw the NAT. You can handshake the tcp connection and possibly get threw after that by udp but most hackers dont bother cause 99% of them are script shitheads and dont know how to really hack. The ones who do target places like ebay and the banks. Not your little system. Who was it who said "I rob banks cause thats where the money is" But its a valid statement cause they would have to search for a long time to find a rich persons computer and even then that person is not going to have all their eggs in 1 place like the stupid banks. Bank of America had 1/2 mil of their users stuff taken almost 1 year ago.

Another uses of Norton products for years here...never had a problem.

Running Norton Internet Security 2005...behind a router...and Norton AV. Also, running M$ spysweeper resident. I would agree that Norton IS a resource hog, but with 2 gig of memory...it's not really an issue on this machine :D

Have read lots of good things about Zone Alarm and PC cillan too |thumb

OKay, here is my take.

Hardware firewalls are the best. They remove your computer from direct connection to the internet. That removed many of the possible security breaches that can happen.

Set your email to not accept attachments. Email attachments are the source of about 99.9999999% of all viruses. Eliminate that single deal, and you have eliminated most of your risk.

If someone needs to send you an attachment, they will let you know. Direct them to your hotmail account, where it can be checked before your download it. Nobody should be sending you an attachments without warning anyway. If they are doing it, most of the time it's a virus.

I can go on... but by taking a couple of simple steps, you can remove much of the software you have protecting your PC and you can live a happier life. Protect your self, don't rely on others to do the job.

:)

Alex

Aren't most people behind a router?

If all your ports are closed, the default for most, why would you still need a firewall?

Plus with a router you are using NAT so unless you go in a forward a port to the private IP of your computer nothing is going to get forwarded there.

I guess with someone not using a router then you might want a firewall.

Then again what do I know… I'm a Mac user and we just don't have these issues and if we are feeling paranoid we can turn on the built-in firewall. (Mine is turned off BTW)

what alex said and set your mail box not to show a the preview payne, also I had trouble with NAV 05 it wouldnt do the live updates right after 6 or 7 months had to redownload and reinstall it and that fixed it also norton has to much BS added with it like the recycle bin protector that by default backs up your deletes, I backed up a few DVDS 8 or 9 gig in size and after I was done I went to delete the rips and WTF I never gained my space back so here to find out it holds them for a week - fuck that.. I turned all that shit off and defraged and cleaned and everything is working great again - so I havent renewed NAV and will look into what was mentined here...

So, this is what I have and you guys tell me if I need any software protection. I have my cable modem, a physical firewall, 3 wireless routers...1 with an omni-directional antenna that reaches about a mile, one with an antenna that reaches about a 1/4 mile and one with an internal antenna.

But even with the new firewall, I still get viruses.

A really cool feature with pc-cillin is that I can see if anyone else connects to my cable modem and disconnect them. You would think the firewall would do that.

Jim, anti-virus and firewall protection are two completely different things.

The most common way to get a virus is through an EXE file. Either you download something from the internet that has a virus attached, you receive a file from a friend that is infected, or you open emails that include viruses in them.

By having your mail program automatically delete all attachments, you get rid of a very big risk.

By having your mail program not automatically show a preview of the mail, you get rid of a very big risk.

Unless you are a very careful person, anti-virus software is important to have. You need to learn to be VERY careful in handling outside files. I have all attachments mailed to me via hotmail, they have up to date virus protection. I only accept files from people I know when I am expecting files. Most of us have servers, and we can upload files when we need to give them to someone else. We don't have to mail them.

Firewalls stop outside people from connecting directly to your PC. Depending on your configuration (and how your cable company makes you connect) your combination of firewalls and such should have you pretty safe. However, if your cable company makes you run special software on your PC to get access, then you have an issue and you need to reconfigure your setup to get rid of that security hole.

Your wireless are not an issue, providing you have some sort of security key on them, WEP or similar. They all have it built in, you have to activate it though. That means that a sort of security key is required to entered before a laptop or other can access your network. If you are not doing this, then all your firewalls and everything else is for nothing, because you locked the door but left the large window next to the door wide open.

Alex

Anybody run McAfee anymore? Is their something I don't know about it ?

I ran it for about 1 month on a differant system to see if it was any better. The only difference I was able to see (which is a big one) they always seemed to be a few hours if not a day or two behind Norton in the really important updates. It got to the point where I started to think they were just waiting for Norton to find the fix and then impliment it themselves. I'm sure thats not the case, maybe they were just running more detailed tests before releasing the update but I just never liked it after that month.

I have a good hardware firewall plus I use Norton Internet Security 2003 and 2005 on top of that.

This week Spybot picked up on and destroyed three hostile items that were designed (or appeared to be designed) to disable Norton completely.

I am guessing that I picked them up from a web site whilst surfing.

I wouldn't be without Adaware and Spybot. :)

Yup, adaware is a good and powerful tool. The microsoft / giant software blocker is also quite good, they seem to be pretty good at getting things.

Oh yeah, don't use IE unless you are forced to. Firefox, Opera, or whatever is MUCH safer (not entirely safe, but MUCH MUCH safer).

When I use IE, I have it prompt before it runs any active-x stuff. I don't use IE very much at all.

Alex

I had no problems with Norton other than it was resource hog. Granted I have state-of-the-art maximum RAM. Still I just didn't like seeing all those processes running. Not to mention the extra time it took to boot my machine.

I have a friend whose has the latest version w/updates and all he ever complains about are the problems it's giving him.

For a moment there I thought you named your dog Norton |couch|

Doesn't that just stop viruses?

Alex
I need to get attachments so I think I will keep what I have. I think I am pretty well protected. All router firewalls are activated and the hardware firewall between the routers and modem is working fine.

I'm behind a router, but I still run McAfee firewall since I really don't know any better. For antivirus, I've been running AVG free for quite a while now.

And, thanks to urb's reminder, I just downloaded and ran Adaware, which I haven't had since the last time I re-did this damned machine.

Your avatar is looking mighty fine UW.

I upgraded my Ad-Aware SE to version 1.06 yesterday. It was a fairly large upgrade. I normally update my db on it every week.

Best combo I've found is:

Avast Antivirus (It's free and it's a bit better than avg)

Microsoft AntiSpyware

I run a Hardware Firewall so it would be redundant to run a software one.

Never accept attachments in emails...if every person did this their chance of infection would drop dramatically.

I haven't had anything infect my computer in a few years and this includes me reviewing popup, spyware loaded, galleries from hell on my tgp.

I had the same problem - my Norton wouldn't update for months. I went with Macafee.

Check out pc-cillin Jay. Hardly any resources and it does everything norton does.

Of course my son told me when my network goes down, look outside and he will be sitting there with his laptop :) Fucking kid is good with networks. I have woke up many mornings with a new directory on my pc saying "Hi Dad". It always pisses me off.

It offers firewall protection and some form of spam protection, I've yet to turn either on and try them.