Most people I cross paths with use Norton antivirus, though some use McAfee. They seem pretty comparable.

Which do you use? Pro/Cons of each?

 

Mcafee. Always worked good for me. Have heard Norton is good though too. Mcafee seems to be better at isolating viruses, from what i hear. Who knows.

 

I have been using one McAfee product or another for years. At the moment, I'm using their web based version called VirusScan Online ActiveShield. I have it setup to access the site for updates automatically every morning before I sit at the computer.

I think I paid $29.95 for a year's subscription. It's probably more expensive than most, but for me, it's worth the convenience of not having to worry about having the latest updates, be it the .dat files or updates to the program itself.

Every morning when I wake up my computer, there's a McAfee window that tells me if the files are up to date, new files installed, or if I need to restart the computer to complete the installation of something.

 

I've used both resident and online scanners from McAfee and currently run Norton. I always had problems updating the resident McAfee but that was back when I was on dialup. Norton's Live Update works well but I'm on cable now and that could be a big part of the reason.

McAfee's online Active Shiled worked well but I got tired of all the ads that McAfee's online products had so I didn't renew.

 

They are both resource hogs.
PC-cillin and Panda are the best two.
A freind who is a security freak tests AVs regularly and PC-cillin and Panda catch in the 90% range while Norton and McAffey catch about 70%

http://www.antivirus.com/

PC-cillin 2000 is one of the most effective anti-virus programs available. It actively protects against viruses, Trojan horse (backdoor) programs, script worms, hostile ActiveX and JavaScript both on the web, and e-mail. 30-day trial is available. TrendMicro (PC-cillin) has also teamed with ZoneLabs (ZoneAlarm Pro) to create a complete security bundle (antiviral program and firewall) for. TrendMicro also offers HouseCall, the free online virus scanner.

 

We've been using McAfee at work now for about 6 years. We have the Total Virus Defense (TVD) suite. Get the weekly updates smoothly (normally weekly, last week I got 3 in 3 days). We had a glancing blow from Nimda (we refer to it as nimrod). Not as bad as most folks...learned a lot...thankfully without losing data.

 

Have used McAfee antivirus at home and at work for several years. So, I when I got broadband, I went out and got McAfee Office, which has an update to the antivirus engine and a number of other goodies, including some firewall-type products. I found the firewall stuff to be bad to awful, in that they would interfere with the normal connection with my ISP, they would constantly ask if a particular program could be allowed to access web content (this would happen over and over again for the same program), and would interfere with just logging in to my profile. So, I went out and got Norton Office 2000, and it works so much better, with a very slick and clean interface. All parts of this software work together seemlessly and efficiently. I was much more impressed with this product.

The one downside of Norton is that their diagnostic utility cannot accurately test memory greater than 256M.

 

I have used both and use to sell both at work. I worked for GE Capotal which sold to a lot of government and educational agencies as well as commerical customers. I would say Norton outsold Mcaffe by 5 to 1, but there towatfs the end of 2000 a lot were switching over. I personally use Norton because that is what came with my computer and find no faults with it yet.

 

Does anybody else besides me think that some of the virus that we see are being distributed by the anti-virus people just to sell more anti-virus programs, or am I just too cynical?

 

computer software conspiracy theories, I guess it's possible

 

Thanks,

Anyone try the "Try Before You Buy" routine? I noticed McAfee and the PC-cillin had free 30 day trials. Norton had a free trial also but it didn't say any specific time period that I could see, unless they just want to get you at update time....

 

Yep Dennis, I am all over that one!
Thats why I use what I use.
Hint: it isn't a AV but rather three programs when used together and properly configured, that are better and take up less resources (than one good AV) combined.
I also do not use a executable email program, so virii sent to me becomes disabled, and I am not at the mercy of a AV updating their dat files, and then me having to update mine.

 

Oh yeah, as far as "try before you buy"
How do you supose we are suposed to test these things?
Yep, I have done that. I usually end up buying what I am allowed to try first.
Some AV's are hard to uninstall, and do not get along well with others, (like firewalls) so use caution.

 

Speaking of not getting along well with others, READ THIS

 

Monday night I downloaded PC-cillin's 30 day trial software. So far, not really happy. Every time it looks for new email their logo pops up on the screen, no matter what you're doing...very annoying. I've also had occasional problems with my browser not being able to reach the internet...never had this problem before. Previous to installing this I was using an old, outdated version of Norton AV and Guard Dog for internet security. NAV always worked well and Guard Dog is awesome. It is extremely rare that I get any junk email because GD does such a good job cleaning my trail and protecting my personal info. I'm going to give PC-cillin another couple days, will try to fix these annoyances, but I'll probably go back to Norton and pay for an upgrade.