Come and tell me what I should get now my norton has expired....

[LoveBeingAMummy]

OK so I knw norton is crap and expensive so tell me what I should get for my laptop and why.

Cheers

AVG Free.

It works and the price is right.

I have McAfee and am very happy with it. Tried AVG but had problems so looked for something else. Takes up much less space on the computer than Norton.

I was told me technical person at local computer repair shop that AVG is the best free virus software you can get.

AVG is the best virus software you can get, free or otherwise. I have not had one virus in 10 plus years of use.

I like NOD32

Other vote for AVG here

AVG is good. My bro bought me the full version which is even better and well worth the expense (even though I didn't bear it!).

Avira Anti-Vir or AVG.

Get rid of Norton, all traces of it. Get a specialist in to do so if you have to.

I've used AVG for about 5 years - I didn't come across any problems until the 8.5 version. I had recommended AVG to lots of people at work, and several told me they had problems with it failing to connect to update. They have now moved on to AVG 9 and (so far) are no longer having problems.

Wow, glad I came across this. My Norton free trial ended this morning and have been browsing to see what alternatives I can find (I am so out of date it is unbelievable).

Sorry to hijack, but ABETADAD (or anyone who knows), could you tell me how to get of the existing Norton software on my laptop.

Surely you just un-install and delete any files you can find with their name on?

OK so 7 votes for AVG, it is offically the anti virus choice of mumsnet (that must be an acceptable sample size )

Why don't people like Norton? I have it, no probs so far? Is there something I should know?

Definitely AVG, served me well for years. Make sure you download AVG Free Edition as their site has a little try at interesting you in a trial version of the Paid ones which you don't need as the Free version is fine.

Have Avast on one of my other PCs which is good too but I prefer AVG myself - it does what you need and it just works!

what IS wrong with Norton? Tell please ... !

Well here's just one page where someone else asks that very question Why do people hate Norton

In general I believe it's reckoned to be buggy, can cause slowdowns, crashes and incompatibility problems, and is difficult to remove entirely.

Well, for one thing it costs money, and AVG is free!

Generally, I think Norton is unpopular because it tends to be one of those programs (like pretty much anything produced by HP) which I call 'It's all about me' software, ie they act as if they are the most important thing on your computer & tend to run their stuff from startup and hog resources.
I had Norton on my older Compaq/XP laptop and it caused all sorts of problems, crashes,freezes etc which is when I installed AVG.

Though I also now have a Toshiba Vista laptop which came with a 60 day trial of Norton 360 & when the trial ran out I realised with some surprise that I hadn't had any problems & hadn't even noticed it running, so I did actually renew; I forget how much it was but it wasn't really much & I just thought if it ain't broke...

AVG no contest

AVG let a very very nasty virus through on mine - we now have Avira

McAfee has been very good imo, had it for three years with no probs.

Yikes.
Yes I had noticed Norton's me me me attitude. But have got used to it. Thanks.

I've had AVG for years........only time when it let a virus through I discovered I'd blocked (or stopped - can't remember now) an update recently and so therefore it was probably my own fault

MacaFee used that for a bit and was constantly plagued by virsues.

Norton - just takes over your whole computer and is a bugger to get rid of.

Haven't tried Avira

I had same problem as Aortabe - AVG was not watertight. The Avira was installed by the computer expert who spent an afternoon giving my machine a service and software update. Best £50 I've spent in a long time.

AFAIK no free product provides protection from malicious ActiveX controls or media codecs. If you and everyone else who uses your computer knows what these are and how to avoid them, go with AVG free or Avira.

Otherwise you can usually get an offer on Kaspersky at Tesco or PC World (sometimes online only, sometimes in store only).

Quote from a friend who is rather high up in IT Banking and works on online Banking Protection... "Norton only works by NOT allowing you to use your computer properly" Basically it ruins your computer.

I have Kaspersky free through online banking with Barclays, so if you are a Barclays customer get on the website, get online banking and get it free. My mate says Kaspersky is sufficient.

To buy the package Barclays give out free, if you are not a Barclays customer, is £50.