Info wanted

[robbain]

I am thinking of changing from Norton, I am looking for advice, been looking at McAfee, but like Norton there are different packages available, at the moment I have Norton Internet Security 2008, also have a look at AVG and Panda, they offer free downloads but if you want a full package there is a charge.

[Bobinovich]

AVG 8 Free can be downloaded and used for free for non-commercial use, and is an anti-virus and anti-malware package. It can be downloaded from free.avg.com (http://free.avg.com) and I'm happy to recommend it as suitable for most end users.

[blueivy]

I am thinking of changing from Norton, I am looking for advice, been looking at McAfee, but like Norton there are different packages available, at the moment I have Norton Internet Security 2008, also have a look at AVG and Panda, they offer free downloads but if you want a full package there is a charge.

If you want proper, full, malware and firewall cover then you either need to pay for it or go for free separate products.

My preferences are ESET Antivirus for antivirus, CounterSpy for antispyware and Outpost Firewall Pro for firewall. VIPRE is also a good choice for combined antivirus and antispyware. None of these are free however. Comodo firewall is also good and is free.

Best thing to do is look for reviews of the products you are looking at. Check out the AV Comparatives site for antivirus software an Matousec for firewall software.

When you have shortlisted the software, download them and see how you get on with them.

[Boss]

I am thinking of changing from Norton, I am looking for advice, been looking at McAfee, but like Norton there are different packages available, at the moment I have Norton Internet Security 2008, also have a look at AVG and Panda, they offer free downloads but if you want a full package there is a charge.

Don't change!
Just the other week I did, from Norton to McAfee and I have had nothing but sheer unadulterated hassle since, so much so that I have had to disable McAfee and conduct manually.

The two programmes conflict and in order to use McAfee you must uninstall Norton, which I did but now, McAfee are scanning everything and anything for up to 10 hours a day,
whilst this scanning takes place no other computer work may take place, nothing.
Your internet is restricted, your access to your own files are linited.
Don't do it. that is my advice.
Firefox, has free access to different programes of which many are free, don't go for McAfee, its a waste of time and space on your computer.

[blueivy]

The two programmes conflict and in order to use McAfee you must uninstall Norton, which I did but now, McAfee are scanning everything and anything for up to 10 hours a day,
whilst this scanning takes place no other computer work may take place, nothing.

You should never run two active protection / on-access scanning antivirus or antispyware applications together or you will get exactly the problems you describe above.

Before installing, always uninstall the old one first.

[Connor.]

I recommend Avast! antivirus as i have been using it for years. It's by far one of the best AV around and the best of all IT'S FREE!

Another one to look into is Kaspersky as it's supposedly the best AV to date.