ditching Norton AV for AVG

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bobby -> ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/4/2005 11:29:22)
I just had to share... At work I recently had a problem on my PC. Running slow, Office apps not responding, etc. NAV came up clean with every scan, fully updated. On the advice of our sysadmin I ran the online scan at http://housecall.trendmicro.com It came up with over 20 worms/trojans that NAV never saw and removed them. Great! So I updated NAV and went back to work. These same 20+ nasties showed up again within hours... I have since ditched NAV for the AVG corporate license edition (www.grisoft.com) and couldn't be happier. In a week I have no unwanted virii, worms or trojan horses, the software runs quickly and quietly in the background without hogging system resources, and completes full system scans and updates in a fraction of the time it took NAV. Over the next year we'll be migrating all of our in house systems to AVG corporate edition. I'll be doing the same at home when my license for NAV runs out again... Anyone else experience problems with NAV recently? <edit> forgot to mention that the AVG license is good for two years of updates, as opposed to one year under NAV [;)]

rdouglass -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/4/2005 13:47:46)
They also have a free version for home use. [:)] I use the freebie at home and the corporate version at work. I too am quite pleased with results.

bobby -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/4/2005 15:50:02)
I used the free AVG at home for about 8 months while I was between Norton builds. I had no problems on it either...

Taz -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/4/2005 16:11:09)
/very happy since he switched over and started using McAfee security suite

Kitka -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/4/2005 21:25:13)
I switched from NAV to NOD32 and am extremely happy with it. Before I went to NOD32, I tested the Panda demo, but didn't like it.

jaybee -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/5/2005 6:43:02)
quote: I have since ditched NAV He's seen the light! [:D] Whenever someone tells me they have a problem with their machine, the first thing I look for is a Norton product. NAV and NIS are almost guaranteed to be what's causing it. The only product I happily use is Ghost and that is a superb bit of kit. Real shame because Norton stuff used to be the best.

Starhugger -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/5/2005 10:44:55)
With rare exceptions, whenever I hear of someone whose computer got eaten by a viral nasty, almost invariably they were using NAV. Mind you, there are still an awful lot of people out there who don't realise you have to update your AV regularly AND do a regular system-wide scan, and that will render ANY AV useless. But it seems interesting to me that NAV comes up as the one people were using more often than not. Maybe NAV is just not as good as other AVs, or maybe NAV comes bundled with new computers more often and so people don't go through the learning curve in choosing an AV themselves, I don't know. Maybe both. About 3 computers ago, PC-cillin came bundled with mine. That's the people who do the Housecalls site. It found a virus but couldn't clean it (I thought, at the time, because it was a demo version). Long story short, I tried NAV and McAfee trial downloads and neither of them could find the thing; it wasn't in their databases either. Yet PC-cillin and Housecalls did; turns out it was some off-beat variation of a more common virus. Guess which AV I went with... Years later, I'm still with PC-cillin after a number of upgrades, and with only a few rare exceptions, have been completely happy with it. Trojans can be really hard to get rid of. There's a program out there called Trojan Remover that my computer tech guy uses to ensure that it's GONE for good. I guess the AV programs have their first specialty in virii, not malware which is a relatively recent addition to their repertoire. They don't always catch the root program which can still propagate after the spawned trojan has been detected and wiped. I think they're gradually getting better at it, but I still run both AdAware and Spybot to catch most of the spyware and other malware, along with PC-cillin's spyware scan (which you still can't automate, which is annoying). They all seem to catch different things, so I think it's still worthwhile to run more than one program for spyware. Starhugger

clever -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 6:30:08)
:S http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ wont work for me same reason windows update doesnt work the activex in my browser is shut off permently for some reason

Kitka -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 6:45:38)
quote: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ wont work for me same reason windows update doesnt work Are you using IE or another browser? I have Firefox set as my default browser, but have to <grrr> use IE for Windows Updates, online virus checkers and Internet Banking - all of which seem to require ActiveX.. Still, it is FAR better than having to use IE for all browsing.

clever -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 8:58:23)
i use firefox mostly but the activex in ie doesnt work and that also means my windows update hasnt worked for over a yea and msn cant login because of a bad pass error which i think it because it cant get a ssl connection to the login server also all https:// sites dont work on ie and multi os programs like gaim/mozila/firefox that have the ssl built into there own code can get at https:// sites and msn

dpf -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 9:03:54)
good post starhugger. I thinkyou hit a great point about new pcs. I thought about that when i bought my most recent one (my 12th - lol) a low end $700 Gateway. I thought "this is a system that many first time users will buy" and while the set up was nice and easy (color code calbes etc), since it came with NAV, I noticed that nothing tells the new user that 1. you have to actually run a scan 2. you have to update files 3. you have to renew subscription. I know lots of pcs "newbies" who say " I have such and such antivirus" but when you ask them questions #1 and #2 above, they are shocked

Nigel -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 13:10:22)
I've been a Norton user for years - I've run McAfee and AVG on other machines - Norton has been the only one that keeps my system clean (thats Norton internet Security) McAfee I found to be the least effective. Panda was almost useless. In my experience the problems people have with Norton is setting it up correctly and keeping it updated. Anti Virus on its own will not help against trojans and some worms. I also use Ad-aware (paid version) - it's vastly improved since the early editions and catches stuff the anti virus progs dont see. One thing I have noticed with all the programs is that although they may detect something it cannot be removed while it is running. A lot of these trojans and worms install an .exe file that runs at first boot. What you have to do is stop it running and then clean it with whatever prog you are using. You can do this by clicking: Start/Run msconfig A window will open and the last tab on the top menu - called startup- shows you what progs are running at startup. By unchecking the box you can reboot your machine, stop them running and clean them. Of course this doesn't apply to everything and there are some nastier ones out there that need more attention. If you get to that stage then a re-install of your sytem is often the fastest and most effective clean.

BobbyDouglas -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 17:37:11)
quote: With rare exceptions, whenever I hear of someone whose computer got eaten by a viral nasty, almost invariably they were using NAV. - Not sure what the numbers are here, but I would think NAV would be used more frequently than other AV, thus more people would complain. Let me put it like this. There are 100 users of NAV, and 50 users of AVG. 10% of the users complain, that would be 10 users for NAV, and 5 users for AVG. You should expect more complaints for software used more than another. I wouldn't compare the clientbase of NAV to AVG. I posted awhile back showing facts from actual tests, that AVG has one of the worst detection rates. But it seems a lot of people just go by "this has worked in the past, so it will work in the future", or "my friend uses this and he has had no problem". quote: AV and NIS are almost guaranteed to be what's causing it. - Norton Internet Security is a real bad resource hog. It needs to be re-created from the ground up before anyone agrees to use it. A lot of people do not understand that AV is the 1st thing that needs to be installed on a system. Top AV programs work best when they are installed before other programs/software. If you search for my thread regarding Norton, you will see many statistics proving AVG has a poor detection rate compared to the other tested software. AVG is pretty quick though, so if you are running a system that isn't speedy, it might be a better solution.

jaybee -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 17:43:40)
quote: The only product I happily use is Ghost and that is a superb bit of kit. I take back everything I said. It trashed my new machine. [:@] For AV I use Bitdefender paid version which comes with a firewall. Best AV I've ever used and that includes Sophos

BobbyDouglas -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/13/2005 18:15:34)
quote: I take back everything I said. It trashed my new machine. - Oh man... Is that the one you were working on earlier in the week? I decided not to use Ghost, instead I just do regular backups. All my software is burned onto my computer, and backups of that are also made. So it wouldn't take too long to restore. Plus, if my main drive dies, I just pop in my backup drive that already has windows installed.

Starhugger -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 1:38:16)
quote: ORIGINAL: BobbyDouglas - Not sure what the numbers are here, but I would think NAV would be used more frequently than other AV, thus more people would complain. Let me put it like this. There are 100 users of NAV, and 50 users of AVG. 10% of the users complain, that would be 10 users for NAV, and 5 users for AVG. You should expect more complaints for software used more than another. I wouldn't compare the clientbase of NAV to AVG. I have never used (or barely heard of) AVG, so I wouldn't know about any differences in client base. But curiously, most of the people I know don't think to blame their AV when their computer gets eaten -- at least not enough to complain directly to the company. I'm not sure why. Maybe they figure that the AV only protects them from some things and it's inevitable that they'll catch something (kind of like getting a flu shot), so they figure it was just "their bad luck." Maybe they are told by whoever repairs the thing that it was their fault for not updating it, so they're embarrassed. I don't think they feel connected to their AV company enough to complain, sort of in the same way they wouldn't call up Intel or Microsoft if there was a problem with the motherboard or opsys -- they'd call and complain to their computer vendor or whoever winds up repairing it, who would just fix it and maybe give them some instruction on how to prevent it happening again. I suspect it's all caused by a rather dysfunctional dynamic that is more complex than what one might see on the surface. quote: A lot of people do not understand that AV is the 1st thing that needs to be installed on a system. Top AV programs work best when they are installed before other programs/software. Good point! If someone gets a computer that doesn't have a current AV pre-installed, it might not occur to them until well after they should have installed it. Starhugger

Starhugger -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 1:45:22)
quote: ORIGINAL: Nigel You can do this by clicking: Start/Run msconfig A window will open and the last tab on the top menu - called startup- shows you what progs are running at startup. By unchecking the box you can reboot your machine, stop them running and clean them. Of course this doesn't apply to everything and there are some nastier ones out there that need more attention. If you get to that stage then a re-install of your sytem is often the fastest and most effective clean. I would be really careful about mucking around with msconfig if the person doesn't know what they're doing. You can get your poor 'puter really confoozled. In fact, it occurred to me that maybe that might be why Clever's computer won't run some active-x application? Clever, have you checked your msconfig lately? Just a wild thought. [:)] Starhugger

jaybee -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 4:25:47)
quote: Oh man... Is that the one you were working on earlier in the week? Yup. Got it all set up, all the apps on, all the data and then thought "time to Ghost". I put a warning in Hints and Tips but basically Ghost doesn't like SATA drives. It starts to run, sets itself up as the virtual C: drive and then locks up. You can't get back into Windows as the real C: drive isn't seen any more. You have to download ghreboot from the Norton site and run it from a bootable floppy but of course my machine didn't ship with a floppy. Luckily Harv, being a Dell engineer had a compatible removable floppy for his work's laptop so I was able to use that. Anyone else would have been stuffed. On the AV front, the machine came with McAfee installed and set to auto update out of the box. I removed it as I wanted bit Defender in but I didn't see any warnings about expiry or anything. Maybe it does that when it expires? [edit] Harv says it's a trial and the warning is on the invoice. Well that's handy, who reads the invoice when you've got a shiny new machine to play with?

Starhugger -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 9:58:16)
quote: ORIGINAL: jaybee Yup. Got it all set up, all the apps on, all the data and then thought "time to Ghost". I put a warning in Hints and Tips but basically Ghost doesn't like SATA drives. It starts to run, sets itself up as the virtual C: drive and then locks up. You can't get back into Windows as the real C: drive isn't seen any more. You have to download ghreboot from the Norton site and run it from a bootable floppy but of course my machine didn't ship with a floppy. Luckily Harv, being a Dell engineer had a compatible removable floppy for his work's laptop so I was able to use that. Anyone else would have been stuffed. That sounds awful, jaybee! I was thinking of getting Ghost but I'm thinking maybe it's not a good idea to rely so much on one solution for backup. It seems it still pays to have more than one strategy, in case one turns out to be the Backup From H*ll. Starhugger

Spooky -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 15:34:34)
I guess milage varies - Im more than happy with it, but only running one sata drive. Nortons been good for me so far - but I practice safe hex.

Giomanach -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/14/2005 19:56:35)
Zone Alarm & Avast here....AVG wouldn't update, but it think that's due to me being dual firewalled (ZA & Router) As to the HDDs...I still use IDEs...no SATA ports at the mo...but both HDDs are Ultra ATAs and run superbly

GeorgeR -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/15/2005 11:52:41)
I use Norton AntiVirus 2004, Webroot's Spy Sweeper, Ad-adware and a week ago I added the Spybot. Norton's finds Gator trojans but fails to remove them. I update automatically and sometimes manually as well. Recently I had a problem with the system that was rebooting and power-shutting down automatically. After several hours of efforts (in Safe Mode), I gave up and brought the computer to a shop. They found that Norton was corrupting the WinXP system. My renewal is coming up in September, so you know I am dropping Norton and using something else.

fade2black -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 6:05:37)
I purchased Norton Systemworks and Norton Internet Security. Since installing I have had to rebuild my pc 4 times. Everytime I had problems with NAV and Systemworks, mainly to do with the updates. It kept asking to reinstall by following instructions on their web site. I found this to be very long winded and to make matters worse, It would never recover. Hence, the rebuilds. The pc has been running without Systemworks for over a month without any problems. The internet security part is not a problem. So, I have resorted to another AV temporarily (freebie) and I will be requesting a refund from Symantec....yeah right! I chose them as Norton is the father of the PC, as far as I am concerned, so who better! But, it seems that Norton Systemworks instead of optimising your pc, actually screws it up completly. I have heard other people have had the same problem and have done what I have done. Not heard of AVG, but will check it out.

BobbyDouglas -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 10:19:30)
quote: I purchased Norton Systemworks First mistake quote: and Norton Internet Security. Second mistake quote: But, it seems that Norton Systemworks instead of optimising your pc, actually screws it up completly. - That software sucks! It takes up so much in resources.

rdouglass -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 10:29:48)
quote: ..Ghost doesn't like SATA drives. Just a little bit OT here, but jaybee I successfully did an image from an IDE to a SATA this weekend using PowerQuest DriveImage ver 5 (2 versions old - they're up to 7 now) without even a hiccup. I just have so little confidence in any product with a Norton or Symantec logo. [:(] I actually had and used Ghost before Symantec bought it.

jaybee -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 11:15:43)
quote: Just a little bit OT here Well it seems I'm not the only one. Maybe it's just with Dell SATA (oops no, just found a HP user with the same problem) but even Norton agree there is a problem as they have a walkthrough on their site. Unfortunately it involves floppies which if you don't have a floppy drive is a bit useless. http://www.digit-life.com/forum/0005/000061-3.html http://computing.net/hardware/wwwboard/forum/33377.html http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7588-0.html?forumID=70&threadID=54666&messageID=651803 http://www.experts-exchange.com/Applications/Q_21317065.html http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/sutra483332.html http://www.digit-life.com/forum/0005/000061.html And so on........... I'll take a look at Drive Image cos I'm not touching Norton with a bargepole from now on. Spent yesterday trying to uninstall a trial copy of NIS from a friend's laptop. It won't budge. It actually brings up a message saying you can't uninstall it! The trial runs out in 12 days time and we've been told by support that you have to buy the full version in order to get the uninstall!!! That can't be right.

bobby -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 11:31:57)
quote: I practice safe hex. ROFLMAO!

jaybee -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 11:32:31)
[sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif] Just found this..... quote: Symantec has released a (re)new(ed) removal tool for NAV2003: quote: I think this is the best software ever released by Symantec. ;)

BobbyDouglas -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 12:16:35)
Drive Image has been reccomended to me many times on hardware forums. I would give them a good look!

dankos -> RE: ditching Norton AV for AVG (5/16/2005 13:37:44)
I like a fair amount of control of how the AV package runs in the background. I run a lot of CPU intensive programs and don't like the AV to start spontaneously and run in the background. I noticed that NAV was extremely intrusive and replaced it with PC-cillin, which seems to be far less intrusive. I could tell that NAV was running in the background in that the PC would go through about 10 minutes of intensive disk accesses and then suddenly the DVD reader would open at the end. If it was open already, it would close -- pretty bizarre. This would happen several times a day.

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