Norton vs Microsoft Security Essentials

[Baasha]

So I have Norton Anti-Virus on 3 of my computers and it has worked pretty well so far! I came across a couple of posts regarding how Norton is like 'bloatware' and hogs up resources on the PC.

I'm running Windows 7 x64 and have Norton 2011.

Microsoft Security Essentials, apparently, is claimed to perform better than Norton (?)!

Is this true? What do you guys think of Norton? Do you use it? Or do you prefer MSE? If so, why?

Do you guys think I should uninstall Norton and switch to MSE, which is FREE btw!? LOL..

Old thread revived by spammer. Spam posts deleted.
admin allisolm

 

[theprodigalrebel]

<--- MSE user (on Win 7 x64 as well)

Maybe I have more common sense than the average Internet user but I don't honestly remember the last time I had an issue with viruses or malware. The best thing about MSE is it doesn't slow your system to a crawl, even when accessing large folders. The newer editions of Norton are also supposedly good at this. I remember a time when accessing something like the system32 folder with most real-time monitoring engines would cause Explorer to slow down to nearly a halt.

 

[zCypher]

<--- MSE user (on Win 7 x64 as well)

Maybe I have more common sense than the average Internet user but I don't honestly remember the last time I had an issue with viruses or malware. The best thing about MSE is it doesn't slow your system to a crawl, even when accessing large folders. The newer editions of Norton are also supposedly good at this. I remember a time when accessing something like the system32 folder with most real-time monitoring engines would cause Explorer to slow down to nearly a halt.

This. Also there are many freeware programs out there, it's not like you're limited to Norton or Microsoft. I run a Spybot scan once in a while, usually it only finds a cookie here and there.

 

[akugami]

<--- MSE user (on Win 7 x64 as well)

Maybe I have more common sense than the average Internet user but I don't honestly remember the last time I had an issue with viruses or malware. The best thing about MSE is it doesn't slow your system to a crawl, even when accessing large folders. The newer editions of Norton are also supposedly good at this. I remember a time when accessing something like the system32 folder with most real-time monitoring engines would cause Explorer to slow down to nearly a halt.

The problem is Joe Computer visits infected sites and don't even realize they are hit with a drive by virus. Not really their fault, they just aren't computer savvy users.

Norton was so bloated for so long that I've quit using it. MSE is arguably as good as Norton or any commercial anti-virus app. It has a relatively light footprint. It doesn't install crap into 50 different locations which you'll have to hunt down to uninstall. And the best part, it does this at a guaranteed to appeal price. Free.

I also run Trend Micro's Hijackthis on occasion. Great tool to see what the heck might have inadvertently got installed and is in the startup list.

 

[Cogman]

The problem is Joe Computer visits infected sites and don't even realize they are hit with a drive by virus. Not really their fault, they just aren't computer savvy users.

Norton was so bloated for so long that I've quit using it. MSE is arguably as good as Norton or any commercial anti-virus app. It has a relatively light footprint. It doesn't install crap into 50 different locations which you'll have to hunt down to uninstall. And the best part, it does this at a guaranteed to appeal price. Free.

I also run Trend Micro's Hijackthis on occasion. Great tool to see what the heck might have inadvertently got installed and is in the startup list.

Probably the best feature of MSE that you didn't mention is the fact that it is easy to uninstall. Nortan and Mcaffee are worse than some spyware to uninstall.

 

[Emulex]

mse is the largest footprint software. Malicious software removal has been on your pc for years already

 

[bbs lm-r]

Norton just feels like a system resource hog, MSE doesn't. Even on an old P4 rig with 1gig of ram, MSE was just easy to deal with.

 

[corkyg]

One thing I rfeally like about MSE is how quickly it downloads and installs updates. This was important when I was linked to the Internet via expensive satellite. The new 2.0+ version is faster than the original.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I also prefer MSE. It seems to be less resource intensive to me.

 

[Bryf50]

Anyone who is basing there experience with Norton off of old versions should really try out 2011. It's awesome. At the moment the two processes that it runs are taking a grand total of 11MBs of memory.

 

[Ken90630]

One thing I rfeally like about MSE is how quickly it downloads and installs updates. This was important when I was linked to the Internet via expensive satellite. The new 2.0+ version is faster than the original.

I agree. MSE is the fastest install & setup I've ever done with a security app (and I've tried lots of 'em). And according to A-V Comparatives' most recent tests, it's right up there with the other top-tier security apps in the important areas.

 

[Ken90630]

Probably the best feature of MSE that you didn't mention is the fact that it is easy to uninstall. Nortan and Mcaffee are worse than some spyware to uninstall.

Agreed, although I've heard Norton is easier than it used to be to uninstall. McAfee, however, is still the proverbial hell in a bucket to get rid of IMHO. It drops about a zillion keys into the Windows Registry, so even after "uninstalling" (ha!) the program via Add/Remove Programs or an official "removal tool," you still have to go into the Registry and manually remove a slew of McAfee entries. And some of them will not let you delete them (even under an Administrator acct.) -- they're locked or something. So basically, it's impossible to get rid of it entirely w/o reformatting & doing a fresh Windows installation (or, I suppose, using System Restore if that's practical).

Combined with the fact its proactive detection sucks, and their customer service sucks more, I absolutely hate McAfee. I have friends/acquaintances who ask me to remove it from their new computers, and it's always an annoying task.

 

[postmortemIA]

MSE is decent. I had problem with my mom's PC being infected with one of rogue antiviruses. It didn't detected it. She has limited user account, so malware was limited to her account only. Scanning the executable with MSE did not yield detection.

This is the last "in" in malware world, list of this rogue AVs is huge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rogue_security_software

 

[john2727]

So I have Norton Anti-Virus on 3 of my computers and it has worked pretty well so far! I came across a couple of posts regarding how Norton is like 'bloatware' and hogs up resources on the PC.

I'm running Windows 7 x64 and have Norton 2011.

Microsoft Security Essentials, apparently, is claimed to perform better than Norton (?)!

Is this true? What do you guys think of Norton? Do you use it? Or do you prefer MSE? If so, why?

Do you guys think I should uninstall Norton and switch to MSE, which is FREE btw!? LOL...

no i heard that mse drags down the performance of the pc

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Necro spammer's post lef in place for continuity.

Harvey
Senior AT Mod/Admin

 

[mikeymikec]

One other thing I like about MSE is that it doesn't bother the user with unnecessary notifications, or do things like flag cookies as malware in an attempt (IMO) to trump up its usefulness in the eyes of the user.

The 'system performance monitoring' in Norton 360 has to be the most useless feature I've ever seen in a security product; a system is doing something processing Windows Updates, up comes Norton to say "you know what, svchost is doing a lot of disk I/O right now!". Really, imagine what might have happened if you hadn't told me that Norton! Why don't you pop up when I'm watching high-definition video to tell me that CPU usage is slightly higher than usual, that would be REALLY handy. </sarcasm>

 

[smakme7757]

Trend Micro is very set and forget. Nice and cheap too. Of all the paid products i think it's currently the best available.

 

[Morbus]

Guys, Microsoft Security Essencials is NOT an antivirus. It's a bare-bones protection software that won't protect you that much (anymore). There was a time when it was good (about the time this thread started), but not anymore:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Micr...-Just-a-Basic-Anti-Virus-Product-386213.shtml

And this is coming from Microsoft themselves.

 

[Ketchup]

Guys, Microsoft Security Essencials is NOT an antivirus....

It is by definition and by the article you linked.

Tip: If you want to make a point, use an article that doesn't say the opposite of what you are trying to say.

BTW, I don't know that we need to revive this particular discussion, as it has already been covered a good bit, and both pieces of software have changed in the past 4 years.

 

[corkyg]

Nothing like a necro 2011 thread being reborn. Ketchup79 is spot on.

 

[Zstream]

Nothing like a necro 2011 thread being reborn. Ketchup79 is spot on.

I politely disagree. I've been recommending MSE for some time now along with Malwarebytes pro. I had no idea MSE went downhill in the last three years.

 

[Puffnstuff]

MSE conflicts with most antivirus programs. I was running Norton 360 up until a few weeks ago when it suddenly went crazy on both my desktop and my laptop. On my desktop it took my drives to 100% use and wouldn't release control of them until I uninstalled it. Turned around and the same thing happened on my laptop. Needless to say I promptly uninstalled it and used a valid Kaspersky license for my desktop. and the free version of panda on my laptop If you want malware protection buy a subscription to Malwarebytes which is the best I've used at getting garbage out. Even Norton just let the stuff in and the free version of malwarebytes had to get it out of my system. The subscription version has real time monitoring which would stop it in the first place. The best thing that Norton has going is their identity safe program which I still use but the rest of it I have no use for. Overall Norton 360 is bloatware and it was using around 12% of my cpu on average anytime I checked on it. The fact that I have a valid subscription to Norton and won't use it says a lot about it and they'll never have to worry about me buying their product again as this is the second time that I've had a major issue with Norton and my systems acting up.

 

[Ketchup]

MSE conflicts with most antivirus programs. ....

Well, you never want to run more than one antivirus at a time, so MSE is not special in this regard.

 

[John Connor]

MSE is weak crap. They lost their certificate. Use Bitdefender Free and be done with it.