Get a different Anti-Virus?

[c313]

Hello

So currently i use Norton 360, And its kinda annoying, If i have it enabled on start up it takes a good 10 seconds for my applications to fully load. If its disabled it takes under 2 seconds. When my PC is on idle for to long norton does some idle crap and my Computer starts making a kinda annoying loading noise, But after 10 minutes of the noise it goes away, Unless i restart my PC and go afk again (allthough im sure this is a HDD issue or something)

Anyways considering norton360 is sorta a resource hog, I only turn it on when i go to unfamiliar websites, Check emails. Or do Online purchases. But lately i just been getting sick of it and would like to get a good Antivirus that does not slow my PC down when its enabled

Any suggestions?

[naadra]

Ya I used to have Norton and absolutely hated it. It seemed like every time I had a performance issue it was Norton causing the problem heh. I myself as well as a slew of others use the free anti virus programs like Avast and malwarebytes. You can even go with MSE and be fine as well. No sense in paying for Norton when you can basically have the same thing for free that does not hog your resources.


Edit: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...are-Megathread

That has a ton of free programs and useful things for your computer. You can find a few different free anti virus and malware etc in that sticky.

[taekvideo]

I've always used avira antivir.. never had problems with it except that it sometimes flags keygens and cracks as malware >_>

[jotad4]

As good as Norton may be, it requires too much of your computer to work that way. If I were you, I'd get AVG Suite (AV + FW + ASW) and be done with it - it works extremely well, and doesn't slow down your computer as others.

And just one thing I would like naadra to answer me:

If viruses and spywares are attached into broken parts of the system's "coding," and that coding (system) is made by Microsoft, why would a Antivirus made by Microsoft be of any help?

[Fuzzykins]

I've always used avira antivir.. never had problems with it except that it sometimes flags keygens and cracks as malware >_>

Technically, they are. o.o

---------- Post added 2011-07-20 at 12:13 AM ----------

As good as Norton may be, it requires too much of your computer to work that way. If I were you, I'd get AVG Suite (AV + FW + ASW) and be done with it - it works extremely well, and doesn't slow down your computer as others.

And just one thing I would like naadra to answer me:

If viruses and spywares are attached into broken parts of the system's "coding," and that coding (system) is made by Microsoft, why would a Antivirus made by Microsoft be of any help?

I'll answer it. It doesn't work that way. It's not like they work together. The OS recognizes MSE as no different than Kaspersky or etc.

[Chiliwing]

I've been using ESET NOD32 for a few years now, i find it does the job and doesn't hog all the system resources. They do a fully functional free trial also.

eset.co.uk/Home/NOD32-Antivirus

[vesseblah]

So currently i use Norton 360, And its kinda annoying, If i have it enabled on start up it takes a good 10 seconds for my applications to fully load. If its disabled it takes under 2 seconds.

Either something is wrong with your windows/computer, or it's very old piece of shit. In my PC Norton360 never goes above 5% CPU usage and never does any notable slowdowns. Defragmenting and/or reinstalling might be needed, and...

When my PC is on idle for to long norton does some idle crap and my Computer starts making a kinda annoying loading noise, But after 10 minutes of the noise it goes away, Unless i restart my PC and go afk again (allthough im sure this is a HDD issue or something)

...and you need to let it finish the complete disc scan once in a while. When it has all files scanned once, it will not check and re-check everything again when you try to open those next time. It happens with all AV programs.

would like to get a good Antivirus that does not slow my PC down when its enabled

Good antivirus program will not slow down your computer if you're using modern hardware (as mentioned in first answer), and any antivirus program will slow you down if you're using a shitbucket from 2002. Most light-weight AV program you can find is Microsoft Security Essentials. It does not have heuristic scanner unlike Norton though, which explains lower resource usage, but provides good protection if you use it along with Malwarebytes for example. Nod32 mentioned above is overrated and only marginally better than the free MSE, definitely not worth the subscription.

[prankstar]

norton isnt that good personally i use kaspersky which is very lite on usage and is constantly scanning in the background and is commony rated in the top 3 of all virus protection

[Djinni]

norton isnt that good personally i use kaspersky which is very lite on usage and is constantly scanning in the background and is commony rated in the top 3 of all virus protection

Horible misconception... Norton is very good. It's just a total pain in the ass for gamers or people who actually use their computer at more than 3% load.

[vesseblah]

and is commony rated in the top 3 of all virus protection

So is Norton.

The resource usage of all three major AV products that have been constantly in top5 of all reputable tests (Norton, Kaspersky and F-Secure) have roughly the same effect of slowing down the computer. Main difference is that Kaspersky is aimed for power users ie. it has annoying default settings and way too many knobs to tweak.

[Djinni]

Horible misconception... Norton is very good. It's just a total pain in the ass for gamers or people who actually use their computer at more than 3% load.

P.S (That doesn't mean I'd reccomend it to anyone.)

[vesseblah]

Horible misconception... Norton is very good. It's just a total pain in the ass for gamers or people who actually use their computer at more than 3% load.

Speaking of misconceptions... Norton's usage hovers around that 3% on my computer while it's doing something, and it will turn all active disc scans and stuff off while running games or watching movies fullscreen by default to not cause problems.

[Deleted]

Microsoft Security Essentials and Avira are pretty good. Though MSE uses less resources and doesn't have those annoying popups avira has.

[Annoying]

I use ESET NOD32 and have never noticed a slowdown. Norton regularly uses up to 40% of available CPU for many users, classifying it as a virus to me. The fact that you need a removal tool to fully get it off your system cements that opinion in place. If you're looking for free, look at AVG, Avast or Avira are all of good quality. If you're willing to pay, NOD32 is widely considered to be the most lightweight and fully functioning AV.

[Djinni]

I use ESET NOD32 and have never noticed a slowdown. Norton regularly uses up to 40% of available CPU for many users, classifying it as a virus to me. The fact that you need a removal tool to fully get it off your system cements that opinion in place. If you're looking for free, look at AVG, Avast or Avira are all of good quality. If you're willing to pay, NOD32 is widely considered to be the most lightweight and fully functioning AV.

Actually I like having to use a removal tool.... it means you can't "accidently" uninstall it and no virus can uninstall it either.

[vesseblah]

Norton regularly uses up to 40% of available CPU for many users, classifying it as a virus to me.

Welcome to the future. Norton was resource hog up until 2008-ish, since 2009 version it's in line with all other programs, and the 40% resource usage is 100% bullshit from ignorant people stuck in the past.

If you're looking for free, look at AVG, Avast or Avira are all of good quality.

Would rather pick Microsoft Security Essentials instead. No registration, no advertisements, no intrusive popups, faster and gives same security.

If you're willing to pay, NOD32 is widely considered to be the most lightweight and fully functioning AV.

Actually, Nod32 is considered to be one of the most overrated things currently in AV products, it has constantly been outside top10 because it has really bad heuristic scanning and it's really really bad at removing tricky infections like rootkits. What it does good is the basic background scans, and you might just as well get free MSE for it and use free Malwarebytes to get rid of the problem cases.

[Annoying]

Actually, Nod32 is considered to be one of the most overrated things currently in AV products, it has constantly been outside top10 because it has really bad heuristic scanning and it's really really bad at removing tricky infections like rootkits. What it does good is the basic background scans, and you might just as well get free MSE for it and use free Malwarebytes to get rid of the problem cases.

That's entirely dependent upon who you trust to rate the AV. AV-test has numerous publications both academically and professionally, and rates AV's quarterly. ESET got (out of 6.0) 4.0 in detection/protection, 3.5 in repair, and 5.5 in usability versus MSE's 2.5, 4.5, 5.0, respectively. Yeah, NOD32 isn't as good at removal, but it by no means has really bad heuristic scanning. AVG scored 5.5, 4.5, 3.0, giving it more than the "same security".

As for performance, the usability score was based on average slow down in seconds/day mixed with false positive results. ESET tied for the highest. MSE did relatively well. Norton was tied for 3rd worst with McAfee.

I based my previous statements on journals and scholarly articles. Next time I'll bring sources.

http://www.av-test.org/certifications

[Zeryx]

Microsoft Security Essentials is great. Very easy to use and understand. No annoying pop ups. I love it.

[vesseblah]

That's entirely dependent upon who you trust to rate the AV. AV-test has numerous publications both academically and professionally, and rates AV's quarterly. ESET got (out of 6.0) 4.0 in detection/protection, 3.5 in repair, and 5.5 in usability versus MSE's 2.5, 4.5, 5.0, respectively. Yeah, NOD32 isn't as good at removal, but it by no means has really bad heuristic scanning. AVG scored 5.5, 4.5, 3.0, giving it more than the "same security".

As for performance, the usability score was based on average slow down in seconds/day mixed with false positive results. ESET tied for the highest. MSE did relatively well. Norton was tied for 3rd worst with McAfee.

I based my previous statements on journals and scholarly articles. Next time I'll bring sources.

http://www.av-test.org/certifications

Did you even read the chart you linked? Yes, MSE was weaker, but it's also free, while Nod32 is not.

Out of 22 programs tested Nod32 was on shared 11-14th spot in "protection" (finding viruses) and on shared 16-20th spot for "repair" (getting rid of malware on your computer). Both numbers are way below average, making the program really weak in comparison to anything else if you're looking for working antivirus product and willing to pay for it.

edit:

And yes, it means exactly that it's bad on heuristic scanning, worse than half of the other programs tested, including Norton.