Anti-virus costs

[GREENBACK]

I just looked at a cc account that had an annual renewal charge from Norton for anti-virus protection. This was a surprise as I don't recall asking for automatic renewal of this service. I'm not neccesarily upset by it but was a little surprised to see the charge was for $74.89. I can't recall the exact price I paid when I got Norton but I thought it was under $60. This may have been an introductory rate but I'm not sure. My questions are:

1. Is this a fair rate or is it too much?

2. Are there better options for a better price?


My use of a computer is fairly basic but I do use it for work applications and personal banking and things like that.

[disneysteve]

I use AVG. It is free and I've never had a problem. I know many, many other people who use it also. I would not spend $75/year for Norton.

[GREENBACK]

I use AVG. It is free and I've never had a problem. I know many, many other people who use it also. I would not spend $75/year for Norton.

I will have to look that up. I've always used Norton for no reason other than their forced advertising. by the way, What and who is AVG?

[disneysteve]

I will have to look that up. I've always used Norton for no reason other than their forced advertising. by the way, What and who is AVG?

AVG Free - AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

[HistoryChick]

I 2nd the use of AVG - great program for real time prevention. If you aleady have a problem and need to pull out the super big guns, I recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program (also free).

[disneysteve]

I also use Ad-aware and SpyBot for adware and spyware. They are also both free.

[GREENBACK]

I 2nd the use of AVG - great program for real time prevention. If you aleady have a problem and need to pull out the super big guns, I recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program (also free).

Thanks, I have no problems but was unaware of free anti-virus protection. I never even considered it. I will get on that very soon.

[disneysteve]

I actually find Ad-aware and Spybot to be more useful on a day to day basis. Every time I run those programs, they find and remove stuff from my system. It may not be anything harmful but I know that stuff can slow down my computer and take up memory space.

Of course, the anti-virus software is more important since it takes care of dangerous stuff so you really need all of it and you have to run the scans regularly.

[myrdale]

I used the free version of AVG for a very long time and it worked great. When I built this computer I splurged and bought the paid for version. Best I can tell it is as good as identical to the free, but I am glad to help them guys out a bit.

Apart from AdAware and Spybot, HiJack This! is another good freebie program. It is a little confusing though. It will give you a log of all the processes running in the background on your computer. You copy and paste that log onto part of their website and it tells you what is good and what is bad.

[nmboone]

Another AVG user here! Love it!

[Confetti]

I installed AVG on my work computers and Avast at home. No real reason, I guess - - they are both good, free programs. Avast updates a lot, though, and if you are in the middle of something, you need to wait out the process, which takes between 5 and 10 seconds.

[jasonnoguchi]

norton is famous for being expensive and slow. I switched to AVG after using norton for 2 years.

[sfalexi]

Plenty of good, free options. Google searching "Freeware antivirus" should get you some of those, and when you find one that sounds interesting, switch the google to "____ review". AVG is highly rated, and completely free for personal use. I chose to go with AntiVir (which is also highly rated). And the ratings I look at are typically places like CNET, and (for AV software of course) I try to find reviews by fairly large and well-known sites such as PC Magazine online, Computer Wold online, things like that.

Sucks about the automatic renewal.

ALSO, if you're interested in keeping the software you have, places like Staples, Office Max, and perhaps others usually have rebates that give you money back after purchasing an upgrade various times throughout the year. It HAS to be an "upgrade" (you have to have the previous year's version on your computer), but if you really want to stick with your Norton, see if you can scope one of those prices and perhaps call Norton and see if they'll "price-match" if they can't refund the deal and it's already done?

Alexi

[GREENBACK]

Thanks for the info. everyone. I never even thought of these free options.

[disneysteve]

Thanks for the info. everyone. I never even thought of these free options.

You're welcome. Happy to give the advice. That will be $74.89, please.