Hi, I have a free Norton 360 subscription from my workplace. Recently, I read some posts and watched videos about it. I saw that many people don’t recommend it because of:
-Notifications trying to get you to buy more functions, which I don’t get.
-Being heavy on the system resources. However, for me, it doesn’t use much.
-And the pricing, although it is not an issue because I get it for free.
My question is, should I keep using Norton 360 or switch to some other free antivirus?
Actually, Windows Defender (Win 10) and Malwarebytes is more than enough for most home computers.
Keep using it until the expiration date. I use Norton but don’t experience what people say. Annoying notifications can be turned off
I’ve bene using Norton since 2006, it’s a great antivirus. The hate comes from people who don’t know what they are talking about and are misinformed. If you get it for free, it’s a no-brainer to stick with it.
I have been using Norton 360 since forever and while it’s good, I seriously hate lately how it’s constantly trying to get me to buy more and more new stuff to add on to the package, which is already expensive to protect my computer. It’s quite ridiculous. I have grown tired of it and was just about to post asking about the best antivirus software out there. Actually, I think I still will.
Hello,
Norton is fine as an AV. There is a stigma around it but independent lab tests have shown it to be an effective solution. If you have a subscription, might as well use up the rest of it and disable automatic renewal if you want to switch. If it’s free, then use it. You’re not paying for it, and it performs well in tests.
Norton is completely fine. One of the leading security software. My only problem with norton is they tell you install a lot of extensions, addons & specific browser to get complete protection and functionality. If that isnt a problem for you, definitely continue using it. Without a doubt, Norton is better than windows defender in protection and is lite on system resources in comparison to windows defender and many other top security softwares.
Yes you should switch from Norton. Norton sucks. I also don’t fully agree with the Windows Defender crowd, probably because I work in device service for a living and see Windows Defender constantly fail.
Since this post is re-asked in this this subreddit CONSTANTLY, I will copy-paste my answer for best AV below
Kaspersky has links to Russia. Russia historically doesn’t like the West. The US government bans Kaspersky in government devices for a reason. Use at your own risk.
Malwarebytes didn’t catch some malware in a hard drive I was managing, though plenty of others in VirusTotal did catch it. Cancelled a subscription with them because of that
Sophos I don’t have experience with.
ESET seems good but overwhelming for new users and seems like death by 1000 options. Didn’t catch some malware samples I submitted
I use Bitdefender for some of my systems because it consistently caught malware. Absolutely trashed my gaming PC’s gaming performance though. Possibly user error/misconfig
My recommendations as a result:
Bitdefender, properly configured. Secondary would be F-Secure since that seems to be really good for home users. Caught malware in my testing and their malware submissions and customer support were great. Since I had some malicious file submissions, I was able to interact with both their main-line customer support via chat and their malware team via email.
It’s OK. Just check tests on AV Test and AV comparatives websites. You should only go on your Norton account and disable auto renewing subscription and remove your credit card details.