Avast 5 vs Norton Internet Security Suite

[bdaleypsu]

I've been a user of Avast Free for many years now.  But as a Comcast customer, I can now download Norton Internet Security Suite for Free.  As it is a complete suite, which includes anti-malware, firewall, and system utilities, and I can get it for free, I'm wondering if it would be worth my while to do so.

I know Norton had a reputation for being a system hog in the past, but supposedly that has all been fixed.

I'm just wondering what your opinions are on NIS versus Avast 5 Free?

Thanks.

[sded]

Sounds like a pretty good deal.  Not because NIS is better than Avast! 5 or even that being free makes it a better bargain than AIS, but the hassle of dealing with Comcast over problems when you are using a non-standard configuration is not to be underestimated.  If you are a reasonably savvy computer user as well as having some understanding of cable networks, shouldn't make any difference.  Unless some of the Comcast people have a 'tude, of course, because of their partnership.    Although explaining Avast! 5 to the Comcast support people in Mumbai may be a bit of a challenge anyway.

[DavidR]

Personally I wouldn't have NIS at any price (free or if they paid me), but I rather doubt you will get the response you might be hoping for (being the avast support forums).

The problem being you can't run two resident AVs on one system and I can't really see someone uninstalling avast to test this out.

What is wrong with your existing system (I'm not a great fan of suites, see below) surely you have a good AV, a good firewall and avast includes anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, and a whole slew of shields, etc. Personally I don't go looking for things if what I have suits my needs and is working.

I have always felt suits were the jack of all trades master of none, so I prefer to pick out applications that are some of the best in their class and importantly meet my needs; with a suite often it is the suppliers needs that are catered for and you have to just get used to that.

Check what I have in my signature.

[bdaleypsu]

Personally I wouldn't have NIS at any price (free or if they paid me), but I rather doubt you will get the response you might be hoping for (being the avast support forums).

The problem being you can't run two resident AVs on one system and I can't really see someone uninstalling avast to test this out.

What is wrong with your existing system (I'm not a great fan of suites, see below) surely you have a good AV, a good firewall and avast includes anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, and a whole slew of shields, etc. Personally I don't go looking for things if what I have suits my needs and is working.

I have always felt suits were the jack of all trades master of none, so I prefer to pick out applications that are some of the best in their class and importantly meet my needs; with a suite often it is the suppliers needs that are catered for and you have to just get used to that.

Check what I have in my signature.

I wasn't looking for any particular response, I was asking for opinions, as I said.

Why cant anyone ever just give a straight answer here?

[bdaleypsu]

Sounds like a pretty good deal.  Not because NIS is better than Avast! 5 or even that being free makes it a better bargain than AIS, but the hassle of dealing with Comcast over problems when you are using a non-standard configuration is not to be underestimated.  If you are a reasonably savvy computer user as well as having some understanding of cable networks, shouldn't make any difference.  Unless some of the Comcast people have a 'tude, of course, because of their partnership.   

Thanks.

[Gohoos81]

You could ask 10 people this question and get 11 different answers.

NIS 2010 is a good security suite.  That being said, I still don't think their firewall is "tough as nails."  The configuration I am using right now is avast! 5 free and online armor 4 free (by Tallemu), like many programs, it is available from download(dot)com.  Another very good firewall is Outpost firewall free (by Agnitum), also available from download(dot)com.  Some people like Zonealarm free firewall for reasons I do not quite fully understand (doesnt even attempt to pass leak tests and slows down your system significantly).

I think you could make a lot of reasonable choices with any of the above mentioned options.  I would have mentioned avast! internet security as well, but did not since it appears that you are looking for free security software solutions as compared to paid solutions.

[DavidR]

<snip>
I wasn't looking for any particular response, I was asking for opinions, as I said.

Why cant anyone ever just give a straight answer here?

I though that was pretty straight forward, you have options and if it isn't broken why fix it.

[bdaleypsu]

You could ask 10 people this question and get 11 different answers.

NIS 2010 is a good security suite.  That being said, I still don't think their firewall is "tough as nails."  The configuration I am using right now is avast! 5 free and online armor 4 free (by Tallemu), like many programs, it is available from download(dot)com.  Another very good firewall is Outpost firewall free (by Agnitum), also available from download(dot)com.  Some people like Zonealarm free firewall for reasons I do not quite fully understand (doesnt even attempt to pass leak tests and slows down your system significantly).

I think you could make a lot of reasonable choices with any of the above mentioned options.  I would have mentioned avast! internet security as well, but did not since it appears that you are looking for free security software solutions as compared to paid solutions.

I've been using Avast Free along with the Windows 7 firewall (along with Windows 7 Firewall Control.)  Money is a little tight right now so I am trying to avoid spending any if I don't have too.

I agree with you about ZoneAlarm free.  It's better than nothing, but it's definitely not that great from what I've seen.  I've tried Comodo's free firewall and that seemed pretty good, although it can be a little "chatty"  at the beginning.

Thanks.

[bdaleypsu]

<snip>
I wasn't looking for any particular response, I was asking for opinions, as I said.

Why cant anyone ever just give a straight answer here?

I though that was pretty straight forward, you have options and if it isn't broken why fix it.

Sorry, I just didn't like the comment that I was looking for a particular answer.  Or the comment that no one would uninstall Avast to test NIS.  Why not?

Thanks.

[zfactor]

i actually left nis2010 to use avast is5. in the normal mode the norton firewall sucks. period. and set to advanced it will drive you crazy. the only way its tough as nails is set to advanced and then it can be a very good firewall if you are willing to set it up right.

both av's are pretty nice. one thing i didnt like about norton is with brand new threats it did not have sig's for it always then went to the do you want to allow this to run... i mean with sonar and quorum this should not happen as much as it does with it. i have not really had avast yet in a real world attack setting. love the virus chest with avast. norton is a pain in the neck when it removes things i didnt want removed and knew they were false positives sometimes trying to restore them back was hopeless. then id have to go re download the file or whatever again turn norton off for a minute and run the file it saw as a false positive. then turn it back on again. it did not always ask me to run it instead simply wiping it out. i also sometimes had the issue of saying not to scan this item when the box popped up and gee... norton would pop back up in the bottom corner and say threat removed again even after telling it not to do that.

overall nis2010 is a very decent program. i also got it for free (well its one of the ones we carry in my shop so i always had access to it) and i now pay for avast instead if that tells you how i feel.

i like avast gui way better, i actually like avast firewall better than the nis one, and for av's id say they are very close also remember norton doe not do a boot time scan like avast which could be a saviour at times. norton simply has early load but after watching it work i still saw lots of things load before it.

[bdaleypsu]

i actually left nis2010 to use avast is5. in the normal mode the norton firewall sucks. period. and set to advanced it will drive you crazy. the only way its tough as nails is set to advanced and then it can be a very good firewall if you are willing to set it up right.

both av's are pretty nice. one thing i didnt like about norton is with brand new threats it did not have sig's for it always then went to the do you want to allow this to run... i mean with sonar and quorum this should not happen as much as it does with it. i have not really had avast yet in a real world attack setting. love the virus chest with avast. norton is a pain in the neck when it removes things i didnt want removed and knew they were false positives sometimes trying to restore them back was hopeless. then id have to go re download the file or whatever again turn norton off for a minute and run the file it saw as a false positive. then turn it back on again. it did not always ask me to run it instead simply wiping it out. i also sometimes had the issue of saying not to scan this item when the box popped up and gee... norton would pop back up in the bottom corner and say threat removed again even after telling it not to do that.

overall nis2010 is a very decent program. i also got it for free (well its one of the ones we carry in my shop so i always had access to it) and i now pay for avast instead if that tells you how i feel.

i like avast gui way better, i actually like avast firewall better than the nis one, and for av's id say they are very close also remember norton doe not do a boot time scan like avast which could be a saviour at times. norton simply has early load but after watching it work i still saw lots of things load before it.

That's the type of info I was hoping to get.

Out of curiosity, why do you think NIS' firewall sucks in normal mode?

Thanks.

[coolsilver]

I've seen issues with Norton IS in the past with broken network stacks and overall network application issues I rather not recommend it to anyone.

I've used Avast for the past 6 years. Since I've used a few firewalls like zonealarm (disliked) and comodo (better IMO). Currently I use a Yoggie hardware usb firewall. In a sense it uses a low level packet driver like Avast IS currently does but it does so over USB. I have a Small Office/Home Office version as well that has ethernet that protects more than one PC.

Like others I have customized my protection with Malwarebytes and previously Spybot S&D. I tend not to use more than what is needed. I have little need for spam filtering since it is done for me via web based mail providers and I manage our mail system for my company which is filtered fairly well.

I personally never used other products like WinPatrol but if others with a lot experience on these forums and with Avast, I'd go with their recommendations to try a few.

I don't care for Suites, all or nothing protection packages other than convenience of one license. Avast seems pretty good so far as I can tell for their IS product. But it's your system.... Just keep to one type of product (AV and Anti-Malware) for resident protection and mainly others for on demand.

[bdaleypsu]

I've seen issues with Norton IS in the past with broken network stacks and overall network application issues I rather not recommend it to anyone.

I've used Avast for the past 6 years. Since I've used a few firewalls like zonealarm (disliked) and comodo (better IMO). Currently I use a Yoggie hardware usb firewall. In a sense it uses a low level packet driver like Avast IS currently does but it does so over USB. I have a Small Office/Home Office version as well that has ethernet that protects more than one PC.

Like others I have customized my protection with Malwarebytes and previously Spybot S&D. I tend not to use more than what is needed. I have little need for spam filtering since it is done for me via web based mail providers and I manage our mail system for my company which is filtered fairly well.

I personally never used other products like WinPatrol but if others with a lot experience on these forums and with Avast, I'd go with their recommendations to try a few.

I don't care for Suites, all or nothing protection packages other than convenience of one license. Avast seems pretty good so far as I can tell for their IS product. But it's your system.... Just keep to one type of product (AV and Anti-Malware) for resident protection and mainly others for on demand.

I had issues with Norton many years ago and avoided it like the plague ever since, but from what I've been reading it seems like they're resolved their issues.

Do you have any experience with it recently?

Thanks.

[zfactor]

i actually left nis2010 to use avast is5. in the normal mode the norton firewall sucks. period. and set to advanced it will drive you crazy. the only way its tough as nails is set to advanced and then it can be a very good firewall if you are willing to set it up right.

both av's are pretty nice. one thing i didnt like about norton is with brand new threats it did not have sig's for it always then went to the do you want to allow this to run... i mean with sonar and quorum this should not happen as much as it does with it. i have not really had avast yet in a real world attack setting. love the virus chest with avast. norton is a pain in the neck when it removes things i didnt want removed and knew they were false positives sometimes trying to restore them back was hopeless. then id have to go re download the file or whatever again turn norton off for a minute and run the file it saw as a false positive. then turn it back on again. it did not always ask me to run it instead simply wiping it out. i also sometimes had the issue of saying not to scan this item when the box popped up and gee... norton would pop back up in the bottom corner and say threat removed again even after telling it not to do that.

overall nis2010 is a very decent program. i also got it for free (well its one of the ones we carry in my shop so i always had access to it) and i now pay for avast instead if that tells you how i feel.

i like avast gui way better, i actually like avast firewall better than the nis one, and for av's id say they are very close also remember norton doe not do a boot time scan like avast which could be a saviour at times. norton simply has early load but after watching it work i still saw lots of things load before it.

That's the type of info I was hoping to get.

Out of curiosity, why do you think NIS' firewall sucks in normal mode?

Thanks.

because in normal mode i have yet to ever see it actually block any apps. everything you install simply gets allowed. you then have to manually change it if you want to. also to get packet filtering it has to be in advanced mode as well.

[bdaleypsu]

i actually left nis2010 to use avast is5. in the normal mode the norton firewall sucks. period. and set to advanced it will drive you crazy. the only way its tough as nails is set to advanced and then it can be a very good firewall if you are willing to set it up right.

both av's are pretty nice. one thing i didnt like about norton is with brand new threats it did not have sig's for it always then went to the do you want to allow this to run... i mean with sonar and quorum this should not happen as much as it does with it. i have not really had avast yet in a real world attack setting. love the virus chest with avast. norton is a pain in the neck when it removes things i didnt want removed and knew they were false positives sometimes trying to restore them back was hopeless. then id have to go re download the file or whatever again turn norton off for a minute and run the file it saw as a false positive. then turn it back on again. it did not always ask me to run it instead simply wiping it out. i also sometimes had the issue of saying not to scan this item when the box popped up and gee... norton would pop back up in the bottom corner and say threat removed again even after telling it not to do that.

overall nis2010 is a very decent program. i also got it for free (well its one of the ones we carry in my shop so i always had access to it) and i now pay for avast instead if that tells you how i feel.

i like avast gui way better, i actually like avast firewall better than the nis one, and for av's id say they are very close also remember norton doe not do a boot time scan like avast which could be a saviour at times. norton simply has early load but after watching it work i still saw lots of things load before it.

That's the type of info I was hoping to get.

Out of curiosity, why do you think NIS' firewall sucks in normal mode?

Thanks.

because in normal mode i have yet to ever see it actually block any apps. everything you install simply gets allowed. you then have to manually change it if you want to. also to get packet filtering it has to be in advanced mode as well.

Whoah, you don't have to give new apps permission to access the web?  Maybe it's programmed to allow access to "known" apps?  Have you tried it with any little-known apps to see how it behaves?