Security Software- Pay or Free?

(updated 3/2/11)
I've noticed that most computers I work with have Norton or McAfee installed. Usually this is because new computers come stuffed with these programs, for which the manufacturers pay a fee. These programs can cost $80/yr, more or less, for the "suites". Often I find that these programs overwhelm the resources of their computers, making the computers slow and unresponsive.

This year, 2011, Norton is top rated by some organizations (see PCWorld).  Reportedly, the performance issues have been resolved.  However, my opinion is that Norton is overkill for home computers.  There are free alternatives that do well and, in fact, provide better service when you have a problem. 

In 2009 I recommened  AVAST for antivirus and spyware, and then Ad-Aware as a second spyware program. (It's good to have a couple spyware programs running.)

With any of these programs, the free edition usually lacks a full automatic scan feature; you have to remember to do that automatically or set up a windows task to run the scan.

However, since Microsoft came out with a full Suite, Microsoft Security Essentials, MSE, I've been using it.  I've installed it on many computers and have had no failures.  Microsoft treats this program like any other update.  The Microsoft Update application, which you should have turned on to automatically update your operating system, automatically updates MSE.  MSE is easy to use.  It is has a green icon on your taskbar when everything is OK.  The icon turns orange if you need to do something, like perform an update because you have turned off Microsoft Update, or Microsoft Update hasn't run for whatever reason.  The icon turns red if it finds something wrong.

In addition to MSE, I install Malwarebytes as a "backup."  If I suspect there is malware on my computer, I run Malwarebytes.  This is a professional, heavy duty product, and will usually do the job of detecting malware.  (I use "usually" because there is a particular kind of malware, called "rootkits," that require special programs and knowledge to "root out."  That's another few blog entries.)  

Malwarebyte is not perfect.   Its problem is that it can have false positives:  it will identify objects that don't need to be deleted.  If you have any questions, you can call me or google the identified object.  The results will tell you whether or not you want to delete it. 

Saving $80 per year and improving the performance of your computer makes this a worthwhile option.

Removing Norton or McAfee is not straightforward. I can help with that, and installing the free security software of your choice.  There are special programs available on both company's sites that do the removal.  Look for them.   For example, Google "Norton removal," and look for a url that is on the companies web site.  Something like this:

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton ...

The Norton Removal Tool uninstalls all Norton 2003 and later products, Norton 360, and Norton SystemWorks 12.0 from your computer. ...
us.norton.com/support/kb/web_view.jsp?wv_type=public... - Cached