Battle Norton Security or Symantec Endpoint Protection?

[Wraith]

Hello guys. I'm stuck in a dilemma as to what I should choose for my family desktop. It still runs Windows 7 (please don't tell me to upgrade to 10 right now, I'll do it by the end of this year) and is used by my parents just to watch movies, listen to songs and for casual browsing. I have a license of SEP lying around with me but I'm a bit hesitant to Install it after hearing about the Broadcomm acquisition. Does it offer the same protection as before? Or should I switch to Norton Security (or maybe Kaspersky). I don't need the cloud backup feature of Norton tbh since I already have MEGA on the PC. So what are your suggestions? Stick with SEP or go with Norton/Kaspersky?

 

[BVLon]

This makes sense with Norton coming back to small business with Norton mark to fill that gap.

Broadcom has no interest springing billions, just to target consumer and small business markets. It's crystal clear that they will be targeting enterprises, and small businesses + consumers will rather be the focus of the new NortonLifeLock. The thing is nothing is certain yet, as we saw similar tactics from Intel and they didn't work out too well. For now, I would advise consumers not to bother with Broadcom/Symantec and Accenture corporate affairs, as neither we, nor do the companies know the future.

 

[Dave Russo]

That is a good deal way cheaper than Acronis,gonna take a hard look Thanks

Checked reviews on Polarbackup , watch out not one person recommends it
Question - Polar Backup Reviews? at least at this site

 

[BVLon]

Checked reviews on Polarbackup , watch out not one person recommends it
Question - Polar Backup Reviews? at least at this site

Well it's true that it's very cheap and we don't know how reliable it is... we won't know until we try. There is Team Know-how and Zoolz Backup as well...

 

[BVLon]

Update: Degoo actually has got a PC app and good reviews across the web.

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It is also inexpensive. I have not tried it out yet, but I will, most probably tomorrow. First 100 gigs are free so we don't lose anything. Also, according to reviews, the public keys of degoo are so secret, even staff has got no access. I don't think Symantec is using some expensive backup provider either.

 

[Burrito]

I do trust the Norton/Symantec train (I know every small corner of this train), but lately other trains start to get my attention a bit more... I've found dozens of ridiculously cheap backup services that can be coupled with TrendMicro for example...Not sure if I will remain on this train.

Hmmmm....... I definitely respect your ability to analyze AVs and appreciate what you have recently brought to MT. But I think you are going down the wrong path with Trend. I don't consider Trend even a peer of Norton. @ForgottenSeer 58943 used to work for Trend, knows the product well -- and used to be a huge fan. He does not consider them a contender anymore.

I consider Norton's peers to be ESET & Bitdefender (both of which are not as consistent as Norton). In terms of effectiveness -- Kaspersky is also a peer. But it has huge privacy issues.

In professional testing, Trend is hit or miss -- over many years.

The speculation about Norton's future is real. But what's unstated is that most of the security companies could be bought or sold. Norton is not different from other companies in the segment. But it has better name recognition and market share than most. And it is still innovating, still evolving, and still finishing at the top of virtually all testing.

 

[BVLon]

View attachment 234849

Hmmmm....... I definitely respect your ability to analyze AVs and appreciate what you have recently brought to MT. But I think you are going down the wrong path with Trend. I don't consider Trend even a peer of Norton. @ForgottenSeer 58943 used to work for Trend, knows the product well -- and used to be a huge fan. He does not consider them a contender anymore.

I consider Norton's peers to be ESET & Bitdefender (both of which are not as consistent as Norton). In terms of effectiveness -- Kaspersky is also a peer. But it has huge privacy issues.

In professional testing, Trend is hit or miss -- over many years.

The speculation about Norton's future is real. But what's unstated is that most of the security companies could be bought or sold. Norton is not different from other companies in the segment. But it has better name recognition and market share than most. And it is still innovating, still evolving, and still finishing at the top of virtually all testing.

Norton comes with VPN and backup as well, but the thing is I personally don’t wanna be paying for protection... that might be a temporary decision, or it might be long lasting (don’t know yet). I was provided with a free 5-year license and I might utilise that and save myself around £150.00. TrendMicro’s detection is far from being the best, but they contribute to your overall security with additional tools. On the other hand, Norton has actually deprecated the Data Protector, which I was never able to try and on some of my tests, Java ransomware encrypted my data. TrendMicro does a lot better with scripts and ransomware. I will play with TM few months more before I decide who’s gonna be my security provider. I am not stuck with anyone actually, I can throw away any vendor anytime

 

[BVLon]

I still continue to recommend Norton though and that won’t change, unless I observe a severe quality drop, which I don’t think will ever change. It’s just Coronavirus is impacting my business and pocket... and it’s just the beginning, so I think every pound matters at the moment.

 

[Tiamati]

I consider Norton's peers to be ESET & Bitdefender (both of which are not as consistent as Norton).

Hey @Burrito
Why do you thing that ESET and BItdefender have not the same consistency?

But it has huge privacy issues.

Do you mean the speculations about Russian government accessing Kaspersky's user data? As far as i know, nothing solid have come to public till now. Or do you have anything else in mind?

I still continue to recommend Norton

Hey BVLon, i always considered Kaspersky, Bitdefender and ESET as the top 3 AV for the last years. But i've heard a lot of Norton lately (i checked your reviews btw). However all tests i ever seem about Norton show good results, but not the consistently the best. I would put them in 4th or 5th place in terms of effectiveness. So, considering this, i'd like to here your opinion about these points, if possible

Ty guys!

 

[BVLon]

Hey @Burrito
Why do you thing that ESET and BItdefender have not the same consistency?



Do you mean the speculations about Russian government accessing Kaspersky's user data? As far as i know, nothing solid has been come to public till now. Or do you have anything else in mind?



Hey BVLon, i always considered Kaspersky, Bitdefender and ESET as the top 3 AV for the last years. But i've heard a lot of Norton lately (i checked your reviews btw). However all tests i ever seem about Norton show good results, but not the consistently the best. I would put them in 4th or 5th place in terms of effectiveness. So, considering this, i'd like to here your opinion about these points, if possible

Ty guys!

Norton is not the best in detection either, I am not sure to what extent you have read my posts
We are talking about an all-rounder. Just like a perfume let’s say - Aqua di Gio is not the most long-lasting one, but smell + longevity + price put it on my list of favs. Tiziana Terenzi Orion perfume extract is far more long lasting, but it costs 3x (although me love wearing it). That was actually a bad example, but it’s the first thing that came on my mind
Norton won’t beat anyone in one, single area, but the whole combo of tools, services, experience, brand reputation and protection just makes it perfect, and totally worth considering. Good ol’ Norton still bangs quite a lot of threats on tests.

McAfee is another product with weak detection (weaker than TrendMicro, regardless of what some tests say), but the overall combo of extreme phishing protection + lightness + ease of use + ridiculous price make it a great choice and many people still go for it.

 

[Burrito]

Hey @Burrito
Why do you thing that ESET and BItdefender have not the same consistency?

Do you mean the speculations about Russian government accessing Kaspersky's user data? As far as i know, nothing solid have come to public till now. Or do you have anything else in mind?

Hi Tiamati. In terms of consistency... if you look across all testing labs over the last 15 years, three AVs stand out for most consistently finishing at the top. Bitdefender, Norton & Kaspersky. ESET had long periods of test mediocrity. Bitdefender has had a recent dip. Norton and Kaspersky are perpetual top finishers.

Kaspersky has issues. That's an emotional topic for many. If you look at the reporting by the NYT, WSJ, & Bloomberg, you can develop an idea of the nature of the problem. Many people hide behind the "there's no proof" argument --- when in fact there is information available from which one could draw reasonable conclusions. Others go to a 'false equivalence' argument. There is no reasonable discussion on a topic when emotion is a key driver.

 

[fabiobr]

Norton is not the best in detection either, I am not sure to what extent you have read my posts
We are talking about an all-rounder. Just like a perfume let’s say - Aqua di Gio is not the most long-lasting one, but smell + longevity + price put it on my list of favs. Tiziana Terenzi Orion perfume extract is far more long lasting, but it costs 3x (although me love wearing it). That was actually a bad example, but it’s the first thing that came on my mind
Norton won’t beat anyone in one, single area, but the whole combo of tools, services, experience, brand reputation and protection just makes it perfect, and totally worth considering. Good ol’ Norton still bangs quite a lot of threats on tests.

McAfee is another product with weak detection (weaker than TrendMicro, regardless of what some tests say), but the overall combo of extreme phishing protection + lightness + ease of use + ridiculous price make it a great choice and many people still go for it.

But Norton detection is still close to Kaspersky than McAfee.

 

[BVLon]

Hi Tiamati. In terms of consistency... if you look across all testing labs over the last 15 years, three AVs stand out for most consistently finishing at the top. Bitdefender, Norton & Kaspersky. ESET had long periods of test mediocrity. Bitdefender has had a recent dip. Norton and Kaspersky are perpetual top finishers.

Kaspersky has issues. That's an emotional topic for many. If you look at the reporting by the NYT, WSJ, & Bloomberg, you can develop an idea of the nature of the problem. Many people hide behind the "there's no proof" argument --- when in fact there is information available from which one could draw reasonable conclusions. Others go to a 'false equivalence' argument. But there is no reasonable debate when emotion is a key driver.

I just couldn't agree more lol
I should buy you a beer
Only Norton and Kaspersky are consistent toppers, one's got "dirty water" around them, the other one's got clear reputation.
Bitdefender recently dipped, not sure why. Eset has always been awarded by VBulletin, but then again, Total AV won VB100, so not sure how much we can trust that. Eset was also awarded which.co.uk best buy... I'm not saying it's bad... It's jam packed with tools that we geeks love, it's fast and light.... but it's detection is far cry from great. As I've already commented before, it's also quite expensive.

But Norton detection is still close to Kaspersky than McAfee.

Far closer.

 

[DDE_Server]

I just couldn't agree more lol
I should buy you a beer
Only Norton and Kaspersky are consistent toppers, one's got "dirty water" around them, the other one's got clear reputation.
Bitdefender recently dipped, not sure why. Eset has always been awarded by VBulletin, but then again, Total AV won VB100, so not sure how much we can trust that. Eset was also awarded which.co.uk best buy... I'm not saying it's bad... It's jam packed with tools that we geeks love, it's fast and light.... but it's detection is far cry from great. As I've already commented before, it's also quite expensive.



Far closer.

What do you think about Mcafee ?

 

[BVLon]

What do you think about Mcafee ?

Depends on your needs. If you are mostly on the web, then I think McAfee with its stellar WebAdvisor, great firewall and rare alerts (which can be turned off completely) is the right product for you. But if you are frequently exposed to non-web threats, for example via flash drives or high number of emails, stay away. McAfee as a company has many technologies that they keep only in the business version. If you are able to get your hands on McAfee Endpoint Protection, you’d be lucky.

 

[DDE_Server]

Depends on your needs. If you are mostly on the web, then I think McAfee with its stellar WebAdvisor, great firewall and rare alerts (which can be turned off completely) is the right product for you. But if you are frequently exposed to non-web threats, for example via flash drives or high number of emails, stay away. McAfee as a company has many technologies that they keep only in the business version. If you are able to get your hands on McAfee Endpoint Protection, you’d be lucky.

yes such as ePO version its fantastic

 

[roger_m]

They haven't got PC app, so you have to upload everything manually to their cloud, but they do have mobile apps...

They do have a Windows app. The free service requires you to login to your account periodically or your data will get deleted. You get email reminders if you haven't accessed your account for 25 days.

 

[BVLon]

yes such as ePO version its fantastic

They do have a Windows app. The free service requires you to login to your account periodically or your data will get deleted. You get email reminders if you haven't accessed your account for 25 days.

Yeah, I saw that later. The account deletion is much needed when you run a service so cheap.

 

[Tiamati]

Ty @Burrito and ty @BVLon for your answers

Hi Tiamati. In terms of consistency... if you look across all testing labs over the last 15 years, three AVs stand out for most consistently finishing at the top. Bitdefender, Norton & Kaspersky. ESET had long periods of test mediocrity. Bitdefender has had a recent dip. Norton and Kaspersky are perpetual top finishers.

I agree that ESET have been less consistent over the years. But bitdefender is much more solid. A few months ago it had some bad tests here in HUB for sure, but it's the only time i noticed that. And it seems they already got back in the trail. Furthermore, most tests i've seem put Bitfender ahead of Norton (just a little). For me, the only drawback of Bitdefender is how much RAM it eats. But even that is better now. Anyway, i never cared too much about norton, but i've paying more attention now i saw your arguments. Ty for that.

Kaspersky has issues. That's an emotional topic for many. If you look at the reporting by the NYT, WSJ, & Bloomberg, you can develop an idea of the nature of the problem. Many people hide behind the "there's no proof" argument --- when in fact there is information available from which one could draw reasonable conclusions. Others go to a 'false equivalence' argument. There is no reasonable discussion on a topic when emotion is a key driver.

I agree.

 

[Wraith]

Wow guys....thanks to you all for your wonderful responses. I really learn a lot from here every time

SEP is definitely more stable and better. However, when I used it, I had a problem that CPU usage never dropped to 0%. It was always around 1.5 to 3%, non-stop although I performed some reboots, a fullscan, or other workarounds
I was forced to uninstall it

3-5% CPU utilisation on that 2500K doesn't matter for me since the PC remains virtually idle, like I said only used for browsing and watching movies/listening to songs. Sometimes my dad does some transactions through online banking. What I'm more concerned is about the future of SEP since Symantec has been acquired by Broadcomm and they seem to be phasing out SEP. I don't know how long it'll get future updates.

 

[Wraith]

I consider Norton's peers to be ESET & Bitdefender (both of which are not as consistent as Norton). In terms of effectiveness -- Kaspersky is also a peer. But it has huge privacy issues

ESET is installed on that PC as of now but the license expires next month. I always seem to have issues with BitDefender. Huge CPU usage while cleaning up infections and that decade old bug, after cleaning, BD enables the display of file extensions. Kaspersky I consider the best for pure protection. I read about the privacy issues regarding Kaspersky but I don't know how accurate it is. What would you guys recommend? Would it be okay to use Kaspersky in that PC or should I steer clear of it for now? As for Norton, I love their SONAR, Firewall and their reputation system. But is the future of Norton secure now that it has been acquired by LifeLock? And guys one problem I had with Norton the last time I used it was the USB infection problem. A simple autorun malware infected the PC.