Battle Norton Security or Symantec Endpoint Protection?

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Wraith

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Aug 15, 2018
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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?
 

Wraith

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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.


BVLon what's your suggestion regarding this system? Is McAfee okay for this PC? My parents are fairly informative about security and they never download any new softwares from the internet. In India the licenses are dirt cheap...$5 per PC for the Internet Security version. I see your reviews at MT and they're really helpful. I may also try Trend Micro based on your reviews.
 
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BVLon

BVLon what's your suggestion regarding this system? Is McAfee okay for this PC? My parents are fairly informative about security and they never download any new softwares from the internet. In India the licenses are dirt cheap...$5 per PC for the Internet Security version. I see your reviews at MT and they're really helpful. I may also try Trend Micro based on your reviews.
Both of them are more than enough to keep people doing average day-to-day tasks safe. TrendMicro offers more protection. For example, TrendMicro lets you add any information (Credit Card, Postal Code, etc) and once anything tries to transmit it, TM automatically blocks the request. To transmit the information you have to press "Temporary disable protection" on the popup. It also offers highly-effective anti-ransomware module and includes hardened browser. McAfee's detection is a bit weaker, there is no folder and personal information shield, there is no hardened browser either. However, you still have extremely powerful Web Advisor (which offers basic protection all by itself), great, customizable firewall, and great user experience. I believe here it all comes down to whether they shop online (the hardened browser is great for this purpose) and the price of the product.

PS: Thanks for reading my reviews. I am glad I've been able to help :)
 
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Wraith

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Both of them are more than enough to keep people doing average day-to-day tasks safe. TrendMicro offers more protection. For example, TrendMicro lets you add any information (Credit Card, Postal Code, etc) and once anything tries to transmit it, TM automatically blocks the request. To transmit the information you have to press "Temporary disable protection" on the popup. It also offers highly-effective anti-ransomware module and includes hardened browser. McAfee's detection is a bit weaker, there is no folder and personal information shield, there is no hardened browser either. However, you still have extremely powerful Web Advisor (which offers basic protection all by itself), great, customizable firewall, and great user experience. I believe here it all comes down to whether they shop online (the hardened browser is great for this purpose) and the price of the product.

PS: Thanks for reading my reviews. I am glad I've been able to help :)
Thanks a ton mate. Just a side request, if you get the time and if it's possible for you, can you do a review of ESET Internet Security? It's what I use on my gaming PC and it's cheap here too. 1 year 3 PC license of internet security costs around $10 in Amazon.
 
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BVLon

Thanks a ton mate. Just a side request, if you get the time and if it's possible for you, can you do a review of ESET Internet Security? It's what I use on my gaming PC and it's cheap here too. 1 year 3 PC license of internet security costs around $10 in Amazon.
Eset is already put to testing at the Malware Hub by @SeriousHoax. Detection seems acceptable to me. I will review the program itself in different configurations.
 

Tiamati

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@Wraith , take a look at the giveaway forum. There are a lot of giveaways you may test for 3 months before decide anything...

Take a look






I didn't check if they are all up now, but most of them get new giveaways all the time...

Kaspersky has a 3 month key too for the first use.
 
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BVLon

He could test Norton, G-Data, Kaspersky and F-secure and decide by himself wich one he likes most.

F-secure giveaway can be achieved with some VPN services
F-Secure is great. He is looking for something for his parents and he is saying they never download any software. I don't think they need the hefty, dual engine G-Data (ugly and complicated too). Norton is the best option of them all.
 
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BVLon

Does McAfee WebAdvisor work as a standalone program or extension for Chrome? Then I'm thinking about using it with Trend Micro trial to see how well it goes. Else I'll try the McAfee Internet Security suite. I've got a trial license of 6 months through Facebook.
Yeah, if you type it in Google it will pop-up. Works with Chrome, FF, Edge and Chromium Edge. Alternatively, you can try MalwareBytes Browser Guard. I recommend that you use Browser Guard/Web Advisor + Popup Blocker Strict + uBlock. This combination is unbeatable.
 

Wraith

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Yeah, if you type it in Google it will pop-up. Works with Chrome, FF, Edge and Chromium Edge. Alternatively, you can try MalwareBytes Browser Guard. I recommend that you use Browser Guard/Web Advisor + Popup Blocker Strict + uBlock. This combination is unbeatable.
Thanks for the info mate. Yeah I already use uBlock Origin(for disabling ads) and SysHardener(for disabling scripts).
 

Wraith

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@BVLon I just noticed that TM also displays file extensions after removing a threat. Is there any way to disable that? And also the PC seems to be a bit slower even with an SSD( I've just made a fres installation of windows prior to installing TM). General program execution takes a hit. If there's no way to deal with TM enabling file extensions I may have to switch to McAfee.
 
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BVLon

@BVLon I just noticed that TM also displays file extensions after removing a threat. Is there any way to disable that? And also the PC seems to be a bit slower even with an SSD( I've just made a fres installation of windows prior to installing TM). General program execution takes a hit. If there's no way to deal with TM enabling file extensions I may have to switch to McAfee.
There is no way, it's been described in the damage cleanup engine. You will have to switch to McAfee. Norton won't be an option for you either, it does the same.
 

SeriousHoax

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Mar 16, 2019
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There is no way, it's been described in the damage cleanup engine. You will have to switch to McAfee. Norton won't be an option for you either, it does the same.
Last time I checked McAfee it had a Vault folder in windows explorer beside the drive C and didn't find any way to disable that. Is it possible to get rid of that? It was also scanning files on execution only. Can this be changed?
 

Wraith

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Aug 15, 2018
634
Last time I checked McAfee it had a Vault folder in windows explorer beside the drive C and didn't find any way to disable that. Is it possible to get rid of that? It was also scanning files on execution only. Can this be changed?
In the Internet Security version the vault is not there anymore but yeah Mcafee scans only on execution. I didn't dig deep into the settings but the option is not easily to be seen. I'll let you know if I come across the option. But scanning on execution is not bad protection wise.
 
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BVLon

Last time I checked McAfee it had a Vault folder in windows explorer beside the drive C and didn't find any way to disable that. Is it possible to get rid of that? It was also scanning files on execution only. Can this be changed?
You can't switch off the vault (once you have added it, if we are talking about the file encryption vault) and you can't configure any settings in the McAfee home edition. It has 4 protection engines and switches between them depending on your system resources and needs. It gets more aggressive when it finds X number of infections. That's why on my review I've said advanced users may want more control. For total flexibility, users should stick to Eset and Kaspersky.
 

Wraith

Level 13
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Aug 15, 2018
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There is no way, it's been described in the damage cleanup engine. You will have to switch to McAfee. Norton won't be an option for you either, it does the same.
Thanks for the clarification. So Mcafee it is then, staying on this PC. The PC feels way lighter too, at least after coming from Trend Micro. A big thanks to everyone out here for all your valuable comments and helping me out to choose a Suite for my family PC. Cheers guys :emoji_beer::emoji_beer:
 
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BVLon

Thanks for the clarification. So Mcafee it is then, staying on this PC. The PC feels way lighter too, at least after coming from Trend Micro. A big thanks to everyone out here for all your valuable comments and helping me out to choose a Suite for my family PC. Cheers guys :emoji_beer::emoji_beer:
For some reason on all of my devices TM felt like a feather, but tests normally confirm it causes slowdowns. McAfee feels really light and has got good firewall as well. However, I am still using Norton on some (most) of them until I confirm TM's efficacy. Cheers 🍻
 

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