Advanced Security TuxTalk vs. The Malware Multiverse - Setup 2025

[Jonny Quest]

Back to Trend Micro – My Trusty Shield


Well, that was a short-lived adventure with Norton360...
Too many bugs, firewall hiccups, and worst of all—my entire network went down more than once. Not exactly what you'd expect from a premium security suite.


So, I’ve decided to go back to my old reliable: Trend Micro.
It’s like reconnecting with an old friend who never let you down. Stable, efficient, and no drama.


Lesson learned: sometimes the newest isn’t the best—reliability wins.

"It’s like reconnecting with an old friend who never let you down. Stable, efficient, and no drama".

It's why I'm still using, and will continue to use F-Secure (even though there are "better" AV's out there).

 

[TuxTalk]

"It’s like reconnecting with an old friend who never let you down. Stable, efficient, and no drama".

It's why I'm still using, and will continue to use F-Secure (even though there are "better" AV's out there).

Yes correct, TM is stable and delivers. No fuss just running and you do not even notice its there.

 

[Trident]

Yes correct, TM is stable and delivers. No fuss just running and you do not even notice its there.

And they can hot swap modules if there is a bug without delivering full blown updates. The architecture is designed for stability.

 

[Miravi]

Back to Trend Micro – My Trusty Shield


Well, that was a short-lived adventure with Norton360...
Too many bugs, firewall hiccups, and worst of all—my entire network went down more than once. Not exactly what you'd expect from a premium security suite.

That's seriously disappointing. You'd think that an enormous company reskinning an established, ready-to-go architecture would make short work of the project.

 

[Sorrento]

Uninclined to use Norton again, the AV's that I am happy to use & none bloated are quite few

 

[TuxTalk]

Okay folks, time to eat a slice of humble pie. I was convinced Norton360 was the culprit behind my internet connection randomly ghosting me like a bad Tinder date. I even gave it the full “angry uninstall + dramatic sigh” treatment.


But guess what? It was NordVPN. Yep. The privacy hero turned connection villain. Turns out I’m not alone—Reddit’s got a growing support group of users scratching their heads wondering why their internet suddenly decided to take a vacation.


How does this even happen? One minute you’re browsing cat memes, the next minute your browser’s acting like it’s in witness protection. I mean, I get that VPNs reroute traffic, but Nord seems to be rerouting it straight into a black hole sometimes.


So yeah, apologies to Norton360. You’re innocent this time. I’ll stop blaming you for everything short of global warming.

 

[Sorrento]

Humility is a quality I admire !

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

For me, the battle between TM and McAfee is currently 2:1 in favor of TM.
One PC and one laptop with TM, and one PC with McAfee.

 

[TuxTalk]

For me, the battle between TM and McAfee is currently 2:1 in favor of TM.
One PC and one laptop with TM, and one PC with McAfee.

Same here, slightly more to TM and 2nd place is McAfee

 

[Trident]

I’m a bit more inclined to McAfee then to trend for several reasons:
-Install experience: TM install experience can’t be rated more than 3/10. It’s a massive installer, it unpacks, it installs slowly, then there is a long update which involves closing the app, relaunching and asking for a reboot. McAfee install experience is 11/10—far exceeding the expectations. For me it’s less than a minute and one click to install the up-to-date product. Anyway, installation is only once.

-Performance: I would rate Trend 8/10, McAfee 10/10.

-Detection: I would rate Trend 7/10, McAfee 8/10. Only several business packages in my book get 10/10.

All in all very close.

 

[Sorrento]

@TuxTalk I'm giving TM a trial as I have a short licence left - Do you use Firefox & if so did the TM extension install OK, I've had issues with Mozilla saying it may have been removed?

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

The link for installing the TM Browser extension in Firefox doesn't work. A manual search in Firefox leads to a beta version of the TM Browser extension. The TM Browser extension contains features that Mozilla doesn't want. Therefore, there is currently only a (compatible) beta version available.

 

[ForgottenSeer 94738]

I’m a bit more inclined to McAfee then to trend for several reasons:
-Install experience: TM install experience can’t be rated more than 3/10. It’s a massive installer, it unpacks, it installs slowly, then there is a long update which involves closing the app, relaunching and asking for a reboot. McAfee install experience is 11/10—far exceeding the expectations. For me it’s less than a minute and one click to install the up-to-date product. Anyway, installation is only once.

-Performance: I would rate Trend 8/10, McAfee 10/10.

-Detection: I would rate Trend 7/10, McAfee 8/10. Only several business packages in my book get 10/10.

All in all very close.

I don't think the installation time of TM is significant. Regular users don't install AV programs very often. MT members are, of course, an exception.

 

[Sorrento]

'MT members are, of course, an exception'

 

[Trident]

I don't think the installation time of TM is significant. Regular users don't install AV programs very often. MT members are, of course, an exception.

Yeah, it is not significant at all, but nevertheless, it is a first impression. But after installation, users get access to stable and well-developed business-grade architecture.

 

[TuxTalk]

@TuxTalk I'm giving TM a trial as I have a short licence left - Do you use Firefox & if so did the TM extension install OK, I've had issues with Mozilla saying it may have been removed?

I dont use Firefox, i use Chrome and Edge.
You will not be disappointed by Trend Micro. It really is super stable, no annoying pop ups try to sell you something. Like @Trident said, a business solution for home users. Dont forget to put it to Aggressive mode.

 

[simmerskool]

The link for installing the TM Browser extension in Firefox doesn't work. A manual search in Firefox leads to a beta version of the TM Browser extension. The TM Browser extension contains features that Mozilla doesn't want. Therefore, there is currently only a (compatible) beta version available.

good info thanks! I did not notice this issue (or I don't recall it ) so I'll boot VM with TM after lunch and see what's what. Overall TM has been smooth and trouble-free for me (fwiw).

 

[TuxTalk]

@TuxTalk I'm giving TM a trial as I have a short licence left - Do you use Firefox & if so did the TM extension install OK, I've had issues with Mozilla saying it may have been removed?

@Oldie1950 @Sorrento

From the Japanese Trend Micro support forum :

 

[Jonny Quest]

@TuxTalk I'm giving TM a trial as I have a short licence left - Do you use Firefox & if so did the TM extension install OK, I've had issues with Mozilla saying it may have been removed?

I don't think the installation time of TM is significant. Regular users don't install AV programs very often. MT members are, of course, an exception.

I dont use Firefox, i use Chrome and Edge.
You will not be disappointed by Trend Micro. It really is super stable, no annoying pop ups try to sell you something. Like @Trident said, a business solution for home users. Dont forget to put it to Aggressive mode.

I know I said F-Secure for me, but...I need to keep my options open in case in the next 3-6 months things really go south with them, more that it already has.

So with that, on this notebook I'll uninstall F-Secure, do the normal clean up routine, then install the trial version of TM Internet Security. I would rather get that basic protection and use Mullvad again. F-Secure's VPN really was/is performing well on my devices, though. The Proton free version was stuck connecting overseas even if I did a restart and clicked to use the closest server. IMO, it was a little bloated, like Nord compared to F-Secure and especially Mullvad.

Before I go through all of this, if I remember correctly, and from the last AV-Comparatives test, they, TM have a lot of FP's, F-Secure has gotten way better in that regard. Is it something to think twice about?

 

[TuxTalk]

I know I said F-Secure for me, but...I need to keep my options open in case in the next 3-6 months things really go south with them, more that it already has.

So with that, on this notebook I'll uninstall F-Secure, do the normal clean up routine, then install the trial version of TM Internet Security. I would rather get that basic protection and use Mullvad again. F-Secure's VPN really was/is performing well on my devices, though. The Proton free version was stuck connecting overseas even if I did a restart and clicked to use the closest server. IMO, it was a little bloated, like Nord compared to F-Secure and especially Mullvad.

Before I go through all of this, if I remember correctly, and from the last AV-Comparatives test, they, TM have a lot of FP's, F-Secure has gotten way better in that regard. Is it something to think twice about?

I never experience any FP, and I’m on aggressive mode in TM