Re: (OT) New computer - comments desired


"Myrmidon" <imnot@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.20b703c0cf92454698aad7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <NR03i.659$C96.229@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
swamptank@xxxxxxxxxxxxx says...
hello. newbie here. off topic.

First tip that will help you survive would be to check out the
'FAQ' at www.rgmw.org - one of things about this group is that we post
our reply text BELOW the text we're quoting so folks can read from top
to bottom and follow the whole conversation rather than having to jump
all over the place in the text to try and figure out what's being said.

I'm obviously 3 layers down in the conversation but would the poster of
the
advice of Avast please advise me of their recommendation. Is this over
McAfee, Norton, PCillian? I have tossed Norton as I lost a system under
it's
"care". Have used McAfee successfully for 3 years now. The controls for
firewall are easier to configure than ZA. I also use SpyBot R&D and
highly
recommend it and dual coverage as well. I was just wondering if Avast is
better than McAfee by experience. It appears far more expensive. (But I
do
believe in the adage "You get what you pay for...")

I've used Norton for 6 to 8 years and it initially gave better
performance (i.e. hogged fewer system resources) and greater reliability
than McAfee in my personal experience. However, in my experience it has
definitely lost that edge over the last 3 years or so. I too have had a
system bjorked thanks to a botched install of Norton AV 2005. I've
also seen more than a few laptop users have problems with Norton's
automatic update tools not functioning correctly. (And AV software that
isn't up to date isn't much better than having none at all.) Both
Norton and McAfee have tried to go the 'all things to everyone' route
and failed miserably in my experience. Rather than making a robust
anti-virus product, they've both tried to be the jack of all trades with
Firewall, Registry utility, and a free kitchen sink too. The trade off
seems to have been lack luster performance and hit or miss reliability
in their grouped programs and a HUGE hit on system resources. (Like
your average PC really *needs* the software equivolent of a boat anchor
to make it run slower.)

As for cost - what are you paying for McAfee? I'm guessing it's
in the range of $35 to $50 a year depending on discounts, etc for year's
worth of updates. The pro version of Avast allows one to register for 3
years for $75 which is a fair savings over Norton AV. And this of
course ignores the fact that they offer a fully functioning free version
for home users (something that I haven't seen Norton or McAfee do to
date). I've also used AVG anti-virus as well and had good results with
it too. Avast in my experience requires a bit more user interaction and
isn't as fully automated 'out of the box' as AVG or Norton, but it's
robust and I've been very pleased with the protection and performance.
While I started out with the free home version, I've since purchased the
full version. Your best bet is to do some homework and see if you can
find independent research / reviews (Cnet, ZDnet, etc) that rate the
effectiveness of various AV programs in detecting virus threats. Some
products are definitely more reliable than others, it just isn't easy to
tell by looking at the box or the maker's web site.

When it comes to spy-ware, I've used Spy-bot for a long time and
been pleased, I've also used Ad-aware in conjunction with Spy-bot with
excellent results.

The problem is that these days even basic home users need defense in
depth, requiring multiple products (i.e. hardware firewall {like a
router} software firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware solutions).
And this still isn't a gaurante of protection, just a minimization of
the risks.

Hope that helps,

Myrmidon

--
"I'm already impoverished from buying wargames minis,
and I'm too knackered for riotous living..."

-- Moramarth

RGMW FAQ: http://www.rgmw.org

Thanks for the post and the tip. I now know what "top posting" is - doh! my
bad

SwampTank


.

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