Renewing Antivirus and Anti-Spyware Software

Over the weekend, one of my neighbors called me over to help update his Norton 360. His subscription had expired so he had gone to the store and brought the program again.

Doing this was unnecessary as Norton 360 had a renewal process that he could have done online at a fraction of the cost.

Most antivirus/anti-spyware programs have a renewal option as they want to keep their existing clients. This means that you will most likely have a discount when you renew your subscription online so unless your rolling in money this recession, renew your antivirus/anti-spyware program. What ever program you are using will have all the details.

On the subject of renewing, do not use any program that automatically renews your subscription by deducting the amount out of your bank account. While this is a legitimate practice by some antivirus/anti-spyware programs, you should use the end of your subscription period to reflect on whenever whatever you are using is meeting your expectations and make your decision that way. Don’t let the company the decision for you.

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Antivirus 360

I would like you to meet our newest fake antivirus, Antivirus 360.

Antivirus 360 has nothing to do with Norton 360, even though they both bog your computer down to an unusable speed. Unlike Antivirus 360, Norton 360 doesn’t bombard you with popups to tick you into buying the “full” version.

Do a 180 and remove Antivirus 360 with the manual removal instructions or by using Spyware Doctor to remove Antivirus 360 for you.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Say no to Norton?

Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 are perhaps the most well known antivirus programs out there. Trial versions come preinstalled with most new computers which is probably why I get so many computers come into the PC repair shop where I work that have a paid Norton program installed on it.

First off I have to say that Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 do a good job. If you have either of these programs on your computer, it has some good protection. The problem is the computer resources Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 use.

If you enjoy playing games or using programs that require alot of grunt from your computer, Norton is not for you. In fact, don’t consider Norton Antivirus or Norton 360 unless you have a fast computer.

Norton programs have also had installation and uninstalling issues which can cause problems with people’s computers. This doesn’t happen all the time but I have seen machines where a previous version of Norton’s has caused hassles with newer version. Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 don’t play nice with other antispyware and antivirus programs so if you have one on your computer, you may have problems.

Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 do their job very well but require more out of your computer than other antivirus programs. Before you buy, use the free Norton Antivirus 2009 trail version or free Norton 360 trial to see how well it behaves on your computer.

Please note that Norton 360 v2 is now available. I have only seen the original Norton 360 and Symantec has made a number of fixes in Norton 360 v2 which could impact my thoughts on it.

Popularity: 2% [?]