So I'll be leaving the security of my safe college campus in about 7 weeks and will have to deal with that whole "real world" thing. One thing I'm worried about is my computer security. My new place is going to have internet access. But all through college I've been required to use my college's version of Norton Antivirus, and my subscription expires in August. Also, as I'll no longer be living at school, I cannot mooch off their free updates anymore. So I'm going to have to get some new stuff. Norton has been pretty reliable, but I don't know what else is out there, really, as we were forbidden from putting anything than the school's version on our computers. Is there anything as good as Norton but cheaper?

I don't think Symantec has been doing all too well. There are many better alternatives IMO.

Try one of the free AV tools like AVG, Avast and AntiVir.

As for the best, check out the top ten on PCWorld: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,124475,00.asp

If you are a safe surfer, then you should be able to get away with using a free program. And remember that if you are not behind a NAT router, then you really should have a firewall in addition to an AV. The built in firewall that ships with Windows XP SP2 should be sufficient, just make sure it's enabled.

There has been numerous reports/complaints/bad rumors about Symmatec (Norton if you will). I currently use AVG which does it job and it's not AS memory intensive in the background unlike Norton. Still...i guess all AV programs have to have at least 3 services running in the task manager...oh well i have a 1.25GB of RAM so it's not an issue.

Thanks, that's pretty helpful. I'm glad that there are some free programs out there . . . It helps that I've gotten to be quite the safe surfer in my time. When I first came to college, I didn't even know that spyware existed, and I didn't realize how easy it was for your computer to get a virus. I had some problems my first two years, but my former boyfriend (a complete computer wizard) straightened me out. So it looks like a free program will work for me. Thanks!

Though I personally use Symantec, I've also used several other AVs. IMO, the top free AV, which also has a pro version if you like it, is AVG. It does a great job.

Dave

I used AVG when it was still free and not selling for retail. It was a really great AV. Since I got hold of Norton Corporate Edition, with continuous free updates, it works just as fine.

I didn't realize Norton did free updates. Stilll, I'll probably go with something completely free for the time being, at least for a year, until I start making better money.

i prefer norton overall it is very easy and does the jobs i want it to do and i hate mcafee it slows down my pc

I use Zone Alarm, but before I used NOD 32.

What you use and what is the best for you.

Best Regards!
John Dean

I'm on a Mac, I don't use an AV

On Windows I was using AVG Free. Nothing is better then AVG Free and a little common sense IMO. User caution will beat any antivirus anyday. You might also find this discussion worth reading

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