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Hey guys, just wondering if you think Norton 360 provides sufficient protection for my rig. Because I really dont want to have to bust my butt for another summer to pay for a new one.

It will.
I use it.

I'm a fan of Symantec's Norton but it has a bad rep' for using system resources (so they should for the amount of work it does).

360 still uses a lot of system resources but it does it in a different way to the old NIS product, which makes it slightly less noticeable.

But you should be aware that it is still noticeable.

I'd rather suffer the slight loss in performance for what I believe to be improved security over alternative systems.

360 is more expensive than NIS but it has a 3 x install licence (in case you have any other 'puters around that need it), so it could work out cheaper.

If you do go with it, register it and set yourself up an account on the Symantec site as there is a free add-on which takes care of spam e-mail and pop-ups. It's not included as part of the prog to encourage you to register. In this instance I think it's worth doing but make sure you don't authorise the "Please-let-me-have-all-your-advertising-crap-whenever-you-feel-like-it" box during registration.

Norton? (Spitting the bad taste out of my mouth)...lol

I really don't care for any product that takes that much control of my system no matter what. While I agree it's a great product for some people (primarily the less techy or savvy user), I take a more hands on approach 'cause I can..

At CC while in Multi-player, we have noticed a lot of connection issues or lack there of due to 'packet processing' or 'packet block' altogether. I can't tell you how many times we tracked the culprit down to Norton. Once the user disabled Norton, which by itself is no small feat, the user could connect, play and enjoy their game. FS9 and FSX seems to be more prone to this than other MP games, but the issue is there non the less.

A suggestion of programs to use:

AVG- Antivirus
Spybot Search and Destroy
Ad-Aware
XP Repair Pro
Registry Mechanic
RegVac

The top 3 are free, the other 3 can be trial before you buy. Keep in mind there are more that are good too such as:

System Mechanic
Perfect Disk
HD Tune
PC Rescue

I use all these at some time or another at different times and for different reasons, but as I said, I'm a 'hands on' type of fella...

And for those that don't want to mess with all of that stuff including Norton and don't game...

www.linuxmint.com/

- Shadow_Bshwackr

A suggestion of programs to use:

AVG- Antivirus
Spybot Search and Destroy
Ad-Aware
XP Repair Pro
Registry Mechanic
RegVac

If you do go down this route, you will need a minimum combination of:-
1 x software Firewall, 1 x Anti-virus.
Of the above, only AVG is Anti-Virus.
The others are really just ad'/Spyware/pop-up blockers or registry cleaners.
As an ad/pop-up blocker I would use AdAware in conjunction with Wnidows Defender (also Free from M$, and about the best application they do).

You would need to combine AVG with a good firewall.

Bushy has a point about Norton, and this is well recorded.
As I say, I find 360 works differently to NIS and other norton products but I haven't used it to game with so I don't know how it would compare to those. I suspect favourably.

Another thing I forgot to mention earlier is that a hardware Firewall is much better than a software Firewall (in case you have a router/Firewall already).

(don't listen to Bushy; he likes Firefox and Linux as well!!! )

Thanks, thats good to hear. I've been playing Company of Heroes on the internet, and 360 hasnt interfered with that, so I think it should be good.I dont play much FSX anyways, other then the occasional hop in the 747 full of screaming people

Ahhhh, these RAF92 folks display good sense and sound judgement.

*Pokes tongue out at the Bushster and saunters off.., snickering and muttering; "Another recruit to the cause".

It was hard to talk while spitting out the 'foul taste'...lol

Would I try Norton again? Possibly, but not until I hear more information...

As far as individual components, I like that. I've learned a long time ago that you may be able to do ONE thing really well, but the likelihood that you can all things as well are slim to none...

Still, in tests I've run with various programs of the same genre, none of them get all the problems and IMO, running two are a sure fire way of getting better results.

A case in point is any registry cleaner. If you run any back to back to each other, one will get some issues fixed the other doesn't and vise versa. The same holds true for Virus Detection as well as Bots and other nasty 'critter cleaners'.

Running a "one size fits all" approach is good for some though as I stated earlier.

- Shadow_Bshwackr

It was hard to talk while spitting out the 'foul taste'...lol

Would I try Norton again? Possibly, but not until I hear more information...

Eeeek Norton..... that taste is gonna take some working on. I don't use the word 'hate' often but in this case... still havin flash backs 'n' nightmares!!

However i did talk to a work mate recently who woz shouting it's praise and well .......... nah still not goin there !!!


Jel

- Shades

Ahhhh, these RAF92 folks display good sense and sound judgement.

That's overkill right there, Shades....

But, for the record, Norton will protect your system well.

Off the record, have you seen that V for Vendetta movie where freedom is sacrificed for TOTALITARIAN DICTATORSHIP.

Call me crazy, uninformed, over protective, but here's what I have been using:

Ad Aware SE
Pest Patrol
McAfee OAS
N*rtan Symantec (censored for the masses!)
And a neat website someone turned me onto: www.ewido.com

Ewido offers an online scan feature after installing a small ActiveX control to load definitions and proceed to Scan. After running everyone of these last night, I have confirmed that each one picked up something the other ones left out! Everything from Malware, Cookies (that IE didn't delete in it's own delete tool), etc.

Each has it's own purpose and function, to include firewall protection, sooooo... Am I in the wrong, or am I pretty safe? I grew up in the old BBS days and Internet Security is an area of expertise I am lackin in to say the least!

If you're using Windows, don't forget Windows Defender.
It's an excellent free utility for fighting anti-spyware and other unwanted little visitors.
It's not and anti-virus application and should not be confused with such.
I use it with AdAware for anti-spyware.
M$ bought it in the last days of XP but provide it free to Windows users now.

I'm unfamiliar with Pest Patrol so can't comment about it.

McAfee used to be the equal of Symantec products but that hasn't been the case for about 4-5 years now. Personally I might be tempted to ditch it if I already had a Symantec equivalent.

Make sure you have a good firewall as well.
Many people don't realise how important these are because they're not marketed as well as AV's and most people think they're only to protect them against direct hacking or have nothing on their system a hacker might be interested in.

I've used Norton myself for a few years now and have to admit compared to the older versions, the newer versions are a bit heavy on the system but usually only during startup and not enough to make me ditch it. Never had any issues connecting to MP games with it. I do leave the Auto Protect enabled on the family computer and disabled on my gaming rig.

For Spyware/Adware I have used both Spybot and Ad-Aware together and they both seemed to work well.

For Firewall I've always used the free version of Zone Alarm with no probs.

- RAF92_BattleHawk

Hey guys, just wondering if you think Norton 360 provides sufficient protection for my rig. Because I really dont want to have to bust my butt for another summer to pay for a new one.

Any version of Norton will protect your computer...
...a dead computer can't get infected.

LOL

lol Kit
(sob!)

ROFLMAO Kit...