How good is Symantec AntiVirus?

Well, I can get Symantec AntiVirus for free from my friend that goes to Berkeley, so I was wondering how good it is compared to the free ones.

 

It's heavy and a resource hog. I'd go with Avg 8.0 Free.

Nice, small, secure and free

 

Well, to be honest, its a terrible system hog. The protection is good, but it certainly comes at a price. I know its free, but I would sincerely look into another product.

 

Dook in the urinal, wich one are you talking about?

 

Sorry, you responded just as I did, but I was talking about Symanec/Norton. AVG works well.

 

I would recommend Avira for free antivirus

 

I second the motion for Avira. Very lightweight and catches the most of all the free AV's out there.

 

Avira AntiVir for free antivirus.

Just don't go for Norton. I've had terrible experience using that AV years ago. Not sure how it fares now, but still, better to stay away from it.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

 

use eset nod32, its better. or if you want free then i think kaspersky has a free version.

 

I was trying to find free versions of nod32, no luck ]=. Anyways, how bad is the resource hog? I'm running on 2.4ghz dual with 3gigs of ram.

 

I was running a 4-5 year old XP system with Norton (comparable to Symantec). From Windows login screen to actually being able to use the computer, I had to wait about 5 minutes. I finally deleted Norton, added Avast Home, and I am up and running in about 15-20 seconds. And of course, same exact system - no hardware changes.

 

Hey guys

"System hog"

Nerver heard that.......Symantec actually release a new version each year and that 2008-9 aren't ressource hog anymore?

 

Actually is the version you're talking about (from the university) the Norton AV flavor or is it the Symantec Anti-virus corp edition or the Symantec Endpoint protection?

If it's either of the 2 later one's mentioned well there is almost zero load with either of them. By far the lightest weight AV I've ever used. Endpoint is what our local universities have students download, v11.x, and you'll never see resources drag your system down like some others. System scans are a bit of a drag but not terribly so. I'd venture to say that any AV program, when a full system scan is being done, will slow things down a bit.

Now as to the effectiveness of AV corp or AV Endpoint, all I can say is read some reviews. They tend to be high-end reviews that talk about the management side as well as the client side so check them out.

 

not sure, it is this one http://software-central.berkeley.edu/software/62-Symantec+AntiVirus

 

Looking at the version numbers, and the fact it identifies them as Symantec (sure they own Norton but usually Norton AV is specifically identified as Norton and Symantec is Symantec), it appears to be the Corp Edition.

Again, fantastically light weight on systems, even low end systems. It's effectiveness against viruses, well I'm not much of an expert on them. TONS of favorable reviews. Pretty much the corp ed is being replaced by a more full featured version of Endpoint Protection. Tons of large businesses use the corp edition, even my work here for a large insurance company. Of course the corp edition (and endpoint for that matter) are best managed not individually but through the management console(s) that come with these high end solutions.

Bottom line, if you are a gamer and don't go to a bunch of warez sites, or pron, and I'm talking really shady stuff (as opposed to the 'run of the mill') you'll be quite pleased.

 

No offense to anyone who has responded thus far, but the OP may want to really look into this (perhaps by asking a friend who has the most recent version). The reason I say this is because some of the answers may be more anecdotal than factual. I have actually heard that the most recent version of Norton is not as much of a resource hog as previous versions. They, apparently, made a big effort to reduce the program in that regard. What I would suggest is that since it's free, why not download it and try it out. If you feel like it is causing lag, then uninstall it and go with something else.

 

If I had a choice, I'd rather have a virus infect my notebook than install Norton Anti-Virus.

 

yeah i have been using Symantec Antivirus Corporate for years now. It's very reliable and stable. No BS-ware like in retail Symantec products.

 

Basically that's the point I was making so totally agree here. Thanks to IUPUI I have been using AV Corp and then moved to Endpoint with zero trouble. System usage next to nil, never had infection of any sort, it catches all the bad stuff that's ever tried to get a hold of me, so totally a recommendation to install.

Besides the price for you seems perfect as well!

 

THanks guys. I'm going to install it soon. Just finished my clean install of vista.

 

Why bother? There are much better rated free programs out there. OP should just go with Avira or Avast and be done with it.

 

I've read the same sorts of articles and reviews of the newest versions of Norton AV: it has been vastly improved over earlier versions, but I still dislike the app. However, the OP was talking about it being free; if I were short of funds I might just consider Norton at that price. LOL

AVG has been suggested in this thread, but recently I've read several horror stories about it, though the program always worked well for me.

FWIW, if you have the means, I'd suggest either NOD32 or Kaspersky. NOD, I think is only about $25 or so and I don't think I've ever read a poor review of this program.