I take back any recommendations I have made about...

[Tatu]

...Norton AntiVirus.

I have 60 days left of antivirus updates through their Live Update feature. They just instituted a new system in which they verify your update subscription server-side.

Of course, now I am unjustly told to renew my subscription. Since I'm horribly stubborn, I refuse to renew my susbcription for $20 on the principal that I have 60 days left.

I could say they've lost a loyal customer... but I haven't found better replacement. This just leaves me stubbornly refusing to pay them to renew my subscription.

[Rich]

You might want to check out www.my-etrust.com To say their anti-virus program is "better" is puting it lightly.

It's so unintrusive, you'll wonder if it is installed. (Yes, it is and it does very reliably detect viruses--some that not even Norton can handle properly.)

You won't get the update feature unless you have the paid version, but they do have a trial version. Cost is the magical 20 bucks/year for this type of product.

Rich

[dank]

I recently made the switch from Norton AV to EZ AntiVirus (Rich's recommendation above). I must say, it was quite a breath of fresh air. For probably the first time ever when installing an AV program, I felt like I was installing something by my own choice, not being held hostage by what the program felt I should want it to do.

One annoying thing, and this may be totally unrelated or due to the Norton uninstall instead of the EZ install, is that ever since making the change, my computer has stopped doing most of its normal beeping. Things like a beep to let you know it has searched beyond the end of a text file and returned to the top to begin looking from there, confirmation beeps in SmartSaver Pro to let you know the settings toook, etc. I can't find any Windows settings that have been changed that look relevant... Also since the switch, WS_FTP operates like it's underwater, with a delay much like when working through PC Anywhere.

I'd be surprised if that's due to the installation of EZ AntiVirus, so until I figure out otherwise, I'm assuming it's part of the nasty little foot print Norton leaves behind...

Dan

[Clintw]

I have using Panda software for about 4 months and very happy with it. You have different settings but you can get new updates everytime you sign on line. It down load the new updates and never disturbs you as you work on line.
http://www.pandasoftware.com

Clint

[MikeGnitecki]

The Panda anti-virus software is a good program. However, there is something about the program that sometimes causes system freezes / lock-ups. It seems to vary by system (it doesn't affect some users much, while others it really affects), so that is a risk that should be considered. I tried it on one of my computers, and it worked pretty well, but one day it caused two system freezes during a one hour block of normal web browsing. Since then, though, it's been just fine.

I agree that the auto-update feature is great. It updates automaticly at least once per day. That feature was very well done.

-Mike Gnitecki

[frankc]

Curiously, eTrust's EZ Antivirus own site says, "Virus detection (signature file) updates can be accomplished with a few simple mouse clicks."

If so, URK! I'd think that any quality program relying on frequently-updated data files should be able to download and update 'em in the background if connected, or connect on schedule.

<aside>
That site sure pushes a lot of Sept. 2037 cookies atcha...
</aside>

Frank

[JWM]

yeah, it doesn't update automagically, but then it hasn't frozen my computer or hosed up my registry either, so I might just go ahead and pay for it when the trial period is up

I've gone for years without AV software, because I hated the intrusiveness of macafee and norton. They've both done *bad* things to previous systems. I installed myEtrust with no small amount of concern, but so far, it just sits in the tray and behaves itself.

I haven't tried to see if there's anyway to add the update to a startup group, but then I rarely reboot so that wouldn't help me much anyway.

jim

[Tatu]

Thank you for taking the time to recommend software. I tried LiveUpdate today and it actually worked! They must have worked the kinks out!! I'm still dealing with the nasty hoof print McAffee left behind so the last thing I want is to have to deal with an additional mess from Norton. Otherwise, I'd be all over EZ Armour.

[Rich]

re: EZ Anti-virus auto-updates

Yes, this is automatic, but only in the paid version. The trial version requires you to manually update the data.

Rich