Vista - Eset Smart Security 4 or Norton 360 3.0?

Its time for me to renew my antivirus and im stuck deciding between these two. I want want something with minimal system impact but still does a good job keeping my computer safe. Eset seems like a solid choice, but I 've also read a lot of good things about the new norton 360 3.0. A lot of bad things too, but im really wondering if these are just people who hate norton and havent tried the latest version or if theyve actually compared the two. I would agree that the past nortons sucked also. I used to have it a couple years ago and switched because it slowed my computer down. Some articles say its a little better than eset but I just dont know what to believe. Norton is 10 bucks cheaper. Right now Im running Vista 64 but i plan on upgrading to 7. I also game on my PC so having low impact on performance is important. Im also going to use it on a build for my mom, who is a complete computer novice, so I suppose simplicity is somewhat important as well. Any suggestions would be helpful.

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Hi,

I m on Norton 360 3.0. Non-intrusive, pulse-updates and pretty much keeps the nasties out (for now).

thanks. im leaning towards it

Norton. Eset is lightweight but the detection rates arn't as good. Just bought Norton 360 v3.0 myself.

I'd suggest AVG, it's free. I run a Norton AV server at work, and I would never recommend anyone who isn't on a domain to install any of Norton's crap on their computer.

AVG may be free but it doesn't scan for rootkits or provide anything other other than basic protection. Running Norton on a domain and at home are entirely different.

Your argument is easily open for interpretation. Do you have volcano insurance on your home? I'd say running Norton is like having your children positioned on the roof with sniper riffles while you throw molotov cocktails out the windows at your neighbors for being too loud. You'd be surprised what little virus protection you need when you don't aimlessly download the entire internet. The five computers in my house do just fine with a Spybot and AVG.

If you're paranoid about rootkits, the free version of Avast! has you covered.

Also ClamWin is worth looking into.

I like it!!

Yes & no. Our general advice so often has to be generic. There are a lot of newbies coming on who just don't realise what they are clicking on & downloading. They must have some sort of protection me thinks.

You're right, some people do need to have more protection because they are unaware that a healthy percent of the infections are lack of judgement based on the user. Here's an interesting bit from download squad that made me chuckle

Symantec's Hall says free antivirus is for chumps

The bottom line, no single program is going to protect you from everything. Norton is simply way too invasive for me to suggest to anyone. If you could get basic coverage insurance on your car for free, or pay every month for additional stuff such as rental reimbursement, towing, etc... then there are those who will pay more for peace of mind, and those who are content with taking a little risk. Security Software is nothing but insurance. If you think it protects you, well then there should be a positive result popping up sometime soon for you.