Why norton antivirus is bad

However, Norton is a very good Antivirus, the differences in efficiency are marginal, but there are arguments, among the Gaming Fraternity, as to the amount it slows down your PC. I doubt that the rest of us would notice. I think youre mixing it up, it was BAD years ago, but its quite good now, and by data breach, you mean the allegations of kaspersky spying on you?

Norton is actually very light, Kaspersky and Bitdefender slows down my computer far more and uses more resources. I think youre mixing it up, it was BAD years ago, but its quite good now, and by data breach, you mean the allegations of them spying on you? Huh, that's odd. I remember some people saying it was good ages ago on Reddit and only recently has it been getting lazy on the antivirus situation.

As for the data breach, I remember seeing something about Kaspersky being compromised a year or so back and that the FBI had something to do with it not exactly sure how. Take everything on Reddit with a grain of salt, its pretty biased and its full of people with all kinds of opinions. And I think it is the allegations of kaspersky spying on you that youre talking about, all it is is US propaganda amid paranoia and growing tensions between the US and Russia, heres what happened:.

The user had enabled the Kaspersky Security Network KSN features of the software, so the files were automatically uploaded to Kaspersky as a malware sample to KSN for analysis, under the assumption that it was a new malware variant. Eugene Kaspersky stated that he ordered that the sample be destroyed. Kaspersky claimed that the antivirus software had been temporarily disabled by the PC's user in order to install a pirated copy of Microsoft Office. When the software was re-enabled, it detected both the Equation Group code, as well as unrelated backdoor infections created by a keygen program for Office, which may have facilitated third-party access to the computer.

Search for "Best Antivirus" and you'll, at the very least, get a list of the options. Even Windows Defender is now up there with the best, well, nearly. I launch each suspected fraud in a browser protected by the product I'm testing, and simultaneously in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer, using just the phishing protection built into each browser.

I discard any page that doesn't load correctly in all four browsers, and I verify that each page is a true phishing fraud, a fake version of a secure site that actively attempts to capture login credentials. This type of warning notes that while the page has no known threats, it asks for personal information, and it has suspicious characteristics.

I tested phishing protection in Norton Deluxe for Mac at the same time I tested this product, using the same sample set. For a much deeper dive into the phishing threat, you can read my piece on how to avoid phishing scams. Norton encourages you to install the Norton toolbar with Norton Safe Web in all your browsers. That means when you search using any popular portal, you'll find green, yellow, red, or gray icons next to the links in search results.

As you might guess, these identify safe, iffy, dangerous, and unknown URLs. You can point to an icon for a popup with more detail, and click the popup for a full report on the link. The web markup system also applies to links in Twitter and Facebook feeds, and in web-based email. Norton doesn't clutter your feeds with icons, but it highlights any dangerous links in red. Pointing at a highlighted link triggers a popup warning. When Norton warns you not to visit a website, it doesn't lay down the law.

You can still thumb your nose at your protector and click through to the dangerous page. When you do, Norton offers to let you visit in Isolation Mode. In this mode, the page gets rendered on Norton's server, stripped of any dangerous content, and presented to you in a totally harmless form.

It also prevents you from submitting sensitive information to the dangerous page. Online Banking Protection is another benefit. When you visit a supported financial site, Norton opens it in Isolation mode, for safety.

I found that using this feature tends to trigger bank security measures, because it looks like you're logging in from a computer you never used before. Brush up on your security answers, as you may need them. Note that use of this mode costs Norton a little money toward the servers that it uses. For that reason, you can't just switch into Isolation Mode and stay there. Quite a few security products protect against ransomware by preventing all unauthorized programs from modifying protected documents.

Panda goes farther, even preventing unauthorized read-only access. Norton's Data Protector feature prevents malicious programs from modifying documents in specified directories. That's an important distinction. The more common protection against all unauthorized programs means you may have to add a new video editor or word processor to the trusted list. Norton leaves them alone, because they're not malicious.

It didn't react to my unauthorized tiny text editor or to my file-encrypting test program. To put Data Protector to the test, I had to use real file-encrypting ransomware. Norton's real-time protection eliminated all those samples on sight, so I turned off ordinary real-time protection, copied the samples back to the test system, and launched them one by one.

The results were better than when I last torture-tested this feature. Data Protector detected suspicious behaviors for all the remaining For five of those, Norton quashed the ransomware before it could do any damage. Another three managed to encrypt up to 50 files before being caught; a look at those files revealed that they were in locations not protected by Norton.

Oh, it stopped specific behaviors over and over, but it never terminated the ransomware process itself. During the time I let the samples run, one encrypted 5, files and another encrypted 12, Remember, this test takes place with all normal real-time protection turned off. Data Protector normally works alongside other protective layers.

The fact that it detected suspicious behavior by all the samples is impressive. Most security companies reserve firewall protection for their suite products, but Norton doesn't follow that path. This antivirus includes a full-scale firewall, which both protects against outside attacks and prevents misuse of your internet connection by local programs.

As expected, the firewall correctly stealthed all ports and fended off port scans and other web-based attacks. Given that the built-in Windows Firewall completely handles this task, testing with web-based attacks only becomes relevant when a third-party firewall doesn't pass the test.

When personal firewall utilities first came on the scene, they totally relied on the user to decide whether a given program should get the privilege of connecting to the network. Typically, they'd bombard the poor user with queries involving too much detail. Should ImaHogg. Some users just clicked Allow every time. Others clicked Block every time, until doing so broke something important—then they switched to clicking Allow every time.

Relying on the uninformed user for these important security decisions isn't smart. Instead, Norton uses a huge online database to configure network permissions for a vast number of known good programs. Of course, known bad programs get quarantined on sight. As for unknowns, programs that don't fit either category, Norton's behavior-based detection system puts them under heightened scrutiny.

If it finds that the unknown program is misusing its network connection or otherwise misbehaving, it tosses the program in quarantine, where it belongs. Webroot likewise puts unknown programs under enhanced scrutiny, but it also journals all actions by the program and rolls back those actions if the program proves to be a stinker.

The firewall component in Kaspersky Security Cloud also handles program control internally, but it uses a somewhat different system. Its online database assigns a trust level to each program and restricts system access for those programs that aren't fully trusted—the lower the trust, the higher the restrictions. Firewall protection, and security suite protection in general, isn't much use if a malicious program can turn it off or kill it.

I always run a simple sanity check, trying various methods to shut down protection using techniques available to a malware coder. Norton doesn't expose important settings in the Registry, so I couldn't just find the protection switch and change On to Off.

I got an Access Denied message when I tried to terminate Norton's three processes. Cancel Submit. Previous Next. SpiritX Volunteer Moderator. Hi, Norton just is too bloated and causes too many issues and unfortunately it is not alone in that department. Here is what I use and recommend : These are all Free versions and very effective. Avast and Prevx have proven extremely reliable and compatible with everything I have thrown at them. Microsoft Security Essentials and Prevx have also proven to be very reliable and compatible.

Double Click Blue icon - details next to OK. If you ever suspect malware, and that would be unsual with Avast and Prevx running except for an occasional low level cookie no big deal , UPDATE it and then run it as a scanner. I have many scanners and they never find anything of note since I started using this setup. I find this reprehensible. The policy is unacceptably rigid, costing people who undergo situational changes outside of Norton's preferred schedule hundreds of dollars.

The automated system's intentional hindrance with connection to a person, the company's policy, and the supervisor's treatment of me as a customer are unethical and disrespectful. I used to recommend Norton to friends or family looking for computer protection Since being a member of Norton Identity protection, I have gained a real sense of identity protection while online and in my email usage, as well as on social media.

The price is very affordable and the customer service is very good. I would recommend Norton for anyone. Have been using Norton Internet Security for years with no problem.

Very satisfied with the security protection. Just renewed for another year. A few days later I wanted to remove my credit card number from my account like I had done in previous years, but found out that the only way to do this this time was to cancel my subscription. They are now holding my credit card hostage.

This is very unprofessional and not in my best interest. They just want to be able to charge my card any time they want to. Shame on you Norton. Norton keeps me safe while I browse the internet. It identifies malicious websites and also risky email and websites. With the VPN, I know I am safe while browsing the internet and none of my private information is exposed on the internet. I completely trust Norton and am very comforted Knowing they are there for me.

It is well worth the cost. Live agent Save Saved. Get Pricing. About Norton. Overall Satisfaction Rating 5 stars. Pros ID theft protection on select plans Virus protection promise Affordable plans Cons Covers limited number of devices.

Bottom Line Norton offers comprehensive digital protection services, from malware to ID theft protection, for one monthly price.

How do I know I can trust these reviews about Norton?