Norton 360 5 Vs. Avast Internet Security 6

[Tweety.Abd]

I'm stuck in between deciding whether to use Avast or Norton. I used both Avast & Norton, but I have no idea which one's better. For me, both of them are pretty much same, more or less. I'd like to know which one's better as in terms of:

• Utilization of system resources
• Virus Detection Abilities
• Virus Removal Abilities
• Virus Blocking Abilities
• Spyware Blocking Abilities
• Spyware Removal Abilities
• Spyware Detection Abilities
• Easy to use & formidable Firewall
• IPS/IDS System
• HIPS/Behavioral Detection
• Heuristic Abilities

I've read lot of reviews, test reports of various labs, but most of them present almost different results. I'm not sure why, but I'd like to know about your opinion on what you think - which one's better?

Note: Please do not base your opinion on test reports/reviews etc. Only those who have experienced Norton and/or Avast products.

Regards,

Tag

[majithia23]

i used both , Norton AV and Avast AV.... ( Norton 360 is said to be a bloat ware ,never used it ... i just read it somewhere .dont know for sure ... )

and as good as i know i ll try answer your query ...

• Utilization of system resources--- Avast
• Virus Detection Abilities--- Norton
• Virus Removal Abilities--- Norton
• Virus Blocking Abilities--- detection and removal cover virus blocking abilities . or do you refer to some thing / some other parameter .
• Spyware Detection Abilities , Spyware Blocking Abilities ,, Spyware Removal Abilities ---- Dont know which one is better , never felt the need or encountered any real spyware ... but in what little i did see , both Avast and Norton were able to detect and block the spyware changes
• Easy to use & formidable Firewall -- Avast . too configurable . Norton is intelligently automated .
• IPS/IDS System , HIPS/Behavioral Detection -- -- truly , none are a good or a true Hips agent m but Avast , found it a bit better , probably because of its new changes in the new version, sand boxing and behavior analysis .
• Heuristic Abilities --- Nod 32 is the best in terms of Heuristics . among these two ,Avast has evolved better than Norton .

( ps -- why dont you check your system set up here in this link in the forums ---Test Your computers security setup . and see how the set up reacts to ,,and pops up the most alerts , or doesnt .... ... ;) )

[DKT27]

Staff Note: Moved to Security and Privacy Chat. :)

[ESET Freak]

Just use Norton. Trust me, you won't look back! I haven't got an infection since then, and I don't really agree that Nod32 has the best heuristics. I've tried Kaspersky, Nod32 and AVIRA, and Norton's SONAR at aggressive level blows all of them out of the water, but you may get a few false-positives though.

[Tweety.Abd]

Just use Norton. Trust me, you won't look back! I haven't got an infection since then, and I don't really agree that Nod32 has the best heuristics. I've tried Kaspersky, Nod32 and AVIRA, and Norton's SONAR at aggressive level blows all of them out of the water, but you may get a few false-positives though.

I agree with you. I've used almost all the major security suites, since the last 3 years, and from my experience, I have to say N360 5 is pretty good. But I were unsure about Avast and others, that's the reason I initiated this thread.

[neeraj]

I too think that norton 360 is a total bloatware. you wont ever use(wont ever need to use) most of the features. just go with the antivirus or internet security. I have been using NIS for 3 years now and every year it is getting better and i never got disappointed by norton. Never had to face any trouble coz of viruses or other malware.

[morteza]

Norton 360 V5 is great application and it is more powerful than NIS and other security software. I've tested Norton 360 V5 with NIS and I have saw Norton 360 V5's sonar is more powerful than NIS.NIS has missed one sample.

I think Norton 360 V5 with aggressive option is more powerful than other security software. ^_^

[mark7thh]

I got away from Norton for years after it would tax systems so heavily and actually cause crashes itself. I then found avast! a few years back and fell in love with it. Just recently though I found that Norton 360 V5.0 (the only version I will purchase because the so called bloat is worth it) found a virus that sent the user to a site and printed out 3 pages to remove the virus as it had to be done manually via Norton. I went to his home, installed Avast, and without even updating, it found the virus and instantly removed it on it's own. It really made Norton look sad.

Currently I am running Norton but I do install Avast on systems where people can't afford more expensive solutions with an absolutely clear conscience.

Basically they both have their strong points but you do get more with Norton.

[RadioActive]

You can NOT compare those 2 products, they are too different.

[kmr1684]

always everyone says comparing apple with oranges :rofl:

[Tweety.Abd]

You can NOT compare those 2 products, they are too different.

But their purpose are the same - protection of system against malware and on that basis I framed my question. Which one's better in protecting the system against malware.

[Maxhedroom]

I'm a bit off topic but do have a point about 360 v5. In 2 months my NIS 2012 120 day key expires. As a Comcast customer I get 'Norton Security Suite'...same as 360 v5 without the online storage and no support from Symantec...must ask CC if I have probs. Anyway, so far so good. I was a little worried about some bloating from the 360 features so I went through and disabled everything that wasn't the same as NIS 2012. This worked well...out of the 5 categories on the 360 launch page, 3 of them were grayed out. So I'm still bee-boppin' along fairly happy with my free new 'NIS'ized version of Comcast's NSS ver 5....N360 v5's skinny twin brother'. Time to set up my usual scan schedules for all my drives right??

Wrong. The only thing you can schedule is the stupid little maintenance options like empty IE temp files and crap like that. Therefor I'd recommend Avast if you can schedule custom scans. Yes....I'm THAT annoyed! :fist:

[Shadowx]

I would like to choose avast.. it lightweight and also strong virus detection.. ;)

[davidyxw]

Norton 360 V5V5V5........ :showoff:

[tipo]

norton is way better in detection, removing etc..it is a little heavier than avast but it does it`s job. i`m sick and tired of helping my friends(avast users) who tell me that their computers are acting strange. i use hitman pro and mbam to do some scans and find the pcs bloated with malware (active in the memory, registry, folders created in C drive).avast runs smoothly alongside with them not detecting a single one piece of malware. use norton! boo avast! hope i`m not going to start an argue with the avast lovers over here... hehe!

[sasha007]

Norton is d best in d world when it comes to security suites . Avast is just a kid :lol:

[calguyhunk]

If you can deal with the slower scan speeds of MSE, there is hardly any need to spend a dime on security suites. In my 17/18 years of using a PC, I've only once been a virus victim and guess what? I was a newbie and using a crappy "Paid for" product. Nothing that a re-install didn't fix though :)

Between AVG, Avira, Avast and MSE, I've never ever had to worry since then. A rouge adware once was taken care of by Combo-fix.

That would be my call, MSE/Avast with Win Firewall/Comodo and AVG rescue+Combo-fix on a USB stick. You'll be good to go.

All this, assuming the user has a basic understanding of how 'the PC thing' works. Otherwise the not-so-friendly neighborhood computer guy is at hand to charge you $200 for absolutely nothing :o

EDIT: If one indeed wants to pay for somethiing to make him/her feel safer, then KIS 2012 is the way to go IMO. Here, in India a 3-PC 1 Year license costs 'bout $18. No, it's not a typo. - Link

[darko999]

360 if you get infected often, Avast if you just surf to check facebook.