Norton computer product range

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Over the years, on different websites, I have seen the products produced by this company decried in postings. Can I ask the question.."Do these products actually work and perform tasks?"

Has that company ever been subject to litigation for fraudulant trading?

 

[Crithylum]

To use a railway analogy, it is like purchasing an anytime single months in advance when you are 99% sure you will travel off peak. It does what it says, but it isn’t necessary for most people. It is often said that the most effective antivirus is the blob of meat behind the keyboard.

 

[SargeNpton]

I have been using Norton products since the days of MS-DOS. Really handy when you accidentally deleted a file!

These days though there is an increasing demand by them on your computer's resources, especially at startup. Also an infuriating tendency for the version you have to offer to resolve a problem, but only at the expense of subscribing to yet another feature.

 

[D365]

Despite Windows 11 (the current version of the Microsoft operating system) being much maligned by computer users across all demographics, a built-in anti-virus and anti-malware known as ”Windows Defender” has been included by default since Windows 7 was first released in ~2009. It is sufficient for most/all home PC users.

There simply isn’t the need for a home user to subscribe to a third-party anti-virus / anti-malware solution unless they have a drastic need for specialist functions e.g. file recovery.

 

[ainsworth74]

Agree with @D365 most home users (and in fact many business users!) don't need anything other than Microsoft Defender. It used to be the case that third-party software was necessary and it may, in some circumstances, still be useful. I personally used Kaspersky but ditched them eventually through a mixture of concern regarding being a Russian company and the cost being hard to justify when Defender is good enough. But I wouldn't go back to a paid for solution now as Defender is absolutely up to the task.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If the Windows 11 machine is using O365 with the cloud back up, it will be possible to recover any deleted files for up to 30 days from deletion anyway - although the O365 cloud is an annual subscription in itself...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If the Windows 11 machine is using O365 with the cloud back up, it will be possible to recover any deleted files for up to 30 days from deletion anyway - although the O365 cloud is an annual subscription in itself...

How many products of the Microsoft product range are now subscription based?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

How many products of the Microsoft product range are now subscription based?

No idea, sorry - but I'd imagine most of them?

 

[ainsworth74]

How many products of the Microsoft product range are now subscription based?

I believe basically everything is now subscription based apart from Windows 11 and a few of the Office products (primarily Word and Excel) which are still available as a one off purchase. Though I reckon it won't be long before they try and fully depreciate one-off licences for Office and rely entirely on the 365 subscription model. I think they might struggle a bit more to make Windows itself a subscription based service but I wouldn't rule it out...

 

[172007]

What puzzles me with the comments rhat Windows Defender is fine for home PC's is thst if this is the case how come Virus / Malware developers have not given up?

 

[gazthomas]

What puzzles me with the comments rhat Windows Defender is fine for home PC's is thst if this is the case how come Virus / Malware developers have not given up?

As there is still opportunity to be l had by finding a vulnerability and then exploiting this before the issuesl is resolved which could be weeks or months. It's a classic game of cat and mouse

 

[Acathater]

What puzzles me with the comments rhat Windows Defender is fine for home PC's is thst if this is the case how come Virus / Malware developers have not given up?

Because people are stupid enough to buy it.

 

[Crossover]

I believe basically everything is now subscription based apart from Windows 11 and a few of the Office products (primarily Word and Excel) which are still available as a one off purchase. Though I reckon it won't be long before they try and fully depreciate one-off licences for Office and rely entirely on the 365 subscription model. I think they might struggle a bit more to make Windows itself a subscription based service but I wouldn't rule it out...

In a way, Windows can be semi-subscription. Ours is at work in so much as it upgrades one version to another slightly "better" version as part of our 365 package!

 

[JohnMcL7]

What puzzles me with the comments rhat Windows Defender is fine for home PC's is thst if this is the case how come Virus / Malware developers have not given up?

The simple answer there's far more users in the world than those running Windows 11 with up to date Defender. Back in the Windows XP days and before there was basically no security by default, XP would let you set yourself as an administrator so anything could run on the PC and do whatever it wanted with no user confirmation so it was possible for PCs directly online to be infected just by going on the internet. In those days, a very good antivirus package was absolutely essential to protect the PC.

Thankfully these days it's very different, the Windows security model was completely overhauled with Vista and there's been significant improvements in browsers and other systems which drastically reduce the risk to home PCs. The risk these days to home PCs is scammers trying to trick people into running commands on their PC which technically isn't malware but can still have damaging effects or users installing software which isn't quite a virus but they likely don't realise what they're installing. In the XP days cleaning up PCs for users and friends/family was pretty much a weekly task to the point I used to know exactly every genuine process, its patch etc. to spot malware whereas now I can't remember the last time I needed to clean up a home PC

Since home users aren't the easy target they used to be and less likely to pay up, attackers often go for much bigger targets with companies often having poor security and worth a lot more money. With the world being much more connected than it used to be there's often systems available to the internet that absolutely should not be and are ripe for exploitation by hackers. There are still Windows systems that are viable targets but there's also much more now for malware developers to exploit, ESXi servers, firewalls on the internet, webservers etc.

 

[styles]

They're certainly better at detection than they used to be, with reasonably low false-positive rates also: https://av-comparatives.org/comparison/

But I've always considered it 'bloatware'. The memory, CPU, and disk I/O used by Norton used to be wild, and I assume it still is.

I've been asked to fix loads of slow computers over the years and replacing Norton and McAfee have always been high on the list. They also have historically made it notoriously difficult to fully remove their software. To the point that they even make their own Norton Removal Tool for when the normal uninstaller inevitably fails to properly clean up!

 

[172007]

The simple answer there's far more users in the world than those running Windows 11 with up to date Defender. Back in the Windows XP days and before there was basically no security by default, XP would let you set yourself as an administrator so anything could run on the PC and do whatever it wanted with no user confirmation so it was possible for PCs directly online to be infected just by going on the internet. In those days, a very good antivirus package was absolutely essential to protect the PC.

Thankfully these days it's very different, the Windows security model was completely overhauled with Vista and there's been significant improvements in browsers and other systems which drastically reduce the risk to home PCs. The risk these days to home PCs is scammers trying to trick people into running commands on their PC which technically isn't malware but can still have damaging effects or users installing software which isn't quite a virus but they likely don't realise what they're installing. In the XP days cleaning up PCs for users and friends/family was pretty much a weekly task to the point I used to know exactly every genuine process, its patch etc. to spot malware whereas now I can't remember the last time I needed to clean up a home PC

Since home users aren't the easy target they used to be and less likely to pay up, attackers often go for much bigger targets with companies often having poor security and worth a lot more money. With the world being much more connected than it used to be there's often systems available to the internet that absolutely should not be and are ripe for exploitation by hackers. There are still Windows systems that are viable targets but there's also much more now for malware developers to exploit, ESXi servers, firewalls on the internet, webservers etc.

Thank you for the comprehensive answer that makes complete sense to me. I now se why most only use windows defender.

 

[Bantamzen]

They're certainly better at detection than they used to be, with reasonably low false-positive rates also: https://av-comparatives.org/comparison/

But I've always considered it 'bloatware'. The memory, CPU, and disk I/O used by Norton used to be wild, and I assume it still is.

I've been asked to fix loads of slow computers over the years and replacing Norton and McAfee have always been high on the list. They also have historically made it notoriously difficult to fully remove their software. To the point that they even make their own Norton Removal Tool for when the normal uninstaller inevitably fails to properly clean up!

Yep, been there, got the t-shirt....

And for the most part third party solutions are little more than annoying bloatware, especially on older machines, so into the bin they went. Defender is probably as good as it's ever been these days, and is more than adequate for the average home user. What's more difficult is preventing instances of PICNIC* issues such as clicking on that dodgy, rage baitey link on social media platforms....

(*Problem In Chair Not In Computer)

 

[styles]

Yep, been there, got the t-shirt....

And for the most part third party solutions are little more than annoying bloatware, especially on older machines, so into the bin they went. Defender is probably as good as it's ever been these days, and is more than adequate for the average home user. What's more difficult is preventing instances of PICNIC* issues such as clicking on that dodgy, rage baitey link on social media platforms....

(*Problem In Chair Not In Computer)

Aye Windows' built-in scanner is actually very good these days. If I were to recommend a standalone scanner it would probably be ESET, but for most people I don't think it's really necessary. The best way of avoiding malware remains being educated and vigilant.

 

[ainsworth74]

In a way, Windows can be semi-subscription. Ours is at work in so much as it upgrades one version to another slightly "better" version as part of our 365 package!

Yes that's true. In the commercial world Microsoft really has started to get everyone moving towards a subscription model for almost everything from operating system to office software and everything else besides (the amount of junk our basic 365 licences have is barmy!). I think in the domestic market though the default, for now, tends to be you buy Windows (or more accurately the laptop/computer comes with Windows) and that's that. I'm not sure I see Microsoft transitioning the domestic market to a subscription model for their OS in quite the same way as they are doing in the commercial world.

 

[styles]

Yep, been there, got the t-shirt....

And for the most part third party solutions are little more than annoying bloatware, especially on older machines, so into the bin they went. Defender is probably as good as it's ever been these days, and is more than adequate for the average home user. What's more difficult is preventing instances of PICNIC* issues such as clicking on that dodgy, rage baitey link on social media platforms....

(*Problem In Chair Not In Computer)

Aye Windows' built-in scanner is actually very good these days. If I were to recommend a standalone scanner it would probably be ESET, but for most people I don't think it's really necessary. The best way of avoiding malware remains being educated and vigilant.