Best Virus Protection For Chromebook (2024 Updated)

I have been using the latest version 2022 of Norton 360 Platinum edition for about a week now on multiple Windows, Android and iOS devices and it is better than I have expected. Many years ago I had less than positive experience with the old Symantec Norton antivirus products that would bog down even the most powerful systems, but not this version.

One of the Windows desktops I installed it on first is nearly 7-years old and did not take a performance hit with Norton 360 Platinum running on it. The installation was fairly straight forward, I had to create an account, download the installer that detected the antivirus and antimalware software I had running and asked to uninstall them.

Once that was done and rebooted, the Norton360 installer automatically started and completed the installation of the new products. It then downloaded and installed a Live Update patch, another reboot and offered to install a number of web browser extensions for safeweb browsing, safe search and password manager.

Norton 360 Platinum is much more than just an antivirus/malware protection product, it’s a complete suite of cybersecurity protection. I’ve enabled most features such as: 1. Device Security that protects against viruses, spyware, malware, ransomware 2.

Dark Web Monitoring for PII data 3. Privacy Monitor that helps you opt out of people search sites 4. Parental Control to protect your children from unwanted on-line content 5. Password Manager where you can securely store your passwords in an encrypted cloud vault 6.

Cloud Backup, 100 GB included to securely backup important PC data and settings 7. Smart firewall, monitors and blocks unauthorized network traffic 8. Secure VPN network connection I toggled the VPN connection on and off and ran a number of tests.

As expected, when the VPN connection is on, your download/upload speeds will decrease considerably if you have a Gigabit fiber connection like I do. For example I get about 900Mbps downloads and 500Mbps uploads on my wired devices.

With the Norton 360 VPN enabled I only got about 150 Mbps down and 50 Mbps upload speeds. That is a considerable drop even when picking the United States as the country of origin. It would be nice if this information was part of the documentation of the VPN specs, and if it varies from country to country, so people know what to expect.

There are a few other settings I hope I can tweak, along the lines of Norton pop-ups and offers to enable additional features/protection, whether they are included for free or not, I generally don’t like any pop-ups.

All in all, Norton 360 Platinum is a comprehensive cybersecurity product that offers multiple layers of protection for 20 devices of the most popular consumer operating systems – Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS.

I am a bit conflicted with the Norton 360 Platinum protection suite, while it has the familiar Norton Anti-virus interface buried deep into the product it often feels like the product won’t leave you alone.

I’ve used other anti-virus suites and Norton has to be the most chatty of them all, especially soon after you install it. Reminding you to use the included VPN (more on that later), the Dark Web Monitoring, Cloud Backup, Password Manager and various browser integrations.

Somewhere you can reduce the amount of prompts, popups and other items via some changes in settings, but the default configuration is just chatty. Lets start with the Device Security, where you can scan your hard drives, removable drives, force updates of virus definitions manually (this happens in the background automatically) and review security logs.

Internet Security which monitors your Internet activity for various threats. Backup, which can backup your PC and important data to the cloud (the version I have provides 100GB of storage) however you need to smartly configure what is backs up as if you have a large amount of picture or videos on your computer you will receive messages that your backup failed due to cloud storage constraints.

Granted you can only configure this if you have administrative rights on your PC, that level of access is also needed to make any real configuration changes with the Norton setup. As part of standard best security practices, you should use an account on your PC that has plain user rights and only use a full administrator account for configuring changes to your applications or PC.

Performance, again you need full administrative right to Optimize the disk, you can do a limited file cleanup which only cleans up your browser cache (note to Norton, Internet Explorer is history, need to update the verbiage) and Windows Temporary files that are under your user profile.

Startup manager requires Administrative privileges but will allow you to configure the startup behavior of your PC. Graphs will provide you a chart of activities Norton performed and when. Any of the actions that require Administrator privileges should really prompt you to enter elevated credentials instead of just saying Access Denied.

Dark web monitoring is part of Norton Life Lock service and can be configured to monitor dark web activity with any of your personal information, such as address and email addresses as well as other Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Phone Numbers, Drivers License, Mothers maiden name and Gamer tag.

Now this is great service if you are comfortable with providing all this information in one place and with Norton (what if they get breached?). All of this opens a browser and is not integrated into the Norton Interface itself.

Secure VPN – most security suites offer VPN access which can help secure some of your information and web surfing activities. Most VPN connections actually slow your connection down from your PC or Mobile device as all you internet traffic through a setup of servers.

Norton’s implementation does not use Open VPN, but IPSEC instead – from a performance perspective this is good, but it practices seemed to make my connection a bit buggy. Also, it assumes you only want to use a VPN when connected to unknown or public networks, not your home Wi-Fi if it is password protected.

This behavior also occurs with the mobile device VPN in addition to cellular networks, again in practice the VPN seemed a bit flaky when I installed in on my iOS device. There are also reasons for masking your traffic and sites you visit when using your Internet Services Provider (ISP) or mobile phone carrier since some internet providers monitor your Internet traffic and sell or otherwise use this info and/or feed it to third parties.

Thus I prefer to keep my VPN all the time. If you plan to use their VPN, you can only specify a country, not a specific city. Their VPN servers are well known, and most content providers will be able to detect that you are using a VPN (in case you were going to try to spoof Netflix or another service but connecting to a different country).

Password Manager – useful for some, annoying for me. Parental Controls – useful for those with young offspring, again opens a browser to configure instead of doing it within the app. Pros: – Good performance, not a huge resource hog – Fairly high rated as it catches a majority of threats – Fairly configurable if you have Administrator rights, logging into an elevated account to do that is annoying.

– Cloud storage (100GB) with my subscription level (Platinum) – VPN included, albeit not the best in class – Software Firewall included and mostly configure itself Cons: – VPN automatic configuration seems a bit overbearing and the connection sometimes varies in speed and connectivity.

– The product out of the box is too chatty, need to change items (admin access required) to quiet it down. – Antitrack is not included in Deluxe. – VPN is only configurable by country, not a specific city within one, most services seem to be within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.

– Limited amount of VPN servers worldwide.

I’ve been using various flavors of Norton 360 for over a decade and have been using Norton products in general since the early ‘90s. I began with Norton Utilities and Norton Antivirus for DOS and Windows 3.

1 and began using Norton Internet Security when it was introduced years later. Just sharing this to point out that after three decades, I’m more than a little familiar with Norton products. I stopped using Norton around the turn of the century and experimented with numerous other AV and Internet security apps before ultimately returning to Norton.

I stopped using Norton originally because it simply got too bloated and resource hungry. I returned after Symantec replaced the bloated version with a lean, lightweight, resource friendly version. This current iteration lies somewhere in between.

It’s not as lightweight and resource friendly as it was several years ago but it’s not as bloated and laggy as it was around the early 2000’s. Like nearly every other commercial app out there, Norton is now subscription-based with annual renewals.

The program requires a product key and a Norton account for activation and use. When activated through the Norton account, it requires a payment method and automatic renewals are enabled by default. Renewals tend to be pricier than simply buying a new retail license, so I usually disable renewal immediately after activating.

Norton usually sweetens the pot by offering a few extra months if you keep auto-renewal active. Performance wise, I have never experienced a malware or virus infection while using Norton. The realtime protection is fantastic at detecting and preventing malicious files and apps from running and Norton Insight is helpful for those questionable borderline apps that I’m not familiar with.

Other features include no-log VPN and dark web monitoring. The VPN is super easy to use, even for total PC novices. Although most home and ISP routers now typically offer SPI firewall capabilities, Norton provides an excellent first, or second layer of defense in case anything sneaks through.

It also provides robust application control, which many hardware firewalls typically don’t offer. Norton security is excellent and provides a good measure of safety but some degree of common sense is still required.

Risky behaviors like frequently using P2P to exchange or download files from strangers, visiting dangerous sketchy websites, sharing removable media like flash drives among multiple foreign systems and exhibiting other reckless behavior will likely result in an eventual malware incursion regardless of the security software being used.

Norton utilities is useful in some regards but aside from general housekeeping, largely unnecessary. Registry cleaners have always been questionable at best. Most systems don’t need registry cleaning and if any critical registry keys are accidentally removed, it can completely wreck a system and require a full Windows reinstall.

File cleanup can be accomplished for free using native windows utilities. High resource startup programs can be manually disabled in task manager. Defrag may be useful on systems still using mechanical drives but again, is a feature available natively in Windows.

Modern SSDs don’t require defragging and TRIM, the SSD equivalent, is usually enabled in Windows by default. So, in a nutshell, non-technical users may find some benefit in Norton Utilities but anyone comfortable and savvy enough to use native Windows utilities can accomplish most of the same results without a third-party app.

Norton has traditionally been resource friendly with Windows 7, 8 and 10 in the past decade. However, it seems to be a little more resource greedy lately on Windows 11. It caused a noticeable hit to frame rates on my gaming PC.

I tried enabling silent mode but it didn’t result in much improvement. I eventually uninstalled Norton since I only game on the PC and don’t even browse the web on it. I also had an issue where Norton kept blocking Teredo for one of my games which prevented me from playing online.

Nothing I tried could fix it other than completely uninstalling Norton. Norton Utilities was also unable to help resolve the issue. So far, I’ve been mostly satisfied with Norton 360. The anti-malware and Internet security are both top notch, although a little resource hungry.

The Teredo issue was quite annoying and I think I’ll skip the mostly unnecessary utilities on the next go-round. It’s ironic that the very utilities that initially introduced me to Norton three decades ago are basically unnecessary these days thanks to OS advancements and native utilities.

I’ve been using Webroot with NO problems for during the days when Webroot’s original creator/developer still ran and owned Webroot. When he sold Webroot, over the years going forward, I’ve been developing concern about Webroot because of the growing number of negative reviews of folks obviously having viruses and malware but Webroot didn’t detect them.

After using Webroot for decades, last year I decided to try McAfee and ended my Webroot. McAfee was so awful and so intrusive. It was this whole household’s computers that McAfee created so much frustration with our computer experience; slow start up, too many updated and reminder messages even when disabled, and in short, everyone’s computer experience (desktops, laptops) got too frustrating and slow that I went back to Webroot after seeing more positive reviews.

I’m keeping tabs on Webroot’s reviews, online and on Google Play, in case there are still, or more comments about viruses, malware, etc. , that are not being detected, and if I have to switch from Webroot again, pick the ones with the most 5-start reviews.

Because Webroot hasn’t been intrustive with our computer experience, that is what led me to “suspect” if it’s catching anything. I haven’t had any security problems with viruses, etc. , which is great, but as long as our computers and devices ARE protected that’s great, just that it’s a little scary to think that, according to the reviews, what if Webroot is not catching something.

Meanwhile, it appears to be all good, still, so unless something negative happens that slips past my Webroot, I’m staying with Webroot! I must say though, decades ago, Webroot had an AWESOME software called “Window Washer” which can really clean up your computer and leave no traces behind.

Then, I believe in the early 2000s, Webroot did away with that. THAT was heartbreaking. You guys would LOVE that. And that was extra security and peace of mind too. BRING IT BACK!! But that software which, if I remember correctly, was FREE, I think included with any of your Webroot security package.

But Window Washer was also from the original creator of Webroot, and whomever took over did away with it. It would be an awesome addition because it deletes a lot more and creates more space on your harddrive.

With many things going greatly out there, somehow someone always comes up with an idea to “fix” what is going awesomely only for the end result to be disappointing.

That being said once I made it through to the other side of their bungled up update process – the new & improved Webroot App is AWESOME & A JOY TO HAVE RUNNING on my cellphones & tablet! All of them run sooo much faster! I’ve been a Webroot customer since 08/2019 and after researching ALL THE REST I’ll STILL be a loyal Webroot customer through this change! I’m buying another 5 device 1 year subscription through their website today after I finish this review! Okay I’m going to try to list the update problems: 1.

I believe I had a problem with Sec code because I thought it was the old one under Webroot but now you will need to add Webroot to Microsoft Authenticator so you can complete the add. 2. The app says to follow the instructions from inside the app.

but mine never deleted the old app because Webroot is an admin app. I had to go to Settings, Apps, choose old Webroot which pop-up says this is an admin app blah blah blah. do you really want to delete? It makes you choose yes like 2 or 3 times at least mine did to get rid of it.

Once ALL of this was done it asks if you want Webroot’s internet protection? I LOVE THIS NEW VERSION OF THE INTERNET PROTECTION! Seamless & so invisible just remember to change you home page to this one so you’ll ALWAYS be safe while browsing!.

I was a Webroot Brand Ambassador for 8 years and I saw many cases where Webroot saved a customer’s machine. I called on Best Buys and became friends with most of the Geeks, who always recommended Webroot to customers because Weboot did not slow down a machine’s performance.

One lady brought her computer in because it would only run about 2 minutes until it crashed and had to be rebooted. It had a well know anti-virus in it which was expiring in a couple of days, so the Gook persuaded her to try Webroot and installed it.

Webroot found a page full of malware on the first scan that the famous brand had missed and removed it. On the first reboot the machine ran perfectly but the Geek ran the entire Geek Squad cleaning package on it which takes overnight.

There was no subsequent malware found and the Geek couldn’t wait to tell me and said it was the easiest cleaning he had ever done on a machine. After that, Webroot was the first thing he ran when cleaning a machine.

Webroot was already in the cleaning package but he moved it to the first step and it normally caught all the problems. Protection for a machine cannot get better than that. This is only one of many success stories.

Needless to say I did not have to sell Webroot because it sold itself. My stores never reached Webroot being 100% of protection software sales and installs but they all came close. It has been named the best in PC Magazine test on numerous occasions.

I got Mcafee back in college of 2017. My account had been inactive for quite some time as I no longer had the same laptop or ever renewed my subscription on other owned laptops. Today 1/29/2022. I wake up to a charge from them of $84.

99. I immediately called and the guy stated my account was renewed by them back in 2020. I did not authorize this renewal. upon checking my previous statements I see that I was charged $79. 99 in February of 2021 and $19.

99 in March of 2020. How I’ve missed these charges I do not know. My main issue however is since 2017 I’ve changed banks back in 2018 and even lost my bank card a few months back and had it replaced.

There is absolutely no way they should have my card information. If I didn’t personally renew my subscription, then it should’ve not been renewed automatically THREE YEARS LATER. I’ve received no notifications of upcoming charges or anything and did not authorize Mcafee to take my personal account information.

Different amounts have been charged since 2020 and on different months. The guy stated it was a yearly subscription. But what yearly subscription takes out on different months and not even notify customers before withdrawal, especially if price increases.

From $20 to $79. 99 to $84. 99!? But again, I got the Mcafee in 2017,even if it was set up on a yearly subscription, which I honestly don’t recall. It was inactive on the laptop because it broke that same year and I had changed banks since then, which in itself would’ve automatically canceled the subscription being they wouldn’t have been able to charge the previous card.

I would’ve personally called to cancel any subscription had I even remembered, which again is why companies send courtesy reminders to customers once the year is approaching. For them to steal my new banking information and renew and charge my account three years later in 2020 and continue to do so is a complete violation.

I wish I had noticed the withdrawal in 2020 because I would’ve had been called to correct the situation. They got $94. 99 from me for free considering it was still inactive on a broken laptop I no longer own.

Do not trust this company.

The software works well in terms of Anti-virus, shredder and the valuable Trukey password manager. Setting these up is pretty easy via the interface. Trukey is great in generating and saving passwords and notes for any average user.

However, the Firewall feature is mediocre and recently has been causing grief because if you choose to manually monitor the access of programs, the alert viewer (to grant program permission) hangs consistently and hogs your system memory forcing you to reboot your PC.

McAfee has not fixed the bug in last 4 months despite repeat complaints from users on Community centre. Also, you can’t email Customer Support directly to keep track or get tickets as they only provide Online chat/Community blogs and Phone call.

So, they basically want you to waste your time chatting with or calling them for an issue reported by multiple people already. The firewall program access list also lacks the feature of “searching” programs that’s been allowed/blocked by McAfee or the user.

You have to scroll the entire list to find your application and then click Edit buttons at the end to make any modifications to firewall access. For above-average users at the same price, I would recommend switching to Norton or other products without all these hassles and have similar features but not memory hogging bugs.

I have used McAfee virus protection for many years. I tried another software one time in the interim, and switched right back to McAfee. However,, this last time I purchased it, has been a total nightmare.

I always get the upgrade which includes up to 5 devices. We had the worst time installing it this time, or what we thought was installing it. On anything. Period. Even attempting to log into the app at ANY point was again; a nightmare.

Create account. Not found. Invalid ID/user. Wrong password. The entire year this has supposedly been installed on my phone and several other devices, I get the exact same conflicting messages that say my device is up to date and the software is working to fight viruses, even working in the background and then get.

your subscription has expired. Whenever trying to log in I always get ‘create new account’ though I have a password and log in name. Then I get an ad for an outrageous price such as RENEW for $199 or more.

Trying to reach a page/number where you can find a solution or speak to someone has been futile. I did some research right after of reviews and many users have stated how the software is no longer user friendly and many of the same issues I had.

I take reviews with a grain of salt and don’t jump to conclusions, because let’s face it, some of these are way out there. But please sift thru and read the cogent ones for an accurate account of this software, which seems to have lost its use, its integrity, and its functionality along the way unfortunately.

I had several experiences with this god awful antivirus software. One, it keeps changing my default browser off of google every time I turn off my computer, so I am constantly having to switch back to the default browser I want to use.

I deleted it from my computer, however it still kept sending me notifications to renew, reinstall, or upgrade the software. It feels more like a virus since I use a antivirus software that is actually good.

I am sickened by the unbelievable amount of steps required to delete it from my computer. It is one of the most recognized antivirus software entirely due to the fact that it’s preloaded on almost all windows computers.

With that being said, it is stupid that even if you don’t want to use it, it basically floods your computer with adds like it is a virus itself. Seriously it feels like they are trying to hold my computer for ransom, and the ransom is paying for their terrible product and service.

I received product reimbursement in exchange for my honest review. I purchased this product for some additional web safety and security – to start, the process of download and install was very simple.

Within 24 hours of purchase from the staples website I was emailed my download code. I began the process of creating my Mcafee account, everything was as smooth as could be. Once I downloaded the software, the install on to my Pc took just a minute or two.

No hiccups whatsoever. For the handful of hours I have used the product, it seems to be doing exactly what I need it to do – protect my machines from the dangers of the internet. The displays and settings are easy to read and toggle and frankly I would not expect anything else from a leader in internet security like mcafee.

I look forward to downloading this on other machines of mine so that I can have the enhanced protection this product offers.

The Good: I have started my 3rd year with Webroot. It must say something positive when you renew a product for an additional two years. I like how Webroot has protected my PC, but the interface with me is close to zero.

I like that in a security program. I don’t need to be told every month or so that the product has blocked a bazillion items without me seeing them. Glad they did, but I’m not a fan of the bragging. The Bad: Before my previous version expired I had the new version up and running.

However, for the next 3 months, I got reminders that I had not renewed my program and that my computers were unprotected. It seems to me that Customer Service could check the database of “expired” accounts to find out which ones were renewed, but not renewed by purchasing from Webroot – there are other retailers out there and some of them were offering better deals.

I choose the better deal. However, the whole episode of email after email telling me that I had not renewed my product and my system was unprotected soured everything. I may well remember that next year and find a different software protection package.

My memory about who and what annoys me is good and long lasting.

I love the product but the renewal process was a hot mess. After I renewed my subscription for three more years. I received an e-mail about the next steps. It said to log in to my account and follow the download instructions.

When I tried to log in to my account, it did not like my password. My password does not have any capital letters but the log in screen was looking for a password with capital letters. So I clicked on reset my password.

I entered my email address but nothing showed up in my inbox. I tried it again, Still nothing. Finally I opened Webroot on my computer and my subscription had gone from 9 days remaining to 1104 days remaining.

That is without downloading anything. So it did work but why can’t the instructions they give people match what really happens? Also, the website says that the subscription starts upon purchase which is not true because I did get the benefit of the nine days remaining.

Why does a renewal have to be so complicated? It actually seemed more like an initial purchase than a renewal. Just saying.

This is the 3rd time I have installed Avast and have had NO problems (1 Windows 7 Desktop and 2 Windows 10 Laptops). Bought this during the Black Friday sale at $19. 99 (beats the Competition’s prices).

I got my activation code email a few hours after initial purchase. The security code was GOOD. I reinstalled the install exe (downloaded from Avast’s server over my previous edition, you have the option for automatic full or a “customized”).

Once the installation is completed, you do a restart. Open up any of the installed icons (Cleanup, Antivirus, etc. ) and use the Menu to enter the Activation Code and all applications are updated as to subscription date.

Best Buy sends you an Activation Code via email (save it and write it down or archive that email!). This does not appear in Best Buy’s “Download Library” Everything should update and activate. Set up an account on Avast if a first time user.

Avast “warns” you about 5 days before expiration. Software does “maintenance” cleanup on system as well as antivirus, firewall, scans your network, warns of obsolete versions of installed software, etc.

If installed correctly, great for the tech challenged, like anything else, you need to familiarize yourself with menus. Avast main site has guides. The Anti Tracking at first did not “transfer” but I think that if you were scanning or cleaning, that interfered so do nothing if you transfer.

It does a lot of automatic cleaning and updates. I have had NO problems with it and do not foresee any future problems. Not sure why other buyers have had problems but may be their hardware or software on their machines.

This covers 5 machines including cell phones, Avast subscription on Menu says I have “10 machines” I can use this with (??).

Still loving this software, does what I need. Light footprint on my machine. Barks bites and quarantines the bad guys. Firewall is quite effective and FULLY controllable, people learn what a firewall is and how it works.

, then adjust and configure it. All in all the best overall all around protection you can put on a machine. These folk do a great job and offer a great product. Sometimes they are the best, others a step behind then they catch up before the year ends.

Updates offer new features as needed. Good software at a fair price, easy to install, set up and administer. No idea about the parent controls, the dog doesn’t have thumbs as most don’t, and its not paw proof! But honestly a STRONG Windows system password to start the machine is a good idea on any machine.

Did I mention it also has a password manager?.

Could not get it down loaded, or unlocked, from your site. It turns out I didn’t need it anyway. My old computer died with Avast installed directly from Avast, and Avast noticed I wasn’t using their product at all.

They showed me how to transfer Avast to my new computer. So, now I have Ultimate on my new computer. I tried to get a refund from you, but was told it was impossible. So, now I am out $9. Thanks a lot.

I guess $9 bucks isn’t very much. No problem.

I had been using the “Free” version of the AVG Anti-virus on my servers and Windows client devices. The free version just scanned for viruses on the device and had the ability to schedule scans which my preferred Free Anti-virus (Panda) did not.

Unlike Panda Free Anti-Virus, AVG “Free” would continuously give Pop-Ups asking me to Upgrade, Add Features, and offer “Discounts” for the Paid Subscription. It was Quite Annoying. The Free AVG for Android also had a good feature set and a cleaner which was very useful.

Unfortunately, the amount of ads and highjacking of the phone startpage caused me to delete the App in favor of Kasperski Anti-Malware at minimal settings (no cleanup feature and I had to manually initiate scans).

When the AVG Internet Security 2017 Unlimited 2Yr license came on sale at Newegg, that seemed to be an answer. The cost was less than US$20 for a 2 Yr license which covered an unlimited number of client devices and multiple platforms (Windows, Android, Linux).

IOS devices were going to be a problem but, I could live with that. The chance to get rid of the constant nagging Pop-Up Ads at this price made the offer very attractive. Unfortunately, the old maxim of “You Get What You Pay For” held true again.

The first indication that this was not going to be such a great deal was when I tried to register the license on-line. I went to the AVG website as directed in the instructions I received with the license number and created a new account then registered the license number.

The website indicated a valid license and I downloaded the executable file for Windows devices which I saved on a server and transferred to other client Windows devices. That appeared to work fine. When I tried to log into my account on my Android phone, the website acknowledged that the account was correct but stated that there was no license registered to my account hence, I could not download the Android App.

I logged into my account on a Windows device and the website refused to acknowledge any license connected to my account for that either. I contacted Tech Support and Customer Service on subsequent days and was told that AVG acknowledged and was aware of the problem.

They stated that “They Were Diligently Working to Fix The Problem. ” When asked how long it would take, they stated “Keep logging in every day to see if the problem was fixed. ” So far, it has been more than 2 weeks and the problem still is not fixed! I asked Customer Service whether they would adjust the “Start Date” of my license to when the problem was fixed and basically was told “No”.

After carefully uninstalling and cleaning the registers on a Windows server of all the AVG “Free” software, I installed the paid license software. That required comfirmation of my account which, suprizingly was successful considering that the website still does not acknowledge my license.

The software installation was fairly simple with the exception that the default settings messed up most of the Internet connections. AVG made itself the “default” firewall (which is difficult to configure correctly so I turned it off and went back to my old firewall.

AVG reset the DNS server settings and implemented ones that track internet traffic, so I had to turn that off and reset the DNS primary and secondary settings. AVG highjacked the search engine setting in Mozilla Firefox to set it to Yahoo and made that the Home Page.

I had to reset that. AVG deleted the BluHell Firewall and deleted Ghostery Apps in Mozilla Firefox. AVG deactivated the VPN so I had to turn off those features of AVG. AVG Firewall reset/deactivated all the port forwarding features of my router so I could not get connections for PLEX Media Server outside my network to work.

I still have not figured out how to get that part of AVG configured to work with PLEX even after turning off the AVG firewall and re-configuring my router ports again. All very frustrating! Add to that, the fact that I have to do a manual configuration of the AVG FOR EVERY DEVICE SEPARATELY!! Regarding Android Devices – Same Problems plus the Pop-ups are still there.

I will not even try to address Apple IOS problems. – Not enough space in this review. In conclusion, the cost of the 2Yr AVG Internet Security Unlimited license was very attractive. I actually told quite a few people about it before I realized all the problems I would encounter.

Now, I can honestly say that I do not recommend this software to anyone who has anything other than a dead simple network and doesn’t want to know anything about it. I will not be renewing my license after this expires and I may just get rid of this software anyway for all the difficulties it has caused.

I’ve used AVG free for years and it’s decent virus detection software, full of ads, as is to be expected with free software. However, with the purchase of software on NewEgg I got the AVG Pro version “free.

” There is nothing about this software that isn’t going to consume tons of time, IF you manage to get it working. Modern software is intuitive in installation and operation. This software is the opposite.

After two hours, I still don’t have the Android version installed (the only version I cared about). Following the worthless directions provided by AVG only directs you to the AVG Free download page. I’ve already got the AVG Free version on my phone, yet signing into the account using it doesn’t detect the license and will only offer me the AVG Free download.

From there the only option is to “upgrade” for a fee. There may be a way to get there from here, but it is completely undocumented. BTW, if you try to get customer service (as I did) and wait for 20 minutes, you are just as likely to be directed to the Windows group, then be redirected (hopefully) to the right group with another waiting period.

None of this is clearly documented. If it’s free, I guess it may be worth the frustration. To me, it’s just going to be all uninstalled. DEFINITELY don’t buy this software.

I have been using Avast for years. I love the program. However, if I had known that they would eliminate the 22 days left from my previous subscription, I would have waited to install the new script until there was only 1 day left.

I will remember that for next time. At any rate, it is still the very best and light on using computer resources.

I have stayed away from Norton for many years but needed a new VPN and decided to try Norton 360 standard. Many of the installed tools offered by Norton 360 standard I run as different, stand-alone programs (i.

e. a different antivirus, a different malware, a different registry cleaner, etc. ) but was pleased to see that the Norton tools are both effective and accurate and require less upkeep (i. e. updating) than my old tools.

Consequently, if you can get product on sale, even better as the included tools are worth the subscription. The other service that helps make this product worth considering is the dark web monitoring.

Assuming you don’t know how to monitor the dark web yourself, the Norton product will let you know both if your data as likely involved in a retail breach (i. e. Target) or if your email address, password, etc.

was found on any lists on the dark web. Again, I had another tool I would run *manually* from time to time to search for myself on the dark web, but Norton lets me search multiple emails (5, I believe) which covers my multiple, critical email accounts.

Additionally, you can input other info such as your credit card, bank, postal address, DoB, etc. and it can search for even more of your stuff on the dark web. While I am nervous about punching all that data into Norton’s website, if you have reason to fear your data has been compromised, the Norton tool makes confirming your suspicion really easy! There is also a password manager and cloud backup storage–both tools EVERYONE should be taking advantage of either through Norton or another service.

Nonetheless, Norton makes it all very easy to set-up and maintain. The password manager runs as an app on a mobile device or as an extension on a desktop browser. Once the extension is running Norton will offer to store passwords for you or suggest strong passwords or point out your weak passwords.

You can also store notes, addresses and credit cards safely in the password manager vault. Like any password manager, you set a STRONG ***MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER*** password to gain access to your stored data or to successfully run the extension.

All-in-all, from someone who grew to hate Norton 15 years ago, I am happy I gave them another try. This 360 standard bundle is worth it.

This is a great full-service security program or your devices. It works with Android, Windows, and Apple with little to no issues on either. Set up is very simple, just put in the security code and it installs itself.

Even those who are not tech-savvy will be able to do it. During set up, I like that it gives you the option to send it to other email addresses so you can get Norton 360 on your other devices more easily.

You will have to make a Norton account, but it also gives you the option to sign in with your Apple or Gmail account. I signed in with my Gmail with one click and that’s all I needed to do going forward.

It’s also easy navigating around the homepage and finding the feature you want with the search tool. The features themselves are more comprehensive than I originally thought. My favorite is the dark web monitoring.

You can choose what accounts you want the software to track (bank, insurance, credit cards, phone, addresses, driver’s license, etc. ) and Norton 360 will monitor to see if and when your information may have been compromised.

After install it already found an old account I never used that was hacked years ago. I immediately changed the passwords to any accounts that used that same password. Other cool features include a secure VPN, a password manager, parental controls (not relevant for me but could be useful for families), and privacy monitoring.

There are some additional features that are stuck behind an additional paywall (usually one price for the remainder of the subscription, then a law monthly fee after that). That was kind of annoying, especially when some of those pay-wall features, like computer tune-up, have come standard with other PC security programs I’ve had around this price level.

Performance on Android/Apple phones is also really good, although better on Android phones. Particularly, the phone scan is better on Android phones, but that makes sense since Apple generally doesn’t like these kinds of phone scans done on their devices unless it’s from Apple or a licensed brand.

Overall though, the service is still really good on both devices. Quick list of pros: quick set up, easy navigation, many security options Quick list of cons: not as great on Apple phones, some features have an additional cost Overall, I would recommend this product if you want comprehensive security for your internet devices.

Trash software, 0/5 do not recommend. I’ve had subscriptions since 2017 but will not be renewing anymore. Bitdefender was great 4 or 5 years ago when it was purely security software that ran scheduled virus scans on your computer; they were a reasonable premium on top of Windows’ built-in security features because Windows 10 still had a lot of holes back then.

Now Bitdefender is more Norton-esque in how annoying their advertisements (I know you can turn them off) and notifications are. They’ll even stop you from connecting to public wifi networks (like at an airport, for example), and spam you with notifications about unsafe connections until you go through the clicks to actually turn Bitdefender off.

And when I say spam, I mean notifications every 10 seconds that pull focus from whatever window you have open and are actually using, so you have to actually click back into whatever you were working on.

Yeah, bro, I know that public airport wifi isn’t the most secure connection in the world, but I still need it at the moment. And you can just close whatever you think is causing the notifications and they’ll stop, right? No, the backlog of notifications continues popping up for the next 10 minutes.

At some point, the company stopped worrying as much about security and more about seeming useful and selling you other products. They must have a very large marketing budget because there’s nothing but glowing reviews (that they probably paid for) on tech websites if you search their name.

I use to have Bitdefender on my old PC and laptop until I built a new PC. I forgot to install Bitdefender on it. but haven’t missed it.

In a nutshell this is the only 5/5 rated by PCgamer. Tomsguide ranked it the best value in antivirus software. Norton is constantly ranked up there as well, some people rank it over Bitdefender because of the extra features, Bitdefender will charge you for each of the extra features including password manager, which Kaspersky offered.

Kaspersky has been removed from all the main reviewers lists because of the possible association with their government, being a business located in Moscow. After 2 days I have a ticket in to tech support.

Community support also has the question posted a few times. App lock says you can unlock by using fingerprint or pin, but the fingerprint doesn’t work. My phone has an amazing fingerprint sensor that always works, thanks google pixel, the phones battery sucks but that fingerprint sensor is on point.

I actually had 700+ days remaining on my Kaspersky antivirus which has done a terrific job. The only reason I switched is because of the sanctions and allegations against Russia colluding with businesses with the possibility of cyber warfare.

I am not a high profile target by any means but I don’t want to be caught in the crossfire of 2 powerhouses. Overall I am pleased with bitdefender, I can still protect 5 devices, currently for $20! Annual subscription is $90 for 5 devices, I did read you can upgrade to 10 devices for $100.

Luckily I can get away with 5 devices. I do hear the services for iPhone are limited or lacking. I have android and windows so I can’t attest to those claims. Solid security for my casual browsing needs.

I am pleased with the disk optimization feature Kaspersky didn’t offer. I feel very protected with this software running. I outsource my VPN to surfshark so I don’t care about the minimal amount provided with this program.

Surfshark allows me to trick netflix into thinking I’m in another country for access to get an expanded movie list. Kaspersky gave a very comparable VPN, which is a minimal 2gb of data.

I really wanted to like this product, but after months of dealing with Support trying to get a few serious bugs worked out, I can see why this product is so cheap. The features are helpful, but so are the other security softwares.

The GUI is slightly easier to use compared to other softwares I’ve tried. However, the constant freezing in SafePay mode and inability to turn off the virtual keyboard (that takes up half your screen) and allow pop-ups that you do want is seriously hampering my ability to get work done (or even just shop!) I have to keep rebooting my laptop now – this is not what I expected from a security software that should be humming along in the background.

I’ve used ESET, Panda, Kaspersky, Norton, and decided to give Bitdefender a try because it was on sale for 3 users for a 3 year subscription. I can see why it was so cheap. So if you don’t mind your workflow constantly being interrupted with freezing and having to reboot all the time, by all means, pay for this garbage when it’s on sale.

In the meantime, I’m switching back to ESET…. I’m not going to wait another 2 years dealing with this.

I have used AVG for years now. I have tried other brands on other devices but always came back to AVG. Now with the Ultimate out on the market, and very affordable I am definitley very happy. It keeps my computers and other devices safe and the tune up service keeps my pc tuned up and running great.

My wife is an IT security officer for a major corp. and she is the one who recommend AVG to me. In the years I have used AVG I have never had a hack or virus on any device. AVG Ultimate is a complete package that will keep your computers safe and running smooth.

I have been using this for a while now and it mainly does the job. for whatever reasons FREE stuff that are available online and can be downloaded. the paid one is obviously can do more. I get what I paid for this thing and never dissapoint.

I encountered issues before telling me that my AVG was about to expire when I purchase it for 2 years. Called AVG support and they identified the issues but was not able to resolve it properly because of that they issued me a new copy and made the whole license almost 3 years and had been satisfied with it.

Just purchased a new Dell desktop computer, so I also purchased AVG Ultimate 2017 Unlimited 2 Year subscription, which loaded very easy. But then after installing, no programs worked as they did when my computer had been put online.

I called my local ISP and was on the phone with them for a few hours trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally uninstalled this AVG Ultimate 2017 Unlimited program, and the computer began working again close to what it did before installing the program, as I am still having some minor issues.

Wish now I had never bought or installed this software, as it has been problems ever since.

I bought this item and best buy gave me invalid activation code. I lost my money in this item. Best Buy customer services is nasty I spent more than 5 hours with inexpert staff.

My negative issue is with New egg. You charged me $2. 99 shipping for a box with a 2015 cd when I bought a 2016 license. The delivery also included the PAPER key to activate the product. All I needed (or anyone needed was the key!) Are you serious? Nobody uses enclosed CD software any more! I’ve been a customer for a long time.

The key was fine and it reactivated the product for the two years that was promised. Your charging for shipping me what I did not need (And you knew) does not say anything well about New egg ethics. Bye.

Regards, Ron.

Installed and ran ok, then found tune up blocked my usual ‘safe’ apps running, ie MS Office suite. these were not selected in the startup apps selection, I decided to take the AVG suite off again as I do not want to have to fight and weave my way round everything just to use my computer mormally.

Sorry AVG, for me it was a waste of 20.

I have been using AVG on my computers for many years. Now that I have four cell phones, this has been a must have addition. Unlimited devices, unlimited coverage, full service protection, easy to install and manage, and a good price.

What else can you ask for.

Over the years I’ve had various antivirus programs based on whatever the deal is running at the time. In many cases it’s possible to get an Antivirus program for free or cheap based on current rounds of rebates, and without going with no-name options, I’ve tended to do very well in that regard.

For the last few years I’ve been using a specific antivirus that has recently increased the amount of nagging they give to the user in terms of upgrades for other services and renewals for their own AV.

I find this not only annoying but insulting for an application that you’ve paid for to constantly nag you with zero option to disable that nagging. When given the opportunity to move to Norton, I did so without a second thought.

Norton 360 Platinum combines many of the features that the big name AVs have now, between password vaults/locks, VPNs, the antivirus itself, firewalling and many other features, it basically runs the gamut for what is expected in a premium product.

Add on that it can protect 20 devices across basically every major name OS out there, and it really is one of the most complete options. Installation is very straightforward, as you’d expect. You set up your account at Norton, login, decide if you want auto-renew, then download and install.

The installation honestly could not be easier, it’s a one-click deal, and while you *can* go into the installation options, there’s no real need to do so. Once it installs it recommends the standard baseline AV scan, lets you set up certain things like VPN if you desire, and you’re good to go.

The interface looks a lot like the AV that I’m coming from which honestly isn’t terribly reassuring, but so far it hasn’t nagged me incessantly about features that I dont want, or dont want to pay for.

It seems to be relatively lightweight in terms of ‘bloat’, which was never one of Norton’s strong suits, so it’s good to see they’ve gone this direction with the product. Overall it’s a streamlined and easy setup.

Usage appears to be quite unobtrusive, which I appreciate, again I havent seen much in the way of nagging from the application and I hope as time continues that this doesn’t change, but for now I’m happy with it.

VPN is an easy one-click setup, although probably not something I’ll use a lot of as I have an existing VPN provider, but if needed, it’s nice that it’s there. Bottom line is that it’s not expensive to buy new, a quick and easy install, and can work on up to 20 devices.

There’s very little to complain about here. The fact that it doesnt nag the crap out of me makes it a win in my book. Good job Norton.

I’ve been using AVG since 2009 and it’s an amazing piece of additional security on top of several other software I use for max protection. Reading the reviews, I see a lot of people don’t know how to actually use the digital download and give it 1 star instead.

Let me give you a walkthrough for WINDOWS PC to help you understand how it’s used. 1. Make sure you have AVG downloaded and installed, make an AVG account on AVG’s website, and then use the Menu button in the top right corner of the app to sign in.

Pretty straight forward. 2. Buy this product. 3. When you see that the download is ready, go to your digital library. 4. In your digital library, you will see a KEYCODE for AVG. 5. Keep that KEYCODE handy.

6. Go to the AVG app on your computer. In the top right of the app, you will see the Menu button. Enter the Menu. The first option should be Enter Activation Code. Click this option. 7. Put the KEYCODE in and click Enter.

8. Answer the few questions that pop up and hit Enter. 9. Your AVG app is now activated with all the features. As a tech enthusiast, I can guarantee you the default windows security feature does very little to actually protect you.

Having the AVG Free Version alone is far better. Having the paid AVG is far beyond comparison that it isn’t even a fair fight. I will agree, having the endless spam of “Your subscription is expired, would you like to renew?” is extremely tiresome.

Putting AVG into silent mode tones it down but it’s still annoying. I understand they need to make money too. Honestly, I always recommend AVG to anyone who has a computer. Even the Free Version. And I will continue to recommend AVG.

Excellent security software! Just set and forget. I’ve been using paid AVG internet security (paid version) for more than 10 years. Never had a problem with bad websites, spyware or viruses. It eats them for breakfast! I’ve used other security software in the past, and NONE of them were 100% reliable, especially the advertised ones.

There’s a reason why NORTON and other BIG NAME security companies have to heavily advertise their products! But did you notice how AVG doesn’t need to use PAID ADVERTISEMENTS, because IT WORKS PERFECTLY! 100% recommend AVG internet security.

I’ve converted many of my family and friends, and they couldn’t be happier. NO MORE ISSUES WITH NASTY THINGS HACKING/DAMAGING THEIR COMPUTERS!.

This was used for a renewal. Installation was straight-forward, thanks to instructions from the vendor, but the AVG website required repeated log-ins to my existing account to get going on the first device.

Worked just fine and very quickly after that with my other equipment. Tune-Up has been disappointing, as a number of useful features on the latest Windows version have been removed, notably the duplicate file search.

While not always accurate, it was helpful when shifting work-in-progress files between laptops and desktop PCs, where duplication was likely. Once I discovered the loss, I didn’t update Tune-up on one machine in order to retain this feature.

AVG overall remains more naggy than Harry Mudd’s wife (one for the Trekkers, there). Like most software houses, they seem to harbour the belief that my equipment belongs to them, sucking up resources while crying “Update me! Update me now! Don’t do that! Don’t do that either! Put the AutoUpdate back on – I feed when I want to, whether you like it or not! You’ll be sorry you did that.

I’ll make your life a misery. and by the way, buy this VPN from us as well. ” etc. etc. AVG gives me more cause to tinker with diverse PC and software settings than any other application own. They tend to bury quite a few tweaks outside ofthe main menu, so you have to hunt for some, and I have to fiddle with services.

msc more often than one should. These are my devices, AVG, and I’m not a six year old. Live with it. The trouble is, the others are not much different. I’ve used a variety of AV products over the decades, and (at time of writing) I’ve found AVG is the best package for the least money with its 2-year contract, providing you don’t renew with them directly when your sub expires.

The eye-watering prices quoted on their website are ludicrous to the point of laughable.