Hey everybody. Maybe you can help me out with a bit of a quandary. I've been surfing the threads and seen a lot of references to people using Avast and the like which are free anti-virus programs and having no problems. It seems to me that this begs the question: Why bother paying for products like Norton at all. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think 35 bucks a year is all that bad when it comes to keeping my computer running smoothly, but quite frankly I just went through a process (thanks to Broni) getting the wifes' laptop back to normal, Norton running all the while (very) quietly in the background without so much as an indication of any issues. So what gives? Am I paying Symantec for a pretty user interface and the notion that they've got the marketing savvy to get their product into the big retailers, or is there some added value that I'm just not seeing? Do the freeware programs work just as well? Are they only for "knowledgeable" computer users? There must be a catch.

Why bother paying for products like Norton at all.

I've wondered why people have been doing that for years! No doubt, Norton is a good product. And Symantec has done an excellent job ensuring Norton is not the resource hog it used to be. But there are many excellent, capable and free alternatives that don't have all the unnecessary (for most folks) bells and whistles of the big commercial suites like NIS and McAfee. Nor do they have initial, or recurring costs either. I think there are several reasons people stick with Norton. (1) It came free (6-month trial) on their new computer and the got used to it, (2) maybe they are afraid to change from something that works, (3), they like having a single UI, and (4) they may also like some of the added features, such as the child protection features. It is important to note that no single product is perfect and that the user is always the weakest link. I've been "rolling my own" security suite with free applications for years and have no regrets. Since I migrated to Windows 7 last year, I switched all my systems to Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall and have had no problems. I recommend you look at my sticky, Practicing Safe Computing and from there, you can decide how to set up a new security defense system, if you decide to go that route.

Good points, all. And I think you're certainly right about the reasons people stick with their paid programs. For me really it has been a matter of habit than anything else. Every year the software reminds me about my subscription, and every year I upgrade. And, given the 200-some-odd days left on my Norton subscription, I'll probably just ride that one out. I must say I was certainly impressed with some of the other software I've been introduced to here, such as Malwarebytes. And I'm certainly interested in moving toward the freeware apps, I just think it takes a certain amount of effort to stay up to date on which programs are effective. Maybe that's just more than the average commercial user is willing to do. It's really forums like this one that provide the "expert" information that an "enthusiast" such as myself need to stay active in to get that awareness.

I guess I just really would have thought that with a paid subscription program like Norton, they'd have put together a package that would have found some of the problems that Malwarebytes was able to find. Surely Symantec has a team of software engineers that are aware of such things?

I am unfortunately stuck with Symantec on my work laptop but at least I don't have to pay for it. I have however wondered pay for AV/AS protection when most of the best software has free versions.

I guess I just really would have thought that with a paid subscription program like Norton, they'd have put together a package that would have found some of the problems that Malwarebytes was able to find. Surely Symantec has a team of software engineers that are aware of such things?

There are a couple issues here. As I noted above, no one program is perfect. This is why most experts recommend having one reputable real-time solution and at least one more on-demand solution for supplemental scanning. Note that every anti-malware product uses different algorithms to scan and detect malware. It is also important to note that just because something is expensive, that does not make it better, nor does it mean the folks behind it are the best or most dedicated.