Norton | Dangerous Common Sense

Get 25% off Anti-Virus or Security Suite Software

I received email today announcing a 25% sale for two-year licenses of the security software that I use on all my machines. I don’t see a time limit on the sale, but I thought I’d pass it along today. The email says the lower rate is in celebration of the release of a new version of their products… whatever! I like the product and a sale price is something to celebrate.

Check out ESET NOD32 anti-virus and SMART SECURITY programs.

I have used ESET’s software for several years. I like it because it doesn’t slow down my computer when it scans for problems. You may notice some slowness on older or less beefy computers when it’s running a scan, but in my experience ESET is much less of a computer hog than Norton, McAfee, or the other better-known programs. ESET also rates well in tests by independent labs for actually doing its job and stopping attacks on your system.

I use SMART SECURITY which includes the NOD32 antivirus programs and adds a firewall and other features like an anti-theft module that locates your stolen laptop and locks down the files on it via the web.

Yes, although ESET updates its list of known viruses several times a day, I have been bad in updating the program itself. I was a couple releases behind and have been missing out on some of the newer features that are now included with NOD32 or SMART SECURITY. I didn’t know about the anti-theft feature, so I paid for that separately by buying LoJack for laptops. Stupid! And, I didn’t know that the anti-virus program will also scan my Facebook and Twitter feeds to make sure I (or someone else) hasn’t posted a malicious link in my feeds. You know, a link to a phony status line that takes you to a spammy site that tries to get you to download something evil to your PC. The current versions of NOD32 and SMART SECURITY run through your social media streams and makes sure that there’s nothing dangerous on your steam.

I also like the summary they give of the information I share with the public on the two social media sites.

ESET Social Media Dashboard

Finally, unlike security software programs I have seen on other people’s computers, ESET’s suite doesn’t give me a stream of alarmist warnings about what what I should be doing. So, I chose to run the check on my Facebook account, I didn’t get a warning message that my Facebook feed was unprotected. This is a big deal, in my opinion. I have watched friends ignore important warnings from Norton et al. When I asked why they didn’t react to the message, I have been told that the program is always sending them messsages that aren’t important so they don’t read anything it pops up. A security program that cries “Wolf!” is a bad watchdog.

Enough of mixing metaphores. If you’re tired of Norton, McAfee, or whomever slowing down your system or annoying you with endless off-target warnings, check out the lighter touch of ESET. Scroll down the page to see a comparison list of features to see if you want NOD32 or SMART SECURITY.

Why I Recommend NOD32 Anti-Virus Software

I’d forgotten how intrusive the major anti-virus programs are.

So, when I was helping a friend and working on his PC, I was surprised when the machine locked up. I looked around, and saw an icon indicating that the computer had just downloaded the automatic update of the virus list. I cannot remember if it was McAfee or Norton, but it was one of the two.

I asked what was going on, and my friend said that whenever the virus update comes, he takes a break because the anti-virus program takes over his computer. The program rescans the hot spots on his disk to make sure that they hadn’t been infected with any of the viruses that it now knew about, and no other work can be done. He said that starting his computer takes an extra couple minutes, too, because the anti-virus program runs a similar scan when the PC boots.

As we were working, we got warning messages every so many minutes about possible problems or actions we might — or might not — want to take. Again, it was the “anti-virus” computer security program flexing its security center muscle. The alerts weren’t about actually finding anything, but the security software seemed nervous that my friend’s style of computing was not safe enough for its standards. He opened email attachments, for example, and he went to unapproved web sites. I don’t remember his exact crimes, but the nervous Nelly security program seemed to act like a Harpie, stealing his machine and preventing him from using his computer the way he wanted.

But, if you use Norton or McAfee, you know what I’m talking about. Both of those programs are big bullies. They want to run your computer their way, keeping you safe, keeping you slow.

I removed my Norton and my McAfee years ago. I just couldn’t stand the slowness those programs caused as they intruded on my computing. With Norton, the daily (or more frequent) updating of the virus database was painful. I had to stop working while Norton re-scanned my critical computer files.

In place of the major anti-virus hogs, I installed a program called Smart Security with NOD32 anti-virus by a company called ESET. I heard about this alternative while listening to Leo Laporte’s radio show. He was recommending NOD32 to callers, even as he acknowledged that ESET were advertisers. I checked out what industry gatekeepers like CNET said about the ESET security suite. Everything I saw was positive, so I downloaded the free 30-day trial.

I have never gone back.

The anti-virus scans that had locked up my computer for minutes now took less than a minute AND I could use the computer at the same time. I did have to persuade the security version of ESET’s product to stop scanning my incoming mail for spam characteristics (I can figure that out myself, thank you). But, the ESET program has been far, far less bossy than any other security program than I had used.

If you’re ready to reclaim your ownership of your computer, consider, dumping McAffie and Norton… at least don’t renew them when you’re subscription runs out. Check out ESET and NOD32 instead.