McAfee Vs Norton: Which is Better?

You may not realize it, but your computer is probably at a higher risk than what is initially perceived. Whether connected to the internet or not, a computer is, at all times, at risk of an infection, be it via trojan, worm, malware, spyware, or rootkits.

Having an antivirus program can certainly help to prevent an infection. They even may be able to contain or sometimes fix your computer, should it become compromised. Installing an antivirus program can help in keeping your files from becoming compromised, as well as keeping a malicious program from damaging your system files.

What is it that drives these miscreants to develop and distribute these malicious programs? the answer is as simple as the question: extortion.

The notion of the computer hacker appearing to be a pimple-faced giggling teenager is slowly going the way of the buffalo. As the level of intrusion rises, so too does the inability of the user to detect the presence of the virus. This discretion implies that the need for recognition is no longer present. Viruses want to leech your information, resources, and money undetected.

The need for an antivirus is key and entry-level programs like McAfee and Norton are good places to start.

McAfee

One of the key benefits of McAfee is the fact that it is readily available and free to download. It comes with a basic database of viruses and other malware that updates itself routinely. It also has a scanning tool to find possible threats to your security. It boasts an easy-to-use interface which caters to the most basic of computer-user – the ones who are probably the most susceptible to an infection.

Norton

The benefits of Norton parallel those of McAfee, although they do begin to branch off from each other somewhat. According to Norton’s official website, they make a point to inform the user of their more proactive steps to prevent infection. They monitor the activity of programs on your computer to see if they behave in the manner akin to most other known viruses. They also identify and inform the user if a website is known to be unsafe before allowing access to it, again, another preventative measure.

Additionally, Norton claims to be able to fix deeply embedded infections to files and is able to create an alternate recovery boot for your system, should it become so infected that it is unable to load properly.

These two, however, are far from being perfect.

According to our own technicians, the McAfee’s virus and malware database something of a novelty as it offers no other protection that isn’t offered by any of the various freeware virus programs that are widely accessible. Also, when McAfee’s trial expires, the program becomes virtually useless while also still proving to be cumbersome to a user’s system as it is still eating up resources and prompting the user to upgrade endlessly. What’s more, there is a documented blue screen error when uninstalling or upgrading. the link provided explains the nature of the error, but basically a root folder becomes corrupted somewhere along the way.

Norton isn’t exactly perfect, either. By way of its charming child-protection feature, Norton will blanket-ban tons of websites and programs that attempt to access the internet. This can be undone by manually setting exceptions within the program’s setting. The details are laid out in full on this page.

Norton, too, has a know blue screen error that has plagued certain users when they update, as discussed on their official forums.

Luckily for you, there are more than just these two subpar choices available.

Avira

The technicians on staff here at Fix My PC Store would personally recommend Avira. They feature a superior updating service, updating much more frequently than it’s peers and sporting a noticeably large database. the program itself is lightweight. It consumes very few of your system’s resources and is designed to be as noninvasive as possible. Find out more by visitng their official website.

Malwarebytes

Another excellent source of protection for your computer, Malware bytes is widely lauded as the industry standard in identifying and dealing with trojans and other sources of malware. While they do offer a free trial version which is competent, upgrading to their professional version is inexpensive. The program, like Avira, is also noninvasive and lightweight. Malwarebytes, coupled with Avira, has proven to extend a desirable level of security that any user seeks. Visit their website for yourself and see what we mean.