Alternatives to Norton Internet Security

Microsoft Security Essentials

Ideally I would like to try Microsoft’s new free Security Essentials, but I’m in New Zealand and locked out from the official download site. Yes, I know there are ways around the lock-out, but I’m aiming to stay ethical. If you know how I can get hold of a legitimate copy please leave a comment or use the contact page.

Avast

When I installed Windows 7 RC on my computers I loaded Norton Internet Security 2010 beta on the desktop and a free desktop security application from Avast on my Thinkpad. We also tried AVG’s free anti-virus software on my wife’s Thinkpad.

Both free anti-virus programs are fully functional and seem to handle most everyday security requirements. We’re behind a NAT firewall and we keep out machines clean, so our security needs are basic. The features not included in the free versions of the programs are of no interest to me, however I would like the ability schedule Avast to scan my laptop at regular intervals.

Avast appears to do a better job at hunting down problems, but AVG has a better user interface. Nevertheless, we’ve now standardised on Avast on our laptops because the software appears easier to deal with and, let’s face it, when it comes to this kind of work a good brain trumps a pretty face.

Both programs impose less of a performance overhead than Symantec’s Norton Internet Security 2010 beta – but that wouldn’t be hard. Their overhead is so small it is barely noticeable.

Downside of free anti-virus

There are downsides to the free anti-virus programs. Both are surprisingly difficult to find and download. That’s because to some extent they are hidden behind paid-for products from the same companies. And both tend to nag about updating – in ways that send you off to pay for versions of the software.

Of course, developers have to eat. I’m not complaining, the price of free security software is a small annoyance. Or to put it another way, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. On a point by point basis Avast seems less of a problem than AVG – but this could be perception and not reality.

One downside of the free software asking for updates and not automatically scanning is it sometimes  feels like the PC lacks proper protection. For some reason this appeared to be more the case on my desktop than on my less frequently used Thinkpad.

Panda Cloud Anti-virus

For now I’m sticking with Avast on my Thinkpad and we’ve switched from AVG to Avast on my wife’s Thinkpad. But Avast didn’t feel satisfactory on my main desktop, so I searched for an alternative and discovered Panda Cloud Anti-virus.

Panda Cloud Anti-virus looks and feels very different from all other security software. Rather than chew up your computer’s performance doing all its anti-virus processing Panda is a software-as-a-service application that sends data about dangerous looking files to its own servers for closer inspection. This means there is no perceptible performance overhead. It also means the checking database is always bang up-to-date.

Panda is still a work in progress. Or more to the point, a beta. But unlike Symantec’s beta, it seems to be fully functional. I’ve run Panda Cloud Anti-virus for roughly one month without any problems. My biggest fear is I never hear from the program, so I sometimes need to check to see it is running – which it always is.

Given the ease at which Panda slips into the background, to the point where it is unnoticeable, I’d have to say this is the most promising security tool I have found so far.

See also:
Norton’s Windows 7 beta – security update

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