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Comparison |
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Which Has the Best Real-time Protection? |
Vipre
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Norton |
Automatic, real-time Active Protection is enabled in VIPRE by default. |
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Real-time antivirus protection is enabled by default in Norton. |
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This gives complete real-time PC protection for email, web activity, file usage, and more. |
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Independent tests put Norton only slightly behind Kaspersky, which we're fond of, when it comes to active virus detection |
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Independent test results showed that VIPRE properly eliminated 2/3 of malware and viruses. |
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Overall, an adequate real-time antivirus performance for most people's computer security / antivirus needs. |
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The other 1/3 of questionable malware was accurately labeled for the user to eliminate or pass. |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE.
Norton's real-time protection is adequate, but it uses significant amounts of CPU and RAM to get the job done
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Which is Most Effective Against Spyware? |
Vipre
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Norton
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VIPRE integrates antispyware and antivirus in one solution. |
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Independent testing showed that Norton didn't catch nearly as many spyware traces as it should have. |
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The two malware protection suites work seamlessly with one another making one powerful application. |
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We really expect more from a company like Symantec that has been fighting malware for as long as they have. |
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Antispyware definitions take a few minutes to download after install. |
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Sometimes only harmless cookies were recognized while other known spyware programs were left running. |
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After the initial install, future antispyware definitions are downloaded more quickly. |
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Further testing showed Norton to skip over or misidentify potential spyware altogether. |
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Testing showed that VIPRE is equally effective against spyware as it is against viruses. |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE.
VIPRE's integrated antispyware and antivirus easily out-performed Norton in independent tests. |
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Which Has the Lowest Resource Usage? |
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Vipre |
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Norton |
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VIPRE antivirus is practically synonymous with low resource use. |
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Independent testing showed that Norton antivirus used-up almost two thirds more memory than VIPRE during a manual scan |
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Manual scanning tests showed that VIPRE used only one third the memory of Norton. |
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CPU used during a scan was one fourth more than VIPRE. |
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On top of that, CPU was about 25% less than Norton. |
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During real-time antivirus protection, Norton used well over 4% of memory to run. |
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During real-time antivirus protection, VIPRE was well below 1% of total memory used. |
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On average, Norton is a middle-of-the-pack performer that's on par with most other Windows antivirus applications, but it falls far short of VIPRE. |
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VIPRE easily consumes the fewest system resources of any AV software reviewed. |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE.
No other name-brand antivirus application even comes close to VIPRE when it comes to light resource usage. |
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Which Has the Best User Interface? |
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Vipre |
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Norton
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The UI (user interface) of VIPRE antivirus is intuitive and very easy to use. |
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Norton's UI has evolved considerably over the years and has been greatly improved over some of their releases from just a couple of years ago. |
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The main screen shows all the essential information you need like:
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last scan time
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feature options
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current risk level
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previous updates
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While frequently used screens are easy to figure out, some of the less-frequently used ones required too much digging to get to. |
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The scan results page is easy to understand and is clearly labeled with what you need to do next. |
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This means some of the seemingly advanced options were buried behind several clicks. |
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Overall, VIPRE's UI is pleasing and easy to navigate |
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Some of these advanced settings are likely to be needed more than their designers may've realized, so some of these tools need better organization to be useful for all users. |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE.
Both products show tremendous polish; Norton's advanced settings might be too buried for some users to find. |
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Which Has the Best Customer Support? |
Vipre |
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Norton |
Sunbelt (the makers of VIPRE antivirus) is well known for its superb customer service. |
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Norton's customer service is the weakest feature of this antivirus. |
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All of their support reps are US-based and responded quickly and professionally. |
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Their support site makes it difficult (some would argue impossible) to get in touch with a real human being. |
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All the usuals are included: FAQ pages, knowledgebase, phone and email support at no cost. |
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There are several "help" layers that the user must dig through just to find an email or phone service. |
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The phone numbers and links to support topics are all easily found on their website. |
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Eventually, you can get to a phone number, but be prepared for some time clicking through numerous pages first |
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Sunbelt seems eager to serve the customer with any service and tech support issues. |
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Norton really needs to get with the program on this one |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE
With free, US-based phone support With a phone number that’s easy to find , VIPRE is the clear choice.
Sure, Norton has phone support, but difficult access to it is a significant weakness. (Who wants to rifile
through a million pages on a website when you need help?) |
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Which is Easiest to Install? |
Vipre
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Norton |
For the most part, VIPRE's installation process is fast and easy for anyone.
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Installing Norton is equally easy and now relies on Symantec's own installer instead of a Microsoft-based one as prior versions did.
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There is the standard set-up wizard that walks you through some basic steps then you're done. |
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We feel like this is a good things, as now Norton claims to install in one minute or less; we believe that claim may be completely valid |
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There is a slight lag time after the initial install, however, when VIPRE needs to connect to the Sunbelt database in order to update itself and download the most current virus and spyware definitions. |
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Initial updates are needed and can take a few minutes to download. This is normal. |
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This is completely normal, but it can take up to 10 or 15 min. |
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Antivirus definitions will download faster in the future. |
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After this initial update, all future updates are smaller and snappy |
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The overall install only requires a few basic steps and that's it. |
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Winner: Norton
Both VIPRE and Norton are equally easy to install, but Norton's new installer's speed is as impressive as VIPRE's overall speed. |
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Which Has the Best Email Virus Protection?
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VIPRE |
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Norton |
VIPRE provides good email protection from viruses and other malware. |
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Norton does an adequate job when it comes to email virus scanning. |
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VIPRE works well with all the major email clients like Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Windows Mail, and any other software that supports POP3 and SMTP (such as the popular Eudora and IncrediMail.) |
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POP3 and SMTP email clients are supported along with Outlook and Outlook Express. |
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As far as antivirus software goes, VIPRE does a solid job with email scanning |
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Incoming and outgoing mail are adequately scanned and identified |
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RESULT: Tie.
VIPRE and Norton both do a good job with email virus protection |
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What's the Best Antivirus Software?
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Vipre
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Norton |
When adding up all of the major comparison points, it becomes clear that VIPRE is the best 2009 antivirus software. |
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Norton does a decent job in most areas, but the lack of good customer support, and heavy resource usage puts Norton far behind VIPRE. |
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VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware is a powerful application that runs light in the background (one of the lightest in the industry). |
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While Norton has a good reputation, they've let the ball drop in a few areas letting better products like VIPRE antivirus emerge. |
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The user interface is pleasant and intitive |
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Norton's interface can be daunting for the basic user. |
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The install is fast and easy. |
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While the install if fast and easy, the virus scanning is too labor intensive and can slow down your PC |
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VIPRE's terrific customer support is US-based and person-to-person. |
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Above all, VIPRE is a superb antivirus and antispyware software. |
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Independent testing showed that VIPRE accurately identified, stopped, and destroyed all forms of malware including spyware, viruses, trogans, and more. |
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RESULT: Winner VIPRE.
With great antivirus protection, great customer service, and light resource usage, VIPRE is the easy pick this year for best antivirus software.
Norton AntiVirus tends to be too resource-heavy and lacks the world-class support its key competitors now have. |
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Click Here For More Information . |
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