Review by A. Rhodes

Try different security software since all manufacturers offer free trials (most 30 days, though Norton’s is 15), and no security software works great on all computers. You can then purchase the software you like elsewhere at a lower cost compared to the manufacturer and type in the security key.

I am giving stars to the security software I tried based on how well it protects and what are the odds of the product working well. On the plus side Norton is bullet proof, and I can attest to that since we use it at work (it also has advantages in a network environment). Five star protection.

On the down side, from my perspective that while this is the first year since 1993 performance is not bad but still not good. But my biggest problem is that I think it is locked down so tight that it too easily causes side affects.

I tried 360 at home and I could not get it to work at all, and I have a high level of expertise with computers. But that is OK since like I said, no security software works perfectly on all computers. However I could not remove it. I tried standard uninstall, a utility program on the Norton site, and standard windows methods including registry deletions. I finally booted up in command mode and deleted the program that way. However I then lost network connections and tried for three hours before I gave up and did a total new install of Windows. It must have thought I was a virus. We have problems at work which we solve with new installs also. Based on all that I hear at work, and my experience with the trials, I feel odds are good it will not work for you hence two stars.

I also evaluated Trend Micro and BitDefender on two of my home computers, a super fast computer and my kids old 1.4ghz clunker, both XP computers built by me. BitDefender was outstanding on my kids virus/malware magnet, but somehow either it or I turned off protection on my computer (granted it warned me with two big red X’s and I was too dense to look that up). The 2007 version of Trend Micro does not work on my kid’s computer. I hated the McAfee 2007 interface so I never tried the 2008 version.

Bottom line - TrendMicro, BitDefender, Norton, Panda, and others offer great protection. Pick one and see if it works great. If you do not have Norton, I would try one of the others first since I think others have a better chance of working. I decided on TrendMicro, bought the software from Amazon much cheaper then straight from TrendMicro, and inserted the security key into the evaluation copy.