McAfee vs. Norton

Two impressive antivirus software solutions from two long-term players give both personal and business computer users improved options in the latest editions. Norton AntiVirus 2011 and McAfee's AntiVirus Plus 2011 both have much to offer.

In looking at the performance of McAfee vs. Norton, it's no surprise that McAfee, despite an overall adequate performance, is still playing second fiddle to Norton's well-recognized security solution. Both Symantec/Norton and McAfee are big names in computer security software. Both of the two applications are easy to install. McAfee's installation isn't sidelined by the presence of malware that may already be on your computer before installation. That's because AntiVirus Plus 2011 sweeps the path as it proceeds through the install.

In an overall look at McAfee vs. Norton solutions, both protect against common threats such as worms, viruses, rootkits and malicious code, as well as hackers, scammers and unwanted adware. Norton Antivirus 2011 offers a proprietary installer that circumvents the traditional installer. Reviewers criticized Norton AntiVirus 2009 for its less-than-optimal performance, but the company listened, and the updated software is lean, with overzealous resource usage no longer an issue.

In a side-by-side comparison of McAfee vs. Norton in terms of overall performance and scope of solutions, opinion seems to head Norton's way, and likely it's because Norton doesn't compromise an overall great user experience with any significant downsides. While it's certainly true that both companies share a commitment to continually adding new benefits and features and improving performance, Norton pulls ahead with its advances in using heuristic technology and reputation scanning to mount a proactive response to newly emerging malware threats.

In contrast, while McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2011 has made some impressive improvements, some critics still cite a higher-than-desired rate for flagging benign code as malicious. However, McAfee has some features that offer a nice touch, including a file shredder and a utility called QuickClean that deals with fragmented files that can affect your computer's performance.

The competitive spirit of McAfee vs. Norton has pushed both companies to offer better performance. Both Norton's AntiVirus 2011 and McAfee's AntiVirus Plus 2011 have improved updates for emerging malware threats. Norton delivers these every few minutes, and McAfee times its updates for when your computer will better handle them without affecting performance. One new feature is Norton's real-time stats on the good, not-so-good and downright-ugly files discovered by Norton's user community.

AntiVirus 2011 offers SiteAdvisor, a proprietary plugin that provides greater ease of mind while you engage in internet surfing and eCommerce. Working with almost two-dozen search engines, the plugin displays security ratings for websites. Even though reviewers found that McAfee's solution is effective at blocking malware, its ability to clean up following an intrusion isn't complete. However, in McAfee vs. Norton, most would agree that Norton is lean and mean enough to repel nine out of ten malware threats, and is effective in removing what it finds.

No security solution will catch every piece of malicious code. It's still a code arms race. In fact, Symantec says the growth of crimeware – which cyber criminals use to work together to mount a widespread attack on computer networks by using attack toolkits – are "advancing the evolution of cybercrime" into an illegal activity worth millions of dollars. Regardless of your choice in McAfee vs. Norton, protection against malware is critically important.

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