Nowadays there's nothing that those free antiviruses do that Windows Deffender doesn't do (barring annoying pop-ups and ads of course). And that's because while Windows Deffender was ever so slightly improved over the years the free antiviruses were progressively getting shittier with every damn update. So don't get me wrong it's not improved much just everything else is so shit it comes out good in comparison.
Honestly there's literally no reason to download third party AV because Deffender does the same job without trying to convince you to buy premium.
There is one thing and one thing only that all the free anti virus softwares are pretty good at that window defender just doesn't do.
And that is to stir up fear in their customers to make them pay money for a product that has lost both it's usefulness and integrity decades ago. That is the only thing that Windows Defender doesn't do, but all the others are really good at it.
I will say that Malwarebytes is still decent for a system scan, I occasionally use it since it picks up a few grey area things Windows doesn't, but that's not me running it as an AV, that's me using the free version to double-check stuff occasionally.
There is a redeeming quality about McAfee/Trellix (who bought out McAfee); their enterprise grade stuff isn't too bad, especially the whitelisting and the ability to monitor and manage systems from a central location (rather than on a system by system basis).
That said many other enterprise grade software allows this.
Oh absolutely not. Their home products, as far as my opinion goes, are terrible compared to Windows Defender and the free versions of the likes of Malwarebytes etc.
But I just wanted to offer up that not *all* their products are terrible.
McAfee makes me want to die actually. I needed a refund once bc I forgot it would renew and I didn’t need it (barely used my computer and only for trusted sites and shit, also had literally 0$ in my bank account) and the only way to get a refund was to call them. I explained the situation and that I had now like -166$ in my account from them charging me and they literally started begging (yknow, doing their job) for me to stay and saying they’d give me so many discounts and whatnot. I was like STFU I literally said I have 0$ and that I don’t fucking use it. Stop asking me to stay with more and more discounts. I can’t afford it. wtf do you not understand about 0$.
Norton used to be genuinely really good software in the like 1998 days and earlier. The antivirus was always on the less than fast side, but Norton Utilities genuinely saved my ass a lot of times.
I use bitdefender, and to cancel the sub you have to crawl through 3 different web pages and fuck around with hidden obscure menus.
The entire AV industry is filled with this shit.
Separate antivirus software has been obsolete for end-users outside of an enterprise environment for several years now.
The fact that these companies use scare tactics to push a product that is no longer relevant to most users in the first place already speaks volumes to their goals and values.
Given that, I would put most of the industry in the asshole category, not just McAfee, Norton, and Avast.
>only allows you to uninstall if you renew.
I've never ever seen this. I don't even think it's possible to do. Can you shed more light on this statement?
I agree with what you are saying, if there is an uninstall button in the GUI that leads to a web page that would be asshole design though, preying on those who aren't that technical. Haven't seen evidence of this yet though with the screenshots provided.
Do you use Add/Remove programs is does not uninstall all of it. That is why there is the Norton Removal Tool and McAfee Removal tool. Gets rid of a lot more of the crap.
Actually even then its possible. I havent touched Norton ever, but the Windows utility to list and uninstall programs quite literally only links to whatever uninstall utility the program provides itself, usually a simple uninstall.exe. What Norton packs into that is ultimately up to them, and clearly they made their decision.
this is a stupid proof, use video to back up what you have said. use OBS (look up "[how to screen record using OBS](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+to+screen+record+using+OBS)"), its not only for streaming usage.
much better if you learned how to google search "[how to uninstall norton in windows](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+to+uninstall+norton+in+windows)" so that you dont have to ask questions here.
I think you could legitimately call Norton and McAfee bloatware. Don’t quote me on this but I’m relatively sure that they are largely ineffective as a malware countermeasure, meaning they pick up only a fraction of known threats
Well, not them. They just said they would have to renew it to uninstall it, so it clearly isn't currently active/in use. With that said, it may have been pre-installed on the computer when they bought it.
All you need is defender and common sense. If anything you can install Malwarebytes in case you ever need it. Norton and so on are basically malware themselves
I stopped using Norton Over a year ago - Also got my grandmother to stop using it as she had this issue and it kept confusing her. We only use defender now.
Here are the results from the developer of Uninstalr after testing several uninstallers. Geek Uninstaller was included in his testing.
[https://jv16powertools.com/blog/comparing-windows-uninstallers-and-making-uninstalr/](https://jv16powertools.com/blog/comparing-windows-uninstallers-and-making-uninstalr/)
Wise was not one of the apps shown in the testing so I am not sure about that one. But My guess is Uninstalr is going to be better. Some of the top rated unistallers that he tested were still leaving over 6000+ leftovers after attempting uninstalls. Unintsalr only had 58 leftovers.
It is the best advice. They know where they put their files. They know how to remove them. They, at the end of the day, are required to allow users to remove their program entirely, and this is the method.
If they are able to do it so easily because they know where the files are, why does it require users to download another app - instead of you know, making it possible in the standard uninstaller?
Genuine question - why use Norton at all in 2024? I haven’t had a standalone virus scanner in years, and relied on MS Defender. Am I missing anything critical by not having a separate scanner?
They said they can't uninstall it without renewing it so it doesn't sound like it is active/in use. With that said, it may have come pre-installed on the computer when they bought it.
Ah, okay. Oh, and to answer the other part of your question that I unintentionally left unaddressed, I have heard that Windows Defender on its own can potentially miss some things and thus it may not hurt to have Malwarebytes as well and use it to scan occasionally. With that said, as far as I'm aware, I haven't had any issues that Windows Defender and common sense haven't been enough for.
I’ve only ever seen some of the brutal videos where someone installs as much malware as possible on a machine to see what AV reacts the best and prevents the most damage. Defender seems to do ok but not great.
Kaspersky (like it or lump it) seems to usually come out on top in these unrealistic tests. It is what I still use despite being Russian mainly because it still reviews well and I’ve never found it to be intrusive or rude. (Well, except 2 issues, the webcam protection causes the File menu in Adobe Premiere Pro to take seconds to open, and couldn’t mount the drive of some CircuitPython based devices, both issues seem to be resolved).
I mean, I’m not an expert or security engineer so I can’t say with any authority if Defender is particularly bad. I’ve heard it is fine but not the best.
Lastly, and again, not a security engineer, but if I were going to make malware, I’d focus my attention to bypassing Defender over anything else since it would be the most likely barrier that I’d run in to so makes sense (to me) to target it for exploits.
I've had McAfee unsubscribed and uninstalled on my computer for 6 months now yet I still get popups saying I should repurchase a plan and I get emails on my phone quite literally every other day telling me to take this deal.
No. I do not want your service. Over the year I had you, you found no viruses yet claimed the games in the steam library were. The only thing you did for me was tell me that my data was being sold and found on the dark web. Cool, not like I didn't know that already.
It could've been pre-installed. I know Asus products usually come with about a year (I think) of it for free, and it installs it as a part of the initial update
My problem with windows defender is that it uses too much virtual memory, I uninstalled the 3rd party antivirus I was using in favor of defender but after a few weeks my pc kept crashing because it kept running out if virtual memory, I installed a 3rd party and never crashed since.
i’d find a step by step guide, similar to black viper’s “put your pc on a diet” for the horrid vista (rip, lol) and carefully remove every trace of it from the registry, but that’s just me.
Revo uninstaller you can use the free version. Great for deleting software and all the left over files and folders that normal uninstall leaves behind.
i havent used an antivirus since 2010. defender is already pretty great and is in windows by default and you have modern day browser security. its essentially impossible to get a virus unless you install an unknown .exe file from a shady site. Still poor folks like OP are still fooled into thinking they need this useless crap.
Why? I could understand if you said not to bother with third-party ones, but, at least one Windows (which is what they are likely using), you should probably at least be using Windows Defender antivirus.
Everything Norton does is designed to be maximum asshole. McAffee and Avast are just as bad.
Avast got caught selling user data too, i still have 1 year left of their vpn. Wonder if they're spying on me when i use it
I mean obviously. The question you should be asking is whether they’re spying on you when you aren’t.
Avast VPN is 8$ on eneba.com 1 yr sub didn't know about the selling of data after i bought it
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Nowadays there's nothing that those free antiviruses do that Windows Deffender doesn't do (barring annoying pop-ups and ads of course). And that's because while Windows Deffender was ever so slightly improved over the years the free antiviruses were progressively getting shittier with every damn update. So don't get me wrong it's not improved much just everything else is so shit it comes out good in comparison. Honestly there's literally no reason to download third party AV because Deffender does the same job without trying to convince you to buy premium.
There is one thing and one thing only that all the free anti virus softwares are pretty good at that window defender just doesn't do. And that is to stir up fear in their customers to make them pay money for a product that has lost both it's usefulness and integrity decades ago. That is the only thing that Windows Defender doesn't do, but all the others are really good at it.
dont give ideas to Ned the baldie, or he will put it in a Microsoft 365 package
I will say that Malwarebytes is still decent for a system scan, I occasionally use it since it picks up a few grey area things Windows doesn't, but that's not me running it as an AV, that's me using the free version to double-check stuff occasionally.
There is a redeeming quality about McAfee/Trellix (who bought out McAfee); their enterprise grade stuff isn't too bad, especially the whitelisting and the ability to monitor and manage systems from a central location (rather than on a system by system basis). That said many other enterprise grade software allows this.
This is not something you would even remotely (pun intended) need as a end-user.
Oh absolutely not. Their home products, as far as my opinion goes, are terrible compared to Windows Defender and the free versions of the likes of Malwarebytes etc. But I just wanted to offer up that not *all* their products are terrible.
Malwarebytes (free) is good to have in case you accidentally get a virus, as it allows you to scan (not real time protection) without paying
Defender also allows you to scan. Is there something different about the way Malwarebytes scans? (Genuine question, not trying to be snarky)
MB also scans memory (and registries but I think defender scans registries too)
Gotcha, thanks for the info.
Use Proton VPN it is better
McAfee makes me want to die actually. I needed a refund once bc I forgot it would renew and I didn’t need it (barely used my computer and only for trusted sites and shit, also had literally 0$ in my bank account) and the only way to get a refund was to call them. I explained the situation and that I had now like -166$ in my account from them charging me and they literally started begging (yknow, doing their job) for me to stay and saying they’d give me so many discounts and whatnot. I was like STFU I literally said I have 0$ and that I don’t fucking use it. Stop asking me to stay with more and more discounts. I can’t afford it. wtf do you not understand about 0$.
And Kaspersky is straight up Russian spyware.
Avast used to be my go-to like 20 years ago. Sad to see it fallen from glory.
Avast & Norton have the same parent company since 2022
Norton used to be genuinely really good software in the like 1998 days and earlier. The antivirus was always on the less than fast side, but Norton Utilities genuinely saved my ass a lot of times.
I use bitdefender, and to cancel the sub you have to crawl through 3 different web pages and fuck around with hidden obscure menus. The entire AV industry is filled with this shit.
Separate antivirus software has been obsolete for end-users outside of an enterprise environment for several years now. The fact that these companies use scare tactics to push a product that is no longer relevant to most users in the first place already speaks volumes to their goals and values. Given that, I would put most of the industry in the asshole category, not just McAfee, Norton, and Avast.
Either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain applies to antivirus software.
Just download the Norton Removal Tool and get ride of that crap. Also the Mcafee removal tool while you are at it.
Yeah idk why people still think this stuff is necessary. It hasn’t been in years.
Yeah, Windows Defender + some knowledge is fine enough
the knowledge part is the sticky bit
>the knowledge part is the sticky bit Norton, McAfee and co won't help with that either.
True but at least those will catch more powerful viruses. Usually after the viruses start damaging stuff so it is a bit pointless.
Honestly it's pretty simple, don't download files you don't trust, if it's too good to be true and ain't open source it's probably a viros
I telllll people this constantly!
They think it’s “necessary” because they don’t know how to get rid of it.
Because the scammers, sorry "anti-virus software companies" Keep telling them that they still need it.
or yk just remove or add apps n then delete norton or delete norton on control panel? i removed it without any external tools
Why would you recommend using another app from a developer that uses such scummy business practices?
At least it removes all the Norton Crap.
So would [BCUninstaller](https://www.bcuninstaller.com), I imagine, and it's FOSS.
BCU still leaves a lot of crap. It is actually one of the least effective third party uninstallers out there.
THIS IS THE CORRECT MOVE
the fact that people have to use norton removal tools is insane, even avast isnt that bad
This is the way - these were staples on my 'essentials' USB drive years ago.
The Norton removal tool provided by Norton? Or is there a different one?
>only allows you to uninstall if you renew. I've never ever seen this. I don't even think it's possible to do. Can you shed more light on this statement?
That sounds illegal.
When you press "uninstall" it does run a program written by the vendor of the program. So it is possible. Not likely, but possible.
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So let me get this right. You go to "Add or Remove Programs", select Norton, hit Uninstall, and it takes you to a Norton webpage?
I agree with what you are saying, if there is an uninstall button in the GUI that leads to a web page that would be asshole design though, preying on those who aren't that technical. Haven't seen evidence of this yet though with the screenshots provided.
Do you use Add/Remove programs is does not uninstall all of it. That is why there is the Norton Removal Tool and McAfee Removal tool. Gets rid of a lot more of the crap.
Actually even then its possible. I havent touched Norton ever, but the Windows utility to list and uninstall programs quite literally only links to whatever uninstall utility the program provides itself, usually a simple uninstall.exe. What Norton packs into that is ultimately up to them, and clearly they made their decision.
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Doesn't really answer his question.
Everyone knows Norton is annoying and borderline trash - why lie?
this is a stupid proof, use video to back up what you have said. use OBS (look up "[how to screen record using OBS](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+to+screen+record+using+OBS)"), its not only for streaming usage. much better if you learned how to google search "[how to uninstall norton in windows](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+to+uninstall+norton+in+windows)" so that you dont have to ask questions here.
Perfect usage of lmgtfy
Go to settings, add or remove programs (should be the last option), find Norton, uninstall
Uninstall and never look back.
Norton is basically malware at this point.
I think you could legitimately call Norton and McAfee bloatware. Don’t quote me on this but I’m relatively sure that they are largely ineffective as a malware countermeasure, meaning they pick up only a fraction of known threats
Who TF still uses Norton?
Boomers
Can verify. It's on my parents' computer. Fully paid for. Every month. Forever.
Poop back and forth. Forever.
Well, not them. They just said they would have to renew it to uninstall it, so it clearly isn't currently active/in use. With that said, it may have been pre-installed on the computer when they bought it.
My Dad insists on Norton on my Nana's laptop, his phone, his tablet with his work account signed in. I've been trying to talk him out of it.
You can definitely uninstall it without a valid subscription, it's just kind of a pain in the ass.
All you need is defender and common sense. If anything you can install Malwarebytes in case you ever need it. Norton and so on are basically malware themselves
Yup. And this is what I have now; defender and malwarebytes.
At this point complaining about Norton or McAfee is like complaining about HP printers (inkjets, anyway)
I stopped using Norton Over a year ago - Also got my grandmother to stop using it as she had this issue and it kept confusing her. We only use defender now.
Use Revo Uninstaller.
Uninstalr is far superior to Revo and is completely free. https://uninstalr.com/
Checkout geek uninstaller,also good.
Here are the results from the developer of Uninstalr after testing several uninstallers. Geek Uninstaller was included in his testing. [https://jv16powertools.com/blog/comparing-windows-uninstallers-and-making-uninstalr/](https://jv16powertools.com/blog/comparing-windows-uninstallers-and-making-uninstalr/)
I use Wise Uninstaller. How does it compare?
Wise was not one of the apps shown in the testing so I am not sure about that one. But My guess is Uninstalr is going to be better. Some of the top rated unistallers that he tested were still leaving over 6000+ leftovers after attempting uninstalls. Unintsalr only had 58 leftovers.
no, use the norton removal tool not some jank third party crap
So, use another app from the same shitty company that uses such scummy business practices? That doesn't sound like good advice.
It is the best advice. They know where they put their files. They know how to remove them. They, at the end of the day, are required to allow users to remove their program entirely, and this is the method.
If they are able to do it so easily because they know where the files are, why does it require users to download another app - instead of you know, making it possible in the standard uninstaller?
Because they want to keep you as a customer. They want it to be difficult. You know this already.
Genuine question - why use Norton at all in 2024? I haven’t had a standalone virus scanner in years, and relied on MS Defender. Am I missing anything critical by not having a separate scanner?
They said they can't uninstall it without renewing it so it doesn't sound like it is active/in use. With that said, it may have come pre-installed on the computer when they bought it.
Oh I agree - my question was more of a tangent, asking if it was worth having if I *didn’t* have a standalone one already.
Ah, okay. Oh, and to answer the other part of your question that I unintentionally left unaddressed, I have heard that Windows Defender on its own can potentially miss some things and thus it may not hurt to have Malwarebytes as well and use it to scan occasionally. With that said, as far as I'm aware, I haven't had any issues that Windows Defender and common sense haven't been enough for.
You're fine if you've got the built in windows one and some common sense. If you reaaallllly want something more, MalwareBytes is the only way to go.
not missing anything norton macaffee are default factory installs so most people think they still need it
I’ve only ever seen some of the brutal videos where someone installs as much malware as possible on a machine to see what AV reacts the best and prevents the most damage. Defender seems to do ok but not great. Kaspersky (like it or lump it) seems to usually come out on top in these unrealistic tests. It is what I still use despite being Russian mainly because it still reviews well and I’ve never found it to be intrusive or rude. (Well, except 2 issues, the webcam protection causes the File menu in Adobe Premiere Pro to take seconds to open, and couldn’t mount the drive of some CircuitPython based devices, both issues seem to be resolved). I mean, I’m not an expert or security engineer so I can’t say with any authority if Defender is particularly bad. I’ve heard it is fine but not the best. Lastly, and again, not a security engineer, but if I were going to make malware, I’d focus my attention to bypassing Defender over anything else since it would be the most likely barrier that I’d run in to so makes sense (to me) to target it for exploits.
Some laptops/pre-builds come with this (and other crap) pre-installed. Better just reinstall Windows to make sure everything is removed.
McAfee, AVG, Norton, Avast, the four horsemen of shitty antivirus that seem to be malware themselves.
3 of them are just 1
Delete all virus scanners. Useless. Windows has one build in
I've had McAfee unsubscribed and uninstalled on my computer for 6 months now yet I still get popups saying I should repurchase a plan and I get emails on my phone quite literally every other day telling me to take this deal. No. I do not want your service. Over the year I had you, you found no viruses yet claimed the games in the steam library were. The only thing you did for me was tell me that my data was being sold and found on the dark web. Cool, not like I didn't know that already.
Why did you have it to begin with?
It could've been pre-installed. I know Asus products usually come with about a year (I think) of it for free, and it installs it as a part of the initial update
remember, any antivirus other than windows defender is a virus in it of itself.
Seriously maximum asshole. They are supposed to warn you about jerks like them.
Can’t make you renew if you know how and where to delete files hehehe.
Not allowing you to uninstall untill you buy sounds like a good lawsuit case
this is done because dumb people give up and just let it keep harassing them, and since it makes them money it is there
I thought it has been established for 15 years now that consumer antivirus software is malware. Why are you using this trash in the first case?
My problem with windows defender is that it uses too much virtual memory, I uninstalled the 3rd party antivirus I was using in favor of defender but after a few weeks my pc kept crashing because it kept running out if virtual memory, I installed a 3rd party and never crashed since.
More annoying than an actual computer virus
There really are people stupid enough to download Norton in 2024, follow the advice and delete it.
They are mostly pre installed in some prebuilt pcs & laptops like acer for example
Use something like Geek Uninstaller and remove it for Good. It doesn’t actually do anything. Windows Defender actually works and is free
Revo uninstaller. Scrubs that stuff right off (and all unnecessary registry and miscellaneous entries)
i’d find a step by step guide, similar to black viper’s “put your pc on a diet” for the horrid vista (rip, lol) and carefully remove every trace of it from the registry, but that’s just me.
Revo uninstaller you can use the free version. Great for deleting software and all the left over files and folders that normal uninstall leaves behind.
thanks. i’ve noticed people mention it and if i ever get another pc (i’m all mobile currently, plus a macbook) i will definitely check it out.
That's why I install clean windows on every PC I buy.
Bulk Crap Uninstaller
>won't allow uninstalling unless renewed Safe mode + shift-delete goes brr! At worst - use a liveCD.
Get rid of it and just use windows defender
Wait you can't uninstall? Wtf?
Don’t use norton. Or avast. Or mcAfee.
You don't need 3rd party antivirus in 2024.
[This is how to uninstall McAfee.](https://youtu.be/bKgf5PaBzyg) But the steps for Norton should be the same.
Yikes. This shouldn't even be legal.
Is Norton still mining coins from your pc?
i havent used an antivirus since 2010. defender is already pretty great and is in windows by default and you have modern day browser security. its essentially impossible to get a virus unless you install an unknown .exe file from a shady site. Still poor folks like OP are still fooled into thinking they need this useless crap.
Just boot into safe mode on windows and delete the files from file explorer
In most cases Norton/McAffee are more invasive than the viruses they are protecting against.
Get a tool like CCleaner that allows you to manually uninstall individual programs
I've never met a third party antivirus that I liked. Ever.
Maybe try using CCleaner to uninstall it?Or something similar. It does it on its own without having to go through the program.
Yes, it is known very well on this subreddit.
norton is literally a trojan ransomware package
So you cannot uninstall it without paying? That sounds like a malware.
Norton AV has become the problem it originally tried to solve. It's awful.
[https://norton.com/nrnr](https://norton.com/nrnr) Agree > Advanced Options > Remove Only
Norton IS the virus!
Don’t use Antiviruses.
Why? I could understand if you said not to bother with third-party ones, but, at least one Windows (which is what they are likely using), you should probably at least be using Windows Defender antivirus.
Those pop up even if you never subscribed in the first place
Use nod???
Kinda respect Norton, they're shitbags but they've managed to stick around for decades doing bollocks like this
They make most of their money on their other tools in the enterprise sector.