Norton vs. Trend Micro

Emails come in to pcAntivirusReviews regularly asking what's better Antivirus Software X or Antivirus Software Y.

Since not all antivirus applications are created equally, these questions have a lot of validity.

What's more, many consumers have an affinity for a particular antivirus program, and for many reason aren't necessarily interested in our top-rated, best antivirus program, VIPRE, so we've gone about creating a section of our site for the express purpose of helping consumers view two antivirus programs in a head-to-head comparison.

On this AV comparison page, we pit: Norton Antivirus vs. Trend Micro Antivirus.

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$39.99* Vs. $39.95*

Which Has the Best Real-time Protection?

Norton	Trend Micro
Norton's real-time antivirus protection does a decent job but is still too slow. Many consumers have complained, understandably so, at Norton's lackluster performance. The resource usage is just too heavy for most users and tends to slow down your PC. While Norton's real-time antivirus engine does offer good overall protection, the heavy footprint makes it less desirable this year. Independent antivirus reviews showed Norton's real-time protection to stand up well to the competition.	Trend Micro's real-time protection is enabled by default, but performs well below acceptable levels. And, unfortunately, Trend Micro has proven to be inconsistent when scanning for viruses and malware. Independent antivirus reviews showed Trend Micro's test results to be mixed and uneven. Many known viruses and malware slipped through from time to time. Trend Micro needs to greatly improve their test results to regain some of their previous status.
RESULT: Winner Norton Norton takes the prize here because they have a better antivirus engine than Trend Micro.

Which is Most Effective Against Spyware?

Norton	Trend Micro
The antispyware feature on Norton this year has been shown to be equally effective with spyware as it is with viruses and all malware. Your computer is kept safe with the most current antispyware definition downloads (often within 5 minutes). These speedy updates are praiseworthy, as today's threats can evolve very quickly. Independent testing showed Norton's antispyware component to be comparable to its antivirus component.	Trend Micro's spyware detection and removal record hasn't improved in this year's version. Testing showed Trend Micro's antispyware component to have too many holes. While some test results were positive, others were quite negative where known spyware samples slipped through. Unfortunately, we can't recommend Trend Micro's antispyware feature for daily use.
RESULT: Winner Norton Norton's antispyware feature is just as effective as its antivirus feature: effective albeit slow.

Which Has the Lowest Resource Usage?

Norton	Trend Micro
Even though Norton has been able to reduce their overall footprint this year, they're still having trouble bringing down their resource usage to be inline with competitors like VIPRE. During a manual scan, Norton used about 33% less memory than Trend Micro did. CPU usage was about 25% more than Trend Micro. During real-time protection, Norton used about 25% less memory than Trend Micro did. While Norton proved to be much lighter than Trend Micro, they're still a bit sluggish compared to other top antivirus brands.	Trend Micro falls slightly behind Norton this year in resource usage. Trend Micro used 33% more memory than Norton did during a manual scan. CPU percentage was about 25% less than Norton during a scan. Trend Micro was far more heavy in real-time protection at a whopping 6% memory usage. Overall, Trend Micro was one of the bottom-ranked antivirus applications for resource usage.
RESULT: Winner Norton Despite the fact that Norton is still a heavy, resource intensive program, Trend Micro has proven to be even heavier overall.

Which Has the Best User Interface?

Norton	Trend Micro
Norton's UI (user interface) is very detailed but clunky. The left-hand navigation links are mostly easy to use, but are contrasted with top navigation links on different pages. This can create a confusing navigation system for most users who would likely be better off with a more centralized navigation. There are also multi-layer, expandable navigation section, as well as several pop-up screens. All of this combined presents a UI more cumbersome and confusing than it needs to be for most users.	The user interface for Trend Micro is easy to use and pleasant to look at. The left-hand navigation is clearly labeled making it easy to see which features need attention. On the main screen you'll find all the important information such as: last update, last scan, security activity, and protection status. Scan results are clearly labeled and relatively easy to understand for the advanced or beginning user.
RESULT: Winner Trend Micro Trend Micro's UI is much nicer and much more clearly labeled.

Which Has the Best Customer Support?

Norton	Trend Micro
Customer tech support with Norton continues to be a challenge. They offer a good knowledge base, but we're sad to report still charge a fee for phone support. Most companies now offer free phone support for tech issues, but Norton is still determined to charge for their services. While the knowledge base may be enough for some, we believe free phone support is a must these days.	Customer support for Trend Micro is better than many of their antivirus competitors' support is. A ticket-based support is offered with free email and phone support. Their phone numbers are clearly labeled and easy to find. Free chat and a thorough knowledge base are also available. However, Trend Micro's customer support can be slower than we'd like. Overall, Trend Micro gets high marks for their tech support efforts.
RESULT: Winner Trend Micro With free phone and email support, Trend takes the prize here.

Which is Easiest to Install?

Norton	Trend Micro
The installation process for Norton this year is lighter and faster, taking 1 or 2 minutes at most. It's impressive and deserves praise. An install wizard walks you through the standard steps needed to complete the installation process without any issues. However, there's an important aspect that needs to be considered. If you decide to uninstall Norton Antivirus, each registry component may not be completely removed. This can lead to some issues for your PC down the line. Also, their LiveUpdate feature needs to be separately uninstalled. While Norton's installation is simple and fast, the uninstall needs to be just as good, after all, didn't they build the installer that put the software there in the first place?	The installation process for Trend Micro is fast and relatively simple. A few standard set-up options are presented, and then the installation will complete itself. On the down-side, the latest virus definitions will need about 30 minutes to completely download. Trend Micro needs to connect to its database in order to update itself for the first time. After that, current virus definitions should download much faster.
RESULT: Tie Both Norton and Trend Micro have their pros and cons for installation. Norton is definitely faster and easier to install but has a poor uninstall.

Which Has the Best Email Virus Protection?

Norton	Trend Micro
Norton's email antivirus protection feature does an adequate job at protecting your inbox from spyware and virus threats. Outlook, Outlook Express, and all other standard email clients are supported. POP3 and SMTP supported clients will work with Norton as well (like Thunderbird or Eudora). One drawback is the fact that since Norton uses the same antivirus engine for email protection as it does for normal PC protection, so you may experience a slower computer overall.	Trend Micro's email antivirus protection is average for the most part. Emails are actively scanned before reaching your inbox. All major email clients are supported including Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird, and Windows Mail. POP3 email clients are also supported by Trend Micro. Overall, Trend Micro's email antivirus protection gets the job done with average results.
RESULT: Tie Both Norton and Trend Micro do an average job with email protection.

What's the Best Antivirus Software?

Norton	Trend Micro
We commend Norton for making such terrific improvements over previous year's efforts, but there's still some work to do. Norton still packs a solid antivirus engine, but it tends to slow down your PC during scanning and real-time protection. Their paid tech support still needs to be changed to free support for all of their customers. The user interface needs a major overhaul to make it much simpler and easier to navigate. While Norton is still a viable option for loyal users, there are several other worthy competitors on the market today.	There are two main factors why Trend Micro antivirus fell down in rank this year: poor virus protection and heavy resource usage. Testing proved Trend Micro still has too many holes in its antivirus engine making it unreliable. The heavy resource usage makes it undesirable for regular use. On the positive side, Trend Micro's customer support is one of the best support systems in the business, we're happy to report. The interface is clean and easy to use. With so many nice features, it's unfortunate that an otherwise good product fails too often at its core function: antivirus protection.
RESULT: Winner Norton Norton is still a good antivirus alternative despite some of its failings. For those wanting to return to Norton, this year's effort is a viable option.

Norton vs Trend Micro: Conclusion

Norton	Trend Micro
#1 $39.99*	#2 $39.95*
* $35.99 with our exclusive coupon.	* $35.95 with our exclusive coupon.
CONCLUSION: Winner Norton