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VIPRE vs. Norton
Figuring out where to begin in comparing antivirus software can be challenging: facts, figures, pricing, opinions, statistics.
After a while, it really can feel like blah, blah, blah.
Our aim is to cut through the noise and help distill things for you so that making a decision is fast, painless, and easy.
To do just that, we've begun adding a new section to our site that contains head-to-head comparisons of the best antivirus software for 2009.
On these pages, you can compare the best, most important features of each program so you can see which is best for your needs.
On this page, you'll see us compare:
VIPRE Antivirus + Antispware vs. Norton Antivirus 2009.
$29.95*
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Vs. |
$39.99*
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Which Has the Best Real-time Protection?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
Automatic, real-time Active Protection is enabled in VIPRE by default.
This gives complete real-time PC protection for email, web activity, file usage, and more.
Independent test results showed that VIPRE properly eliminated 2/3 of malware and viruses.
The other 1/3 of questionable malware was accurately labeled for the user to eliminate or pass.
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Real-time antivirus protection is enabled by default in Norton.
Independent tests put Norton only slightly behind Kaspersky, which we're fond of, when it comes to active virus detection.
Overall, an adequate real-time antivirus performance for most people's computer security / antivirus needs.
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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 |
Norton |
VIPRE integrates antispyware and antivirus in one solution.
The two malware protection suites work seamlessly with one another making one powerful application.
Antispyware definitions take a few minutes to download after install.
After the initial install, future antispyware definitions are downloaded more quickly.
Testing showed that VIPRE is equally effective against spyware as it is against viruses.
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Independent testing showed that Norton didn't catch nearly as many spyware traces as it should have.
We really expect more from a company like Symantec that has been fighting malware for as long as they have.
Sometimes only harmless cookies were recognized while other known spyware programs were left running.
Further testing showed Norton to skip over or misidentify potential spyware altogether.
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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?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
VIPRE antivirus is practically synonymous with low resource use.
Manual scanning tests showed that VIPRE used only one third the memory of Norton.
On top of that, CPU was about 25% less than Norton.
During real-time antivirus protection, VIPRE was well below 1% of total memory used.
VIPRE easily consumes the fewest system resources of any AV software reviewed.
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Independent testing showed that Norton antivirus used-up almost two thirds more memory than VIPRE during a manual scan.
CPU used during a scan was one fourth more than VIPRE.
During real-time antivirus protection, Norton used well over 4% of memory to run.
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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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?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
The UI (user interface) of VIPRE antivirus is intuitive and very easy to use.
The main screen shows all the essential information you need like:
- last scan time
- feature options
- current risk level
- previous updates
The scan results page is easy to understand and is clearly labeled with what you need to do next.
Overall, VIPRE's UI is pleasing and easy to navigate.
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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.
While frequently used screens are easy to figure out, some of the less-frequently used ones required too much digging to get to.
This means some of the seemingly advanced options were buried behind several clicks.
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 |
Norton |
Sunbelt (the makers of VIPRE antivirus) is well known for its superb customer service.
All of their support reps are US-based and responded quickly and professionally.
All the usuals are included: FAQ pages, knowledgebase, phone and email support at no cost.
The phone numbers and links to support topics are all easily found on their website.
Sunbelt seems eager to serve the customer with any service and tech support issues.
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Norton's customer service is the weakest feature of this antivirus.
Their support site makes it difficult (some would argue impossible) to get in touch with a real human being.
There are several "help" layers that the user must dig through just to find an email or phone service.
Eventually, you can get to a phone number, but be prepared for some time clicking through numerous pages first.
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 rifle through a million pages on a website when you need help?)
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Which is Easiest to Install?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
For the most part, VIPRE's installation process is fast and easy for anyone.
There is the standard set-up wizard that walks you through some basic steps then you're done.
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.
This is completely normal, but it can take up to 10 or 15 min.
After this initial update, all future updates are smaller and snappy.
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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.
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.
Initial updates are needed and can take a few minutes to download. This is normal.
Antivirus definitions will download faster in the future.
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?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
VIPRE provides good email protection from viruses and other malware.
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.)
As far as antivirus software goes, VIPRE does a solid job with email scanning.
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Norton does an adequate job when it comes to email virus scanning.
POP3 and SMTP email clients are supported along with Outlook and Outlook Express.
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?
| VIPRE |
Norton |
When adding up all of the major comparison points, it becomes clear that VIPRE is the best 2009 antivirus software.
VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware is a powerful application that runs light in the background (one of the lightest in the industry).
The user interface is pleasant and intitive.
The install is fast and easy.
VIPRE's terrific customer support is US-based and person-to-person.
Above all, VIPRE is a superb antivirus and antispyware software.
Independent testing showed that VIPRE accurately identified, stopped, and destroyed all forms of malware including spyware, viruses, trogans, and more.
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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.
While Norton has a good reputation, they've let the ball drop in a few areas letting better products like VIPRE antivirus emerge.
Norton's interface can be daunting for the basic user.
While the install if fast and easy, the virus scanning is too labor intensive and can slow down your PC.
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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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VIPRE vs BitDefender Antivirus
