Norton 360 or Norton Internet Security + Norton Online Backup?

Hi all,

 

I'm currently running NIS 2013 and Norton Online Backup, both are coming up for renewal in a few months time, and I'm wondering whether it would be better/more cost effective to switch to Norton 360.

 

So, community, what do you think?

What are the advantages to switching to 360?

What are the disadvantages?

Or should I stick with NIS and NOBU?

Which is better value for money?

Is there anything that NIS+NOBU does that 360 doesn't?

Thanks for the reply intesec.

 

I was aware of most of what you posted already, and none of it really answers my questions, but thanks anyway.

 

However, I was intrigued by one part of your post:

 


intesec wrote:

Do you use the identity safe/vault and is it local or online?

  



I do use Identity Safe, and it is online.

 

Does this affect which product is best for me?

 

I thought 360 included Indentity Safe, does it not?

Hi all,

 

I'm currently running NIS 2013 and Norton Online Backup, both are coming up for renewal in a few months time, and I'm wondering whether it would be better/more cost effective to switch to Norton 360.

 

So, community, what do you think?

What are the advantages to switching to 360?

What are the disadvantages?

Or should I stick with NIS and NOBU?

Which is better value for money?

Is there anything that NIS+NOBU does that 360 doesn't?

Personally I would stick with NIS since it concentrates on security. It is also much more controllable by the user if so wanted. N360 is directed to the nontechnical fit and forget user and has less settings that can be adjusted for personal needs, or likes.

 

It tends to be noticeably less expensive if you buy online from reputable sources.

 

If you desperately need some of the tools included in N360 that deal with computer "maintenance" then you will find that some are already in Windows (Windows 7 default setting is to defrag silently in the background during idle time and I've never noticed it interfering. Any time I've looked it says I'm 0% fragmented ....) and others are available as free downloads and in versions that can be safer to use than the automated no user control equivalents in N360.

 

Just my 2¢ ....

Again, I agree with Hugh. For most people Norton Internet Security is the best option, unless you require the online storage and tune up facilities included with 360.

 

There are better free tools you can use, especially when it comes to system maintenance.


Scorpion0x17 wrote:
intesec wrote:

Do you use the identity safe/vault and is it local or online?

  



I do use Identity Safe, and it is online.

 

Does this affect which product is best for me?

 

I thought 360 included Indentity Safe, does it not?


Yes, N 360 does in fact include Identity Safe - the same as NIS does, so it is really a non-plyer in deciding between NIS and N 360.

FWIW and once again, my 2 cents worth.  There are better programs available for BakUp than what is offered with N 360, which BTW is not a full system imaging BU.  It does backup filespicturs and documents, bit there has been some situations documented on the forums that it does not behave properly all the time. 

 

Also, I'll tell you up front I am not an advocate of Registry Cleaners.  I use them when I have no other choice - but on a regular basis as some users do.  That said, I'll also add that I would not use the cleaner included with N360, as it does not ask prior to deleting whatit thinks should be removed.  I am running N 360 on one system adn the Registry Cleaner has been disabed (along with the BU) ever since I installed it.

 

So now you have a few different opinons, but the bottom line is still that you have to make the decision.  Good luck with what ever you decide and if you need more info - you know where to find us.

 

<< So now you have a few different opinons ...  >>

 

Nope ... The same opinion from a bunch of different people .... <vbg>


huwyngr wrote:

<< So now you have a few different opinons ...  >>

 

Nope ... The same opinion from a bunch of different people .... <vbg>


LOL!

 

Precisely what I thought!

 

Anyway, thanks all for your opinions.

 

Now, here's the thing that got me to start thinking about switching to 360 - I recently had an issue with NOBU, which has been resolved, but whilst using the Live Chat support option it transpired that the Backup feature in 360 includes a more detailed error log, than that you get from NOBU.

 

So, my immediate thought was, "wait there? so, essentially, I'm paying more (i.e. paying for NOBU on top of the cost of NIS vs 360 which includes a backup solution and which I can get for a similar price to NIS) for an inferior product (NOBU as compared to the backup in 360)!"...

 

Now, I, of course, know that I can shop around to get the best price I can for NIS and NOBU.

 

But I could do that for 360 too, so that point is essentially moot.

 

However, from the sound of it, it appears I would be better off sticking with NIS and perhaps considering finding another online backup solution other than NOBU.

 

Is that correct?

<< However, from the sound of it, it appears I would be better off sticking with NIS and perhaps considering finding another online backup solution other than NOBU.  >>

 

I don't know if that is correct but it's what I would do <g> And I think suggested above.

 

I don't do cloud, for backup or whatever, and for back ups the fastest and most convenient is to get a large external hard drive and hold your backups on that. You can get enormous hard drives for very little now and especially with Black this and that still around.

 

Check out this Newegg site for example where there's even a portable 1TB drive for $60 which is what my son paid the other week for the 500GB version ...

 

Or this Newegg selection I whittled down with 2TB for $100 .... and note the Seagate is USB 3 which you may not yet have on your PC but when you do (easy and cheap to add if it's a desktop) you get very high  transfer speeds.

 

If you like cloud because of access while away from base then consider just putting up there stuff you must have then and copying it there from the external hard drive.

Thanks again Hugh.

 

I use the Online Backup for my most important documents, and so on. Basically, I use it as an 'off site backup', to use a more corporate analogy.

 

I do also use a local backup (currently a USB flash drive, as that's most convenient, and I don't need incremental backups or anything like that).

 

Eventually I'll probably also end up getting a 4-drive NAS with RAID (when the prices drop to the point where I can afford it).

Sounds like you have it well in hand .....

 

Came across these while browsing on NAS --

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401086,00.asp 

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-network-attached-storage/ 

 

  -- which you may find interesting surveys.

 

And I find this site has good technical reviews of hardware .... eg http://benchmarkreviews.com/?s=NAS


huwyngr wrote:

<< However, from the sound of it, it appears I would be better off sticking with NIS and perhaps considering finding another online backup solution other than NOBU.  >>

 

I don't know if that is correct but it's what I would do <g> And I think suggested above.

 

I don't do cloud, for backup or whatever, and for back ups the fastest and most convenient is to get a large external hard drive and hold your backups on that. You can get enormous hard drives for very little now and especially with Black this and that still around.

 

Check out this Newegg site for example where there's even a portable 1TB drive for $60 which is what my son paid the other week for the 500GB version ...

 

Or this Newegg selection I whittled down with 2TB for $100 .... and note the Seagate is USB 3 which you may not yet have on your PC but when you do (easy and cheap to add if it's a desktop) you get very high  transfer speeds.

 

If you like cloud because of access while away from base then consider just putting up there stuff you must have then and copying it there from the external hard drive.


excellent.gif  post.

 

The thread has been interesting reading.  I renewed my 360 license last week but I may go with NIS next year as it looks like a better choice for me.  Last year when I switched from my previous AV to Norton, 360 gave me a better "feel" as a choice but since I don't use the Norton Backup option and I usually prefer more user-adjustment options, I'll try NIS next year.

 

I also use external HDD's for my backups with a 4 Tb Seagate for storing full-disk images and a portable slimline HDD for daily incremental-file backups.

Hi, Scoop. As I said to the OP, I've run NIS ever since I got a computer and have never needed the back up and tune up options that Norton 360 offers. Horses for courses, but I think you'll find NIS will serve you well.


F4E wrote:

Hi, Scoop. As I said to the OP, I've run NIS ever since I got a computer and have never needed the back up and tune up options that Norton 360 offers. Horses for courses, but I think you'll find NIS will serve you well.


gp.jpg

 

Last year at this time, I was in a hurry to dump my previous AV and I decided on 360 fairly fast so I didn't dig into the info about NIS enough but no complaints, Norton's scored an A+ after year one.

 

I'm the same, I use other backup tools but I like to see Norton including backups in the product as (my take) the overall backup philosophy isn't promoted enough.  I tend to think that way due to the daily posts I read here and elsewhere where users are affected by the countless malicioius objects in cyberland.

 

Over at the "Bleeping Computer" site, there are posts about users that have to pay that Cryptolocker ransom.  That's terrible, I hate to see that happen to people when the preventative measue is easy to have in place.

sScoop8, you said:  "Over at the "Bleeping Computer" site, there are posts about users that have to pay that Cryptolocker ransom.  That's terrible, I hate to see that happen to people when the preventative measue is easy to have in place."

 

What might that preventative measure be, other than being careful where we go and what we click on?

Hi, Richard02. Apart from avoiding clicking onto unsolicited emails etc, safe browsing always, and have a look at the Tech Outpost, towards the bottom of the Norton Forums page.

 

There are a few entries re Cryptolocker, which make interesting reading.

 

You can always use Norton Dns servers as well using Norton ConnectSafe.

 

https://dns.norton.com/dnsweb/homePage.do

 


Richard02 wrote:

Scoop8, you said:  "Over at the "Bleeping Computer" site, there are posts about users that have to pay that Cryptolocker ransom.  That's terrible, I hate to see that happen to people when the preventative measue is easy to have in place."

 

What might that preventative measure be, other than being careful where we go and what we click on?


Hi, and wel.png

 

I didn't post clearly that day, sorry :)  What I meant to say was, there's an easy way to prevent paying a ransom and an easy way to recover from most malware or viruses.

 

If one maintains a routine backup srategy, you can avoid becoming a victim of ransomware such as the Cryptolocker variant and most other malicious intrusions.

 

One approach is to run daily incremental backups of those must-protect items, such as an e-mail client's data file, or personal banking tools (ie "Quicken", etc) data files, and files that are frequently edited/changed.

 

The other suggestion is to maintain a working tested spare HDD with a periodic cloning and/or full-disk Imaging plan.  This will protect you from nearly all types of malicious intrusions as well as provide a complete bootable replacement backup of your HDD.

 

Both approaches will, with the exception being affected by a rare BIOS intrusion, prevent one from being held hostage by a ransomeware infection.

 

[Edtiorial column] :smileyhappy:

 

When I post suggestions about backing up one's data, it's coming from personal experience, "I've been there, done that", got hit with a malicious attack years ago and had to re-install my OS (Windows for me).  I was backing up specific items at that time so I didn't lose those must-have items but that was a headache, reinstalling programs, etc.

 

After that happened, I sought out help from a friend, and also researched full-HDD backup tools, and said "never again" :smileyhappy:

 

As the regular volunteer members have posted numerous times at this forum, there's no AV/antimalware product available that can offer 100% guaranteed 24/7 protection against the vast number of malicious code and attack platforms that are being injected into the 'net these days.

 

With that in mind, my best suggestion is a three-fold approach:

 

- Practice safe 'net procedures, as you mentioned in your post

 

- Use a reliable AV product and an antimaleare-specific product to protect your PC's

 

- Maintain a personal backup plan

 

The thing that PC users need to understand is that, even with safe 'net practices, you can get hit by malicious incidences.

 

I've been hit while visiting one of my daily reputable 'net sites with my AV up to date, safe practices in place, no e-mail opening attachments, etc.  With all that in place, I was still hit last year.  Ironically, that's the incident that got me to drop my previous AV product and switch to Norton.

 

When that incident occurred, which was a variant of the "FBI" ransomware, I removed my HDD and installed my spare cloned HDD.  I was running again within a few minutes without spending time seeking help online or downloading specific cleaning tools.

 

That said, the volunteers here and elsewhere, such as Quad's help site, are necessary and they help countless PC users on a daily basis.

 

If I had that talent, I might give that a try since it's an interesting topic, how this malicious code works and more importantly, how to remove it.

 

Since I don't have that knowledge, and it would take me about 100 years to obtain it :smileyhappy:, I focus on recovery plans.  I rely on Norton to block ~95-99% of detected threats and I look for any signs of intrusions that may have penetrated Norton's defenses.  As long as I know I'm infected, that's the important part for me as replacing the infected HDD will* get me back up and running in a short period of time.

 

* Excepting rare BIOS infections.