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Norton or McAfee for virus protection for Windows XP? I want something with a light footprint.

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This thread is eight years old; the Windows XP era advice needs an explicit update. Windows XP reached end-of-support on April 8, 2014, which means no platform security patches are available and exposure to new vulnerabilities is high. Organizations and operators of legacy endpoints are advised to treat XP systems as higher-risk assets and plan migration or isolation accordingly. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical, low-footprint guidance that complements the original replies from , , , and : run a single, well-maintained real-time scanner (avoid running multiple live AV engines at once), supplement it with on-demand scanners and rescue-media checks, and schedule full scans for idle periods. Conflicts and severe slowdowns are common when two real-time products compete for I/O and kernel hooks, so only one resident scanner should be active. For measuring actual impact on an XP box, use Process Explorer (or Task Manager) to track memory, CPU and file I/O before/after installing or tuning a product; that data makes configuration trade-offs objective. (support.symantec.com)

Concrete steps that aged threads often miss: disable AutoRun/AutoPlay to block USB/optical autorun propagation (backup the registry first), keep daily definition updates if vendor support exists, and keep an offline, tested backup and rescue plan for recovery. A minimal registry tweak that has been used to stop autorun parsing is shown below — apply only with a backup and administrative change control:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@="@SYS:DoesNotExist"

For product selection and current performance/detection trade-offs, consult recent independent lab comparisons rather than decades-old forum claims; independent test reports highlight which products actually meet the “light on resources” and “effective protection” balance. (kb.cert.org)

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Member Avatar for tylerg

Norton or McAfee for virus protection for Windows XP? I want something with a light footprint.

I'd actually reccomend Avg Antivirus far above McAfee or Norton. McAfee and Norton are both massive resource hogs - McAfee especially is pretty bad about this. Avg is light, does its job well, and automatically updates itself as needed. If you like you can shell out for a license, but there's no need as they have a free version available for non-corporate use.

Here's a link to the free version from download.com:
http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10342876.html?tag=lst-0-2

Member Avatar for DMR

I'll second tylerg's recommendation, Dani- AVG is light, fast, frequently updated, and free for personal use.

I've used it on my own machines for quite some time, and it's also what I install on clients' machines, usually right after I discover that they let their subscriptions to Norton or McAfee run out. :mrgreen:

Member Avatar for jwenting

Whatever you do, steer far far away from Norton.

Personally I'd suggest Kaspersky for overall quality but it may be a tad heavy.

Member Avatar for Lightninghawk

Whatever you do, steer far far away from Norton.

Personally I'd suggest Kaspersky for overall quality but it may be a tad heavy.

Amen! Norton went bizerk with the release of 2005. I still use 2004 system works. It runs very nicely, still heavy though.

Mcafee - fair, they are climbing slowly back to where they used to be. Somewhere on the top. But they are still aways from it.

AVG - is the best anti-virus out there. And the free version is just as good as the costly one. Good news? Yeah. I mean you're only paying for a few extra options. It's mostly a trojan hunter but it finds almost everything. (personal record was 3003 viruses on one machine here at the school, and the computer still ran :O )

Kaspersky - Now this bad boy right here. (Kaspersky Anti-Hacker & System Mechanic 6 Pro). They are dominating the utility word right now. You have to remember this is a heavy one. So it may not be what you're looking for.
Some of the features are:

- Kaspersky Anti-Hacker is the anti virus program and firewall
These Tools also included:

Optimization Tools

* Boost Internet speeds up to 300%
* Tweak over 100 hidden Windows settings
* Recover, Defragment, and Optimize Memory
* Start Windows Up Faster!
* High-speed Disk Defrag and Optimization

PC Fixup Tools

* Clean and optimize your system registry
* Purge invalid uninstaller information
* Find and fix broken shortcuts

System Cleanup Tools

* Get rid of junk files on your PC (make sure they are junk :P )
* Cover the tracks you leave behind (you wouldn't believe some of the options here)
* Find and Remove Duplicate Files (this works like a dream)
* Stop annoying Internet popup ads

Security Tools

* Securely delete sensitive information
* Eliminate PC Parasites with SpyHunter (it works... i prefer adaware and spybot)
* Create system snapshots to track changes

Maintenance Tools

* Easy PC maintenance wizard
* Easy access with the Utility Bar
* Schedule your PC's maintenance
* Access logs and system statistics

Member Avatar for Dani

Thanks guys. I"ll look into AVG. I used to use Norton but it got too resource intensive for my taste so I switched to McAfee, which I felt had a lighter footprint. My subscription is nearly up and I was debating whether to renew or not.

Member Avatar for Thomas00

If you had anti-virus protection and not anti-spywre protection then that is the main reason. You need both. Check out our Virus Removal for spyware removal is available or not.more information on protecting yourself in the future on <snip></snip> which give you both i.e anti virus & spyware.

Member Avatar for cohen

I would recommend McAfee.

AVG, not so much. If you are going free, go Avast.

Cohen :)

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