Post Apg35LU82SIG2bQElc by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #Apg1ttrkHlHHF5RnKC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-02T16:19:01Z
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Do people still use norton on PCs? Is it helpful?I am keen to hear from people who use microsoft as their regulator OS. (basically I have about 2 hours to try to find out why my mom’s PC is so slow, it’s old mostly but I wonder if norton is a waste of money)
(DIR) Post #Apg29m6IvLbBnBpJdA by 0xF21D@infosec.exchange
2025-01-02T16:21:51Z
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@futurebird what version of Windows is it? Norton installs a lot of crap, where Microsoft Defender may be the only thing you really need on there, and its free.
(DIR) Post #Apg2ENZZXtLvAUiDJo by philip_cardella@historians.social
2025-01-02T16:22:41Z
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@futurebird my understanding is Norton is worse than a waste of money.In my personal experience it makes computers slower.But if you put some computer hashtags in here I'm sure experienced tech folks will weigh in.
(DIR) Post #Apg2QfqbQVk5JyXZei by NotWrittenHere@eldritch.cafe
2025-01-02T16:24:53Z
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@futurebird I've heard only bad things about Norton; friends who know more about computers than me have described it as 'basically malware'. I wouldn't be surprised if it's slowing their machine down!
(DIR) Post #Apg312dSBA6cQCjPjU by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
2025-01-02T16:31:29Z
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@futurebird The last time I used a Windows PC, I only used Windows defender, and Avast. The first came standard with the PC. And Avast (Home version) was free. Never had any real issues. Always stayed clear of sketchy websites…. And then I used Windows 11, which was a great improvement over the last version I used.
(DIR) Post #Apg32b7DT6xFeJOXS4 by bonkers@nerdculture.de
2025-01-02T16:31:43Z
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@futurebird Norton Commander?
(DIR) Post #Apg33PyoM7XDP0r2vo by venya@musicians.today
2025-01-02T16:31:51Z
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@futurebird This is one of the best places to send family members that I can't support in person. It doesn't look like it's been updated in a bit but it may be helpful in tracking down the problem.https://decentsecurity.com/
(DIR) Post #Apg35LU82SIG2bQElc by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
2025-01-02T16:32:17Z
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@futurebird I also never used any paid virus protection.
(DIR) Post #Apg3LEseMUB6BtTEEy by georgemsavva@genart.social
2025-01-02T16:35:07Z
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I had the best results recently with working out what was being run at startup and disabling most of it (can't remember the exact process but google will help). I used to use 'crap cleaner' in the old days, but I think it probably does more harm than good now.
(DIR) Post #Apg3pjQLMm8Pbhlp9k by nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social
2025-01-02T16:40:39Z
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@futurebird Norton software is definitely not the answer to finding out why a system is slow.I'd start by looking at all the autoruns. You can see a bunch from the task manager under the startup section and disable some there even, though there are still a handful hidden in several different registry locations. I mostly get rid of automatic update checkers as that's just a waste, but in particular, look for any "quick start" things. Those are horrible for system resources and only useful if you start and exit the same program over and over on a HDD (instead of SSD or HHD.) You can search any questionable startup programs, but if you see something that's random letters it may well be a virus or miner. Also check running services in the administrative part of the control panel.
(DIR) Post #Apg4sIVO0PgGwXusGu by fencepost@infosec.exchange
2025-01-02T16:52:19Z
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@futurebird if you open Performance Monitor, is the disk queue higher than 1 (or than 0.1 really)? If so it's disk bound which will impact it badly. If it's an HDD, go SSD. If it's an SSD, it might be a budget one with no RAM (less able to operate efficiently) or it might be very full (slows due to need to clear space, because SSDs don't write in-place, they write new blocks then invalidate the old ones).
(DIR) Post #Apg5DbyonJ8fQMqX32 by wendigo@metalhead.club
2025-01-02T16:56:08Z
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@futurebird Norton is absolutely a waste of money. Free but rudimentary tools will do the job. Keeping your Windows PC safe is more about good habits than software. Also, as Myotis_cuniculus@flipping.rocks says, checking for boot-time services that are gumming up the works is a big one. I'm referring mainly to the ones listed in Task Manager. Your Adobes and such...
(DIR) Post #ApgDWGMqAlWtWtUGQq by vulgalour@birdbutt.com
2025-01-02T18:29:11Z
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@futurebird I've been taught for years that Norton is useless and you're better off with just about anything else. Whether or not that's the slow problem is a different matter, that could just be standard issue tech bloat that operating systems seem to all suffer from now, making perfectly serviceable home machines rendered useless because of the demands of software the user doesn't want or need being forced upon them.
(DIR) Post #ApgL0Gn5rVyJD31RLs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-02T19:53:04Z
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I read most of these replies to my mom, and I think it's helped a lot. She got Norton way back in the 90s when it was the thing to do and has *never* believed me when I've explained it's making her PC slower. After all why would it be "good" to get rid of "anti-virus" ?But I wanted to check if spending $300+ a year was even worth it. In status monitor it's the top program using the most processing power, and the most memory.Thank you for the responses!
(DIR) Post #ApgLAR26dYJbs2tKDY by davep@infosec.exchange
2025-01-02T19:54:52Z
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@futurebird I just use Windows Defender. It's fine.
(DIR) Post #ApgLZC3bSCaCfCOhA8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-02T19:59:21Z
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"The hospital (now defunct) sent me a letter three years ago saying there was a data breech and the letter said that I had one year of free protection from hacking due to their data breech. But only if I had anti-virus software, so that's why I didn't get rid of Norton the last time you told me to get rid of it."THIS is what I'm dealing with. That letter was a legal CYA, no one will EVER get to use that "insurance" but things like that do keep some of these outfits in business I suppose.
(DIR) Post #ApgLqTRk3PGFWCvaym by nazokiyoubinbou@mastodon.social
2025-01-02T20:02:24Z
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@futurebird That is a special kind of stupid. Whether the user has antivirus software or not has literally nothing to do with if the company was breached... (Plus as others pointed out, Windows already has Windows Defender.)I bet they used some service from Norton after the breach and were basically paid/required to push Norton's software.
(DIR) Post #ApgM1igNkM7JxS8d4C by stephan324ppm@mastodon.no2nd.earth
2025-01-02T20:04:29Z
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@futurebird I recently "repaired" the 7 year old notebook of my neighbour by removing Avira Antivirus. It did basically not react anymore. Turned on windows defender in exchage for it - and it was ok again.
(DIR) Post #ApgMABtJ2BOurZDrbE by DrHyde@fosstodon.org
2025-01-02T20:06:02Z
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@futurebird I realise this is a bit late, but IME the biggest cause of old machines being slow is that they're full of dust so are thermally throttling.
(DIR) Post #ApgMBeQOQrLNeFOYfQ by Shivaekul@infosec.exchange
2025-01-02T20:06:07Z
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@futurebird Windows Defender (built in for 10 and 11) has an antivirus component. You can let her know Microsoft added antivirus to Windows so she can save money not needing to pay extra. That might help.
(DIR) Post #ApgMCmjz00bfjH6Bv6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-02T20:06:26Z
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@nazokiyoubinbou The more terms the insurance has the less likely they will ever have to pay out. That's all that's about. They lost a law suit over the breech and this was in the court-mandated penalty. They are going through the motions. Really such letters are almost better ignored. Well except as inspiration to refresh passwords, and more carefully monitor cards.
(DIR) Post #ApgNZssaRQObNnhYp6 by nazokiyoubinbou@mastodon.social
2025-01-02T20:21:46Z
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@futurebird Yeah, I'm afraid you're 100% right about that.
(DIR) Post #ApgPvQZSZWzzrg9hr6 by rainynight65@mastodon.social
2025-01-02T20:48:10Z
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@futurebird $300 a year?? That's a rip-off. Even if Norton was any good, you'd get more than adequate anti-virus software for a fraction of that amount.
(DIR) Post #ApgSXY3ROe6pzGU4W0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-01-02T21:17:23Z
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@apophis This is also my instinct but I wanted to verify that it was based on the experience of people who use microsoft, which I don't use very often at all.