Norton Alternatives

• There are many antivirus products available that will serve as a replacement for Norton Antivirus. These programs are available in both subscription and free versions, and most are available with a free trial for 30-60 days that will let you evaluate how well the antivirus works before you purchase it outright. Examples of programs like this are AVG, which publishes a free version for home users and a subscription-based version for commercial users; and ESET, which offers a free trial for its security and antivirus programs so that you can "try before you buy."
  
  There are many more antivirus alternatives out there, though, and choosing one requires some research to decide which one will be best for your particular uses.
  
  

Before You Replace Norton

• Before you can install a new antivirus program on your computer, you should ensure that Norton has been completely removed. If there are any remanants of Norton Antivirus on your computer, they can interfere with the alternative you choose and cause it to either malfunction or not even install correctly. One way to ensure that Norton is fully removed is to use the Norton Removal Tool, put out by Norton itself, to help completely remove the program from your computer. A link to this tool is in the Resources section, and it should be run before installing any other type of antivirus software. Also note that you shouldn't wait too long to install an alternative antivirus program once you uninstall Norton, as having no antivirus installed leaves you system vulnerable to infections.
  
  

Cautions Against Phony Antivirus Programs

• When you are looking around on the web for an alternative to Norton Antivirus, you want to be careful not to fall into the trap of downloading and installing a phony antivirus program. These types of programs are nothing more than malicious software that masquerade as legitimate antivirus software which try to get you to pay outrageous fees for software that does nothing. To avoid this, stick with well-known name brands and always seek out reviews from multiple independent sources. One way to do this is to check computer magazines and see what they recommend, since you won't have to worry about being deceived by websites that look genuine but are actually just trying to get you to download malicious software.