Running a business is not easy, especially when you have tons of data to shuffle around. Now comes the hard part; Keeping your data safe and secured. A good anti-virus solution will not only help in doing the same but also will save your organization from potential threats and viruses.
The anti-virus system will help to protect your identity, reduce virus threats, and un-compromise your data from phishing and other related attacks. We do a face-off between the two biggest players in the industry, AVG Anti-virus and Norton Security.
Take your decision wisely on the basis of the parameters that we have introduced in this article.
About the Providers
AVG
AVG came into form by two Czech engineers Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer in the year 1991. They felt the need for internet security at a time when the internet and computer were relatively new in the world.
With the advent of technology, came potential threats and malware which ripped apart computer systems. These Czech engineers felt the need for a system that saved the identity and data in a computer. Thus came AVG Anti-Virus.
Dated today, there are more than 200 million active users of AVG using a variety of its products. Nothing beats such a huge customer base.
Norton
Norton is the baby of Symantec Corporation, and this was released in the year 1991 too. It eliminated many new viruses inadvertently which were non-existent at the time of its release. This was a big win for Norton straightaway.
There are more than 175 million plus users to date and the number is increasing day after day. It is not far behind AVG in user count, but AVG still leads the race.
Ease of Use – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
AVG gained the maximum score in usability. It is pretty quick in setting up and once set, the user can quickly start the scanning process. It has a distinct color and circle combination which gives a dashboard kind of look, showcasing the protection at a glance.
A smiley with a green face is seen when everything is in the right place, the face becoming orange and red if there seems to be a problem.
Norton also is top-notch in usage terms but lacks a little behind AVG. It has a paneled approach. Clicking on a panel pushes down all other panels and reveals related buttons to the panel clicked earlier.
Reliability – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
When it comes to reliability, AVG wins big and how. Norton tends to hang your system whilst the scanning is in progress, whereas AVG keeps your RAM consumption minimal, so that there is no glitch when the scanning process is up and running.
Users tend to believe that viruses are killed or blocked, while they work without getting disturbed. Of course, they do so, because they pay top dollar for these systems. The free versions are not that up to the mark because lots and lots of features go missing.
So, sticking to the paid version of these systems, the reliability meter tilts towards AVG over Norton, because of performance issues and smoother updates. System boot time will go up relatively when Norton anti-virus is in place.
Speed – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
This is an age where everything should happen lightning fast, especially when it comes to scanning viruses. No one wants to spend too much time sitting and hatching eggs, while their computer is busy fighting off viruses.
Thus, speed is important, and it scores big, how speedily and reliably, an anti-virus can ward off viruses and give you 100% protection from other threats.
AVG scores big on speediness. As per a study by AV-comparatives, several big-wigs were tested thoroughly and AVG scored pretty high amongst them. A snapshot of the report is attached.
AVG gives you real-time protection against virus while running in the background. In the above test, AVG has three ADVANCED+ ratings. But Norton scored 16.5 out of 18, so that’s a huge ranking.
Features – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
Norton is the clear winner. It scored 91%, sharing the top position with McAfee in the above test.
AVG got 73% protection which is way below the other competitors. Its unique Online Shield and Data Safe features don’t make a lot of difference in blocking malware. Its file encryption feature is the main product which it has included in the standalone antivirus product.
This means users get free file encryption without buying additional packs. But this is not the case with Norton. Users need to buy the ultra-sized
Norton’s anti-phishing feature is the benchmark in the industry. It cleans up your POP3 email accounts from spam. There is a separate Norton Secured icon that classifies websites that have been checked and found safe, especially for e-commerce websites, where they store sensitive information.
It has an intelligent firewall in place which does away with annoying pop-ups, destroys malicious programs and finds ways to check the unknown ones. It also has a unique backup solution ranging from 10GB to 100 GB or more, depending on the pack you apply for.
The backed documents, files, and folders are transmitted to a Secure Online Storage. The backup policy is incremental in nature, hence, it doesn’t back up the same file over and over again.
The parental control system by Norton is again a touchstone. It blocks URLs like none other and moreover, it comes with a complete password manager along with many other features.
Security – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
The security is great in both. Ranging from anti-rootkit, antivirus protection, email, and malware protection, they both share the same platform. Apart from these, Norton has unique anti-phishing along with its real-time protection, which gives a complete package of security.
Summary – AVG vs. Norton Anti-Virus
They both boast data protection, but AVG chips in with an ID protection feature as well.
Seeing the above reviews, it is a tough call in selecting the best out of Norton or AVG. While Norton is feature-rich, AVG is a silent killer. AVG misses out on many key features that it needs to have, without paying too much money at one go.
Our analysis squeezes Norton to the winner’s position as its new-age product doesn’t hamper system performances and gives a one-of-a-kind scanning feeling. Sticking your money to Norton will give you maximum output and benefits.