In reply to a post by Zadeks:

.... Sensible behaviour, software patching and application hardening will do a much better job than any AV.....

Rubbish!

http://www.zdnet.com/sophos-antivirus-detects-own-up...
http://servicestatus.msu.edu/status_detail.php?id=9609
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/02/05/kaspersky-anti...

In reply to a post by Zadeks:

3rd-party AV such as Sophos and Kaspersky, has caused a number of stability issues as of late.

Sensible behaviour, software patching and application hardening will do a much better job than any AV.

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/03/help-keep-threats...
http://blog.malwarebytes.org/whats-in-the-news/2013/...
http://blog.malwarebytes.org/intelligence/2013/06/se...

If you are going to go that route you might as well go the whole hog and install Linux and have a lot less malware running about for your system.

Mind you I am in the transition of moving over to linux and it does feel strange doing things without a "safety net" so to speak.

AV is rubbish, indeed. So rubbish it only cost you £11. Fewer and fewer users are falling for the AV industry FUD, hence the ridiculously low price.

If AV were any good, we wouldn't have a huge malware problem. Signature-based AV is old-hat and HIPS produces way too many false positives to be of any use.

The same steps apply to Linux. Contrary to popular believe, Linux is far from install and forget when it comes to security. Mac users learn't this the hard way when hundreds of thousands of them were compromised by the flashback trojan.

It depends. Some users are utterly stupid and not only do they need antivirus they need all the value-add [censored] to protect them from entering bank details onto the most strangest looking sites, from opening emails which are clearly dodgy etc.

As Windows 8 comes with antivirus then that is a no brainer, unless, the users require the value-add stuff mentioned above.

Windows does not have to have an antivirus to be secure, but if you put silly users on it then it is a must

Anti-virus doesn't protect stupid users.

Stupid users are owned because they vulnerable to being socially-engineered. They are also let down by companies that refuse to add real auto-update to software *cough* JAVA *cough*.

http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/virus/2012/Oracl...
http://redmondmag.com/articles/2013/06/13/java-users...

Having a browse round the internet, it seems many have installed a new version straight over the top, without even bothering to uninstall first, although I think you are the first to suggest it might be possible with ONLY the key, without installing anything at all. Indications are that if I'd like to stick with Norton (which I probably would, as I've got to know the interface now, and have been happy), the best option is to buy the cheapest (legit) software you can, instead of paying the renewal. I'll probably settle for this.

In reply to a post by TLM:

it seems many have installed a new version straight over the top, without even bothering to uninstall first

Indeed, if you have unexpired old version, Norton itself via LiveUpdate will often offer to install the latest version over the top for free. That's why on eBay you often see "NAV 2007 upgradable to 2013" for sale. Altho' for a clean install it better to use the Norton Removal Tool (NRT) 1st.

As long as you get the licence key for a relatively recent version you can upgrade to the latest for free.

I have found for NAV it is 2006 onwards and for NIS 2007 onwards. Never having used Norton 360 I can't say what that is but as long as you get your current year or later you'd be OK.

EDIT: Believe this page defines which versions are upgradable to latest: Support Policy

it might be possible with ONLY the key

Just make sure the copy you are buying is brand-new so that the key has never been registered with Norton.

Edited by XRaySpeX (Tue 18-Jun-13 14:21:10)

The version I've got is, by definition, only a year old, and I think it recently updated to the newer version anyway. So in theory, supplying the new s/w key should find a fully up-to-date version installed already, without having to remove and re-install.

I'm not interested in bootleg versions, so that's not a worry. If it came to it, I'd even buy direct from Norton at £35.99. By no means the cheapest it can be had, but still a lot better than the £54.99 they want for "renewal". What a con!