A little background...

For years, I had a handful of Windows PCs running Kaspersky Internet Security software. I received numerous messages indicating when it had isolated dangerous attachments or identified dangerous links in junk emails, which I appreciated. In decades, I never saw an incident of ransomware, while many people I know (who did not have the Kaspersky product) experienced ransomware attacks. While I hate customer service that is in foreign lands like India or the Philippines, I was still able to get a human on the phone within a minute if I had a question or problem and they would address it very directly, even if I had to make them repeat themselves numerous times.

Due to the Kaspersky ownership connection to Russia and recent warnings about it, I felt the need to cancel their product and switch. I purchased Norton 360 and loaded it on a few PCs. I am disgusted with Norton at this point. First, we began receiving daily alerts for potential risks to our data, etc. and recommendations to run certain scans or fixes - all of which then lead to advertisements that say our current product doesn't fix that and we have to purchase an add-on product. It has reached the point that it appears that Norton 360 does nothing by itself. It is mainly a lead-in to market other products. I was told that Norton had US based phone support, which I could not reach. After a lengthy attempt to reach any phone support, I was connected to support people in India or the Philippines with accents beyond what I could decipher and functionally understand. If I asked questions they could not answer, they hung up the phone.

Now I have seen an attack of ransomware on a computer at my mom's house where I have the Norton 360 product running! I have never seen something like that before, but I think that sort of thing should not exist while paying for a subscription to Norton 360!

With a number of you out there who have a great level of IT knowledge and experience, I would appreciate any recommendation for a product with real US based support that provides similar protection for viruses, malware, email garbage, and anything else you would deem useful.

Thank you guys in advance,
Patrice

No IT experience or knowledge here by any means. BUT, as far as experience goes....I quit all those products like Norton et al at least 20 years ago. Have only run the standard Windows Firewall, or Microsoft Security Essentials and once in a while a scan with Malwarebytes.

Haven't had one issue in that time.

I'll second the Malwarebytes. Never had an issue in using it for at least 5 years. Knocking on wood now.

Not an IT professional but Malwarebytes Premium here. Norton is junk IMO.

I had a fairly knowledgeable friend once tell me that Norton was the virus that you paid to install in your PC Lol

I use Avast! Probably been running it for about 20 years and even on my phones. Only thing I don't use on it is the VPN as it doesn't play nicely with some things so switched to ExpressVPN

Hey, Sniper. Can you expand on the compatibility issue with the Avast VPN? Much appreciated.

ttt

Had issues with it Netflix and prime video streaming when I was running Avast.

Norton came out and stated that their product or any product couldn't stop any virus. That was years ago before they bought lifelock. I got rid of all anti-virus programs at least 10 years ago and my computers run better than they ever did and I haven't had a problem with any viruses like I did with the anti-virus programs. I download a malware program every so often run it and uninstall it because it slows down my computer. Trying to get Norton off your computer is another issue that I won't get into..

O always considered Norton and McAfee viruses themselves because you almost had to smash your hard drive to get rid of em. Back in the dialup days those two always seemed to be the source of slowing the connection as they were always looking for updates.

Hey, Sniper. Can you expand on the compatibility issue with the Avast VPN? Much appreciated.

Thank you. That's helpful. I may be back with a few more questions.

Ransomware is the user opening emails or attachments or websites that redirect you to the ransomware. Usually from someone representing themselves as from a company or person that is legitimate. You essentially choose to click the link to install it. Researching phishing is a must to educate yourself. People are conditioned to click the link. VPNs will not change that. VPNs will secure your data being sent and received to a point.

Never had an issue with Norton. It will slow down processing speeds but worth it.

Thanks guys, for all of your info. Anyone else with some experience is welcome to add it here as well. Thanks again!