Originally Posted By: KenK
A few years back I had my work laptop messed up enough by malware that it needed to be re-imaged. It had Norton's security software on it and still got trashed. Since then I've been VERY careful about which sites I visit.

Like you, I will take my opinion from practical experience. I too have had several computers trashed because of “drive-by downloads” that Internet Explorer lets in and Norton AntiVirus doesn’t even blink at. After reformatting my own computer a couple times because of this, and reformatting several friends’ computers because of this, I whole-heartedly recommend using an alternative browser.

I am now using Firefox, along with the NoScript add-on. The NoScript add-on is only partially for security in my case; it is also fantastic for disabling all the Flash web-junk that makes my piece-of-trash PC even slower. Internet Explorer 7 and 8 may not be as bad as the older versions that were the bane of my experiences, but I would rather not switch from my current setup that I know works and am comfortable with.

I also whole-heartedly recommend avoiding Symantec security software like the plague, although I have heard their newer versions also work much better than the older ones. Although after seeing Norton AntiVirus sit in the system tray right alongside the darned adware download viruses Internet Explorer let in, I have advocated various other antivirus products instead. Eset NOD32 is my current favorite, but my antivirus trial-and-error testing is material for another thread.
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