Norton vs McAfee: The Ultimate Comparison – Which to Choose?

The main takeaways

• ✅ Norton 360 and McAfee Total Protection offer a suite of features, including password managers, web browsing protection, encrypted storage, and a VPN.
• ✅ Norton slightly outperforms McAfee in terms of tests, features, and scanning capabilities.
• ✅ TotalAV is hailed as one of the best modern antivirus programs, providing advanced online and offline security features with top-notch malware detection rates.
• ✅ To safeguard your data and system, the best practice is to back up your data, adding an extra layer of security.

We use antivirus software to combat external threats to our computers. While both McAfee and Norton 360 are well-known antivirus programs, choosing between them can be a task. Apart from protection features, both Norton 360 and McAfee Total Protection offer an array of additional tools, such as password managers, web browsing protection, encrypted storage, and a VPN.

Since both antivirus utilities perform well in their respective domains, we'll compare Norton and McAfee to help you decide which one suits you best. Read on as we evaluate both software based on various features. Here's an overall overview of the two antivirus programs in different aspects.

Norton vs McAfee: The Ultimate Comparison

Norton and McAfee are two popular antivirus programs with a large user base. The big question on many people's minds is which one is better at protecting your device. Let's dive straight into the categories to determine the winner.

Main Features: Norton 360 vs. McAfee Antivirus

Norton 360 and McAfee have similar main features, and they're rated similarly by most reviewers. To find out which one works better, testers run them through a battery of tests, with AV-Test Institute being one of the most popular testing authorities. Let's see how their main features fared according to its results.

Firewall Protection

Norton's Smart Firewall and Intrusion Prevention System act as your firewall, with the Smart Firewall checking for malicious content and the Intrusion system deciding what data gets through. McAfee's Firewall protection works in a slightly different way, but it performs similarly to Norton.

McAfee's firewall was rated higher than Norton's simply because it generated fewer false positives. But both firewalls do the job well enough.

Real-time malware protection

With malware, you want to do three things: detect, protect, and remove. They do a lot of stuff for that.

Norton's malware protection offers reliable real-time safeguard against various online threats, and the software adds a secure browsing feature for extra security. McAfee, on the other hand, has three features – Tracker Remover, Secure Apps, and File Shredder – that deal with both online and offline threats in real time.

Tracker Remover deletes cookies and temporary files, while the other two tools protect your files when you update or remove data from external platforms. For browser security, Web Advisor provides a safe browsing experience and prevents you from accidentally clicking or typing your way into dangerous websites.

Scan

Norton features several scan types: Quick, Full, Smart, and File. A Quick scan is suitable for routine checks, while a Full scan helps uncover potential threats.

McAfee has three scan types: Quick, Full, and Custom. The Quick and Full scans are the same as Norton's, but the Custom scan lets you scan specific files by right-clicking on them.

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#️⃣ Price Plans

Both McAfee and Norton offer a range of options for users. Norton 360 and McAfee have similar service plans and perks. However, if you're looking to save money with the basics, Norton would be the better choice. Its Basic package starts at $19.99 per year, which is suitable for those who need only the fundamentals for system protection. Higher prices mean more added features (sometimes advanced versions of existing ones) for deeper security.

Before purchasing, you can try out the free trials of McAfee and Norton 360 to see which suits your needs best. Both companies also offer refund guarantee programs; McAfee has a 30-day money-back guarantee, while Norton provides a 60-day guarantee.

#️⃣ Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Norton 360:

• All-in-one Security Suite: Norton 360 offers a comprehensive suite of security features, including antivirus, firewall, ransomware protection, a VPN, and real-time threat protection against various threats.
• Effective Malware Detection: The software is highly capable of identifying and eliminating sophisticated and stealthy viruses, spyware, ransomware, and other threats.
• Multi-Device Support: With a single subscription, you can use Norton services across multiple devices. This enables users to easily manage and protect their smartphones, computers, and more.
• Cloud and Cross-Platform Support: The package includes cloud storage solutions, allowing users to conveniently back up and access data across different devices.

Disadvantages of Norton 360:

• Resource-intensive: Norton 360 consumes more CPU and memory resources when running scans, which in turn can lead to decreased system performance.
• Complex user interface: Another major drawback is the complex interface that users need to adapt to. While it appears intuitive due to the numerous features it offers, this can also cause confusion for users.

Advantages of McAfee Antivirus:

• All-in-One Protection Suite: McAfee is known for its comprehensive suite of features, covering all aspects of security. These include antivirus protection, firewall, identity theft protection, a secure virtual private network (VPN), and safe browsing tools.
• Performance Optimization: McAfee offers performance enhancement features such as disk cleanup and defragmentation to boost the overall speed and efficiency of your system.
• Real-time Scanning and Protection: McAfee actively scans your system in real-time and promptly takes action to mitigate and eliminate potential threats to your system.
• Global Threat Intelligence Network: McAfee utilizes a global threat intelligence network that analyzes millions of users and endpoints worldwide, providing a more effective and robust layer of security.

Downsides to McAfee:

• Resource-intensive: Like most antivirus programs, McAfee can be resource-hungry, consuming more resources when performing complex tasks.
• Slow scanning: McAfee takes much longer than Norton to complete quick scans, full system scans, or other protective measures.
• Pop-ups and false positives: McAfee frequently pushes pop-up notifications and promotional ads even to subscribers. It also sometimes misidentifies legitimate software as a threat.

Usability

In terms of usability, McAfee is the winner. Norton's dashboard is quite complicated for non-tech-savvy users, with many sections to navigate, while McAfee is simpler.

While you can alter and customize Norton's dashboard and settings, McAfee is slightly more popular in this regard. Usability is one of the key aspects for any software, and once you get going, you might find Norton easy enough; the intuitive interface, starting from the login page, is a plus for any software application.

The impact on computer performance

The primary task of antivirus software is to ensure the security of a system. But, while it is doing its job or running in the background, its impact on computer performance should be minimal. Over time and with technological progress, modern programs like McAfee and Norton have made significant improvements in limiting their effect on a system.

A quick scan has little to no impact on the concurrent performance of both programs, but you'll see an effect during a full system scan or a deeper scan. In our tests, we noticed distinct differences in how the two antivirus tools utilize system resources. Norton leans more on CPU control and manages memory usage, while McAfee relies more on disk utilization in comparison to its rival.

It scores well in most areas in the various tests carried out by AV-Comparatives and AV-Test.

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Norton 360 vs. McAfee: Which Is Better?

Norton and McAfee are undoubtedly in the top five of the antivirus market. In my opinion, Norton is the winner here. It wins with better test results, features, and scanning performance. The only downside is the complicated interface, but Norton delivers two crucial things: more features and better value for money.

Norton comes with webcam protection, ransomware protection, a VPN, better pricing, and security ratings. McAfee offers solid protection against all threats and a range of features, but it's not quite as comprehensive as Norton 360.

If you're still not sure which antivirus to get, how about one that combines the best features of Norton and McAfee? TotalAV is lauded as one of the best antivirus programs around, offering top-notch online and offline protection with excellent malware detection rates.

This software provides real-time protection against viruses, malware, and trojans, as well as WebShield for safe web browsing. It also blocks ads while you surf, includes a VPN for added security, safeguards multiple devices, performs efficient system scans, and monitors your computer data. With a single subscription, you can use it on various devices, compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems.

Read More: Is TotalAV a Good Antivirus? (Ultimate Review)

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TOTALAV

TotalAV is an Award-Winning Antivirus and Security Software. It provides real-time protection against viruses, malware, and online threats.

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Antivirus Protection Activated

Expert tip: A backup system adds an extra layer of protection to your computer.

Antivirus software can protect your data and system from external virus threats, but they may be powerless against physical damage or system failures. In such cases, the best safeguard for your data and system is to back up your information, adding an extra layer of protection. This way, you have a copy of your data that is insulated from malware, viruses, failed drives, system crashes, and the like.

is a powerful and reliable backup software that ensures the safety of your devices. It offers the best solution for all backup needs, including advanced backup methods, cloning options, cloud storage, and the ability to create bootable media. The software effortlessly clones, upgrades, or transfers your system while providing an extra layer of protection with its secure zone. Download the software now and back up your data immediately.

Final Summary

In the battle of the antivirus software, we have a winner: Norton versus McAfee. Norton wins, but only just, in some important ways. It has more features for the money and is better value overall. But to keep your data really safe from other external and unexpected threats, antivirus alone isn't enough – you need to back up your data actively.

Todo Backup is the ultimate data safety tool, offering award-winning solutions. Store your data securely in the cloud and reinforce safety with a secure zone, adding an extra layer of protection to your data. Try it out now.

Norton and McAfee FAQs

1. What are the disadvantages of Norton Antivirus?

• Norton is powerful and fast but resource-hungry, potentially slowing down system performance.
• The full suite can be very expensive to purchase.
• Users may encounter compatibility issues.

2. Do I need to use both Norton and McAfee?

No, you would only need to have one antivirus program installed on your computer. Both Norton and McAfee offer a suite of comprehensive features for comprehensive protection. However, based on tests conducted by several reputable firms, Norton slightly edges out McAfee in terms of performance.

Does Norton slow down my computer?

If you have any other antivirus program installed, Norton 360 might slow down your computer. Additionally, Norton consumes a significant amount of system resources while performing tasks. Therefore, you could try disabling other antivirus programs and run the task when the system is idle.