Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product) vs. Norton 360

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Forefront is Microsoft's antivirus offering.N/A
Norton 360
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
The Norton products, including Norton 360, Norton Antivirus, and Norton Security, are consumer antivirus and privacy protection products. Features include password management, VPN, dark web and credit monitoring for individuals, and cloud backup for PCs.
$59.99
per year
Pricing
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Norton AntiVirus
$59.99
per year
Norton 360 Standard
$94.99
per year 3 PCs, Macs, tablets, or phones
Norton 360 Deluxe
$119.99
per year 5 PCs, Macs, tablets, or phones
Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus
$189.99
per year 10 PCs, Macs, tablets, or phones
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details1st year discounts available.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
Chose Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)
The biggest advantage that MSF and SCEP provide over Norton is:
One: Far less client overhead required. Both Norton and McAfee are highly intensive client side when in use.
Two: We've had far better luck using the Microsoft system with its detection capabilities, versus the …
Norton 360
Chose Norton 360
Password manager is great and it is a life saver as I hardly remember passwords. Symantex Endpoint protection was used by my organization and it was silent, great except that system used to halt when the scan was happening
Chose Norton 360
Updates are better in Norton. Support is always greater with Norton. The interfaces are totally different and it is so easy to use Norton. Th cost of renewal is also better in Norton compared to McAfee data center security suite.
Chose Norton 360
I actually have been victimized avast at no cost and it slowed down my entire laptop and it hangs every time I scan the system for threats. This frustration created Pine Tree State to switch to Norton.
Chose Norton 360
I have found Norton doesn’t slow down a computer as Avast antivirus has done. Avast is also not so much pocket-friendly as compared to the Norton, which is available at a very reasonable price which is highly affordable for me. The basic reason to Choose Norton on any other …
Chose Norton 360
It is the most recommended antivirus because it is the most virus detected and eliminated with a very reliable heuristic, great protection guaranteed, great spindle facility, real-time protection against viruses, eliminates everything easily, is easy to install and easy to …
Chose Norton 360
Using a hosted model, we know we are always getting the best core cybersecurity, but for the endpoints, we don't need something as complex as FireEye, and we wanted more than Lookout was able to provide. Lookout was terrific, and it came already installed with many of our …
Chose Norton 360
We liked the pricing of Norton better. Also, it was more reliable in finding suspicious attachments and phishing emails than Avast was. Lastly, it ran better on our machines. The feedback we got from our pilot testing batch was very positive and that is what made us take the …
Chose Norton 360
I prefer Norton but I dont think there is a huge difference in quality between the two. Kaspersky has some extra features that are nice (but not must haves) and the price difference is negligible.
Chose Norton 360
Norton is better in terms of features especially identity safe and non-intrusiveness and is very economical (10 user licenses).
Chose Norton 360
If Norton offers an enterprise system I think it would be excellent. McAfee is slow to update and doesn't provide as much flexibility as Norton.
Chose Norton 360
User-friendly interface (it's not just AV and users who were interacting with the product), performance, resource usage (most of the computers were not very fresh and that factor was very critical), efficiency, it shouldn't be just sitting on a PC - it should protect it, what …
Chose Norton 360
Our go to product is Webroot. Unlike Norton Internet Security it is built for MSP's that need multi-tenancy options. Webroot also does not need to be installed on a server (like NIS) and it uses much fewer resources on the endpoints. Norton is licensed annually, Webroot is …
Chose Norton 360
Other security products have their own strengths and weaknesses but Norton Internet Security does very well in terms of performance and working with Android OS devices. While past versions were known to be performance hogs, today's incarnation of the security program is well …
Chose Norton 360
Norton 360 has a better detection rate as well as remediation rate than the others I have used. It also does not affect the computer resources if configured properly. It provides an all in one solution that is easy to configure for the novice user and provides easy to review …
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Small Businesses
AVG AntiVirus Business Edition
AVG AntiVirus Business Edition
Score 7.9 out of 10
AVG AntiVirus Business Edition
AVG AntiVirus Business Edition
Score 7.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.0 out of 10
CrowdStrike Falcon
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Forefront (Discontinued Product)Norton 360
Likelihood to Recommend
In large deployments, I have found Microsoft Forefront to be very effective at combating the majority of threats faced by our users. It provides the base platform for catching threats that would otherwise threaten our users and their data. If you have an environment that is under constant malware threat, then a secondary program may be needed as required.
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For a stand-alone business this should do the trick, but if using across multiple clients (multi-tenancy not an option). Default settings within the program will cause performance issues if not tweaked, meaning someone with networking experience may be necessary. Not ideal for MSP's unless they only have a few clients, as the manageability must be done within "the walls" of each company.
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Pros
  • SCEP is a light weight client which is minimally impactful on the user end.
  • Forefront's management console provides excellent monitoring and reporting.
  • Setup and configuration is very easy.
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  • Norton works quite quickly and is efficient enough to detect threats
  • It is very easy and simple to install and is without any complications and irrelevant inquiries.
  • Norton is available at a very reasonable price in the market and is not heavy on pocket.
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Cons
  • Malware detection is not quite 100%. We have to use a secondary program occasionally.
  • On low ram and weak CPU systems scanning can freeze the machine.
  • The same reporting tools that are on the console version, aren't on the client.
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  • It uses a lot of RAM which can cause issues in other areas of computer use.
  • If you chose to un-install it can be difficult to get rid of all traces of the program.
  • The initial configuring can be challenging for the average user as the manuals are overwhelming. Better tutorials would be helpful.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
I did renew it before because support is great and cost is great. I believe that Norton has a very long experience in what they do and they are doing a great job with all the updates they provide and the work they are doing. Moreover Norton is going in the right direction for sure.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
User interface is excellent. The green tickmark in the tray ensuring everything is undercontrol is so satisfying. I have turned on Auto updates so, I am not bothered about unnecessary download updates popup
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Security software with very good features that works in the background.
Price suitable for companies of any size and easy to install and use.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Would like a manual or online version that is simple to understand and explains in detail what choices we have and why to make these choices.
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Alternatives Considered
The biggest advantage that MSF and SCEP provide over Norton is: One: Far less client overhead required. Both Norton and McAfee are highly intensive client side when in use. Two: We've had far better luck using the Microsoft system with its detection capabilities, versus the others. Three: It is tied right into the Microsoft updating system, which provides central updating capabilities of av/mal/windows updates.
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User-friendly interface (it's not just AV and users who were interacting with the product), performance, resource usage (most of the computers were not very fresh and that factor was very critical), efficiency, it shouldn't be just sitting on a PC - it should protect it, what was perfectly done with that product.
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Return on Investment
  • Less turnaround on virus based issues.
  • Helps reduce malware issues over time.
  • Can breed overconfidence in the system, so people don't always try a second tool.
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  • Poor performance against Spyware and other threats despite claiming to act against them (recognizes very few and eliminates less) It is limited to viruses.
  • Regular blocking of incoming scripts (in front of other antivirus)
  • Little or almost no compatibility with the Windows XP Firewall, but they are involved.
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ScreenShots