Malwarebytes vs. Norton

Question

Level 1

8 points

Malwarebytes vs. Norton

Hi Everyone,

I recently suspected some spyware on my computer. I had already purchased Malwarebytes in the fall and run it daily. I scanned it tonight and it scanned 15,911 files.

I wasn't convinced that everything had been searched so I purchased Norton for $19.99 and ran a full system scan. It scanned 884,809 files and detected 11 issues:

OSX.Genieo (Potential threat in 5 different locations)

OSX.Malcol (Deleted in 3 different locations)

OSX.Malcol.2 (Deleted in 1 location)

OSX.Trojan.Gen (Deleted in 2 locations)

I am a bit skeptical if these threats were real. Malwarebytes says it can detect OSX.Genieo so I'm wondering how it didn't catch it. I didn't find much information about the other three.

While I would rather just have Malwarebytes on my computer, my question to the community is which one is better? Is Norton legit?

Has anyone else come across these threats on their computer? Are they as dangerous as Norton says they are? While I know the official party line is Malwarebytes, if these threats are indeed real, shouldn't Malwarebytes have found them?

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

MacBook Pro 13”, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 17, 2020 3:09 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

157,046 points

Apr 17, 2020 4:20 PM in response to DollyPops41

Are they as dangerous as Norton says they are?

No.

Norton is just trash. Get rid of it.

I am a bit skeptical if these threats were real.

You should be. Genieo for example has been around for years. I'd tend to believe Norton put it there sooner than I'd believe it's actually present and affecting your Mac.

You don't need either product. If you install adware it will become evident. And if you do that, it's easily eradicated, plus you'll gain the knowledge to not to do it again.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

157,046 points

Apr 18, 2020 6:37 AM in response to DollyPops41

You would need to expand that column or find some other way of determining that information.

If you have a Time Machine backup created prior to installing "Norton" I suggest you restore it. Recover the entire system according to Recover all your files on Mac - Apple Support.

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

157,046 points

Apr 18, 2020 5:03 AM in response to DollyPops41

I doubt it, but a more significant concern would be if Norton identified those threats in a Mail message (for example). If it altered, moved, or "quarantined" files from a Mail message attachment that can corrupt Mail's message database, rendering it useless.

etresoft's comments reminded me of that possibility. Just what did it delete, and why? It may not even be possible for you to know.

All that is speculation but it's one of many reasons "Norton" and similarly categorized junk must never be installed on any Mac.

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Answer 4

Apr 17, 2020 3:14 PM in response to DollyPops41

Uninstall Norton. Continue manually running MalwareBytes as needed.

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Answer 5

FoxFifth

Level 10

475,473 points

Apr 17, 2020 3:18 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

I don't use either one but would use Malwarebytes if I had a problem. I would never, ever use Norton.

Also see: https://www.apple.com/lae/macos/security/

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Answer 6

etresoft

Level 9

57,554 points

Apr 17, 2020 4:43 PM in response to DollyPops41

A better question might be: what were those files that Norton deleted? Did you really need them?

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Answer 7

DollyPops41 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 18, 2020 4:49 AM in response to FoxFifth

I did read that link and installed Catalina after I suspected the issue. It wasn't clear if Catalina's software would delete any current threats on my computer.

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