This is hardly an average user forum
No. This is where I feel you are totally incorrect! Why? Because that is a woefully incorrect assumption - as illustrated perfectly in fact, by this thread.
Are most of the
regulars here "average" users? Absolutely not! Most of the "regulars" are very experienced, with advanced knowledge and expertise in several areas within IT. Some have decades of experience, as enthusiasts and/or through their professional IT careers.
Do the regulars make up the largest percentage of the 118,698 members. NO!!!!!!
And most importantly - and, sadly, most often forgotten (and to my point and as seen in this thread) -
by far the vast majority of OPs seeking help and asking questions are NOT experts with vast years of experience, but indeed are "average users", or even total newbies!
Contrary to what you seem to believe - this forum is NOT about providing a venue for experienced experts to gather about and talk shop. It is a place for average users to come and seek help from experienced users who willingly volunteer their free time to provide such advice.
We, as advice givers, need to remember that. Most OPs would like their computers to just work - with little to no tweaking or modifications - as easy as their cell phone, or even toaster. And contrary to what some "regulars" here believe, there is more than one way (their way) to do that.
Do we get to rub shoulders with fellow experts, share what we have learned, and maybe learn something new along the way? Sure! But that's just the bonus part of participating here. Helping those "average users" and newbies is the primary purpose of this forum.
This is hardly an average user forum
That's like suggesting a Toyota dealership's service center is a place for Toyota mechanics to gather together and talk about fixing and maintaining Toyotas. NO! It is a place where "the average person" can come have their cars serviced.
Having said that, a place just for those with advanced experience to "talk shop" might be an interesting place to spend time at - if folks can keep it professional and keep the personal affronts out of it.
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I also agree that the likes of McAfee and Norton have slimed... err... slimmed down their resource footprints in recent years. But they are still bloated in the sense they include many features many users don't need or want. For example, a password manager, parental controls, cloud backup, VPN, webcam access monitoring, identity monitoring, file shredders and more. These typically are included, taking up space, and even running by default and therefore using system resources.
Some of these features, some may want and that's fine. But if they don't want them, they should not have to pay for them, or have them running by default.
My biggest complaints with those two products and others like them is (1) Their deceptive tactics to get folks to subscribe and renew, (2) their near impossibility to totally remove them from our computers, and (3) their recurring costs.
I really HATE how they frequently come preloaded on factory made computers as a 3 or 6 month free trial version, then use scare and intimidation tactics to get unsuspecting (and often hooked) users to sign up for expensive, recurring renewal fees.
There are plenty of fully capable, totally "
free" solutions that work just fine. There is NOTHING to suggest paying for one will ensure better protection or performance. Well, "nothing" except the marketing hype for those paid programs.
Is "free" the best option for everyone? Of course not. But it can be for most.
