Norton's Antivirus Rip Off

Is Norton and Symantac the same thing? I didn't think so.

Either way, no matter what virus protection you go with, they all have their faults. There isn't one out there that has all the viruses so there is always a chance one will catch a virus the others won't.

My personal choice...AVG Free. It's free and works well. At least as good as the other ones I've paid for in the past.

Bella, my niece recommended AVG. How do I go about getting it?

Letty,
right here darling!

AVG

Scroll all the way to the bottom. :wink:

Bella, Thanks. I downloaded AVG, but how will I know if I have it. Will an icon appear in my systems tray?

There should be an icon that looks like a box with 4 different colors in it.

Well, honey. I have a box that says:

53TrayPlus utility. Is that It?

Hm, no.

Let's see....maybe under start, programs, Grisoft (that's the company name)?

I had used Norton's for about six years but began having problems with the program itself. I dumped Norton's and downloaded AVG - it's been great. One thing I'd like to mention is that AVG , by default, is set to scan only executable files, as most antivirus programs do. Usually this is fine, but some of the newer threats can be sneaky on how they hide their files. I would recommend making a couple of changes so that AVG scans all files.

To change AVG's settings, open AVG's Test Center.
Click the Tests menu, then in both of the tests labeled Complete Test Setting and Selected Area Test Settings select Scan All Files and click the OK button.

It will take a bit longer to complete the scan, but in my opinion is worth it.

By the way, after I downloaded AVG, an icon appeared on my desktop, as was described by Bella Dea.

I guess mine didn't download then. I wonder why?

I had a subscription expired notice, too, cleaburn. After shutting down, and restarting the next day, it was back up and has been running ever since. I have no idea what was going on here. It was Norton.

I have no idea why I can't download AVG. I exited Yahoo IM and MSN IM, but it is still NOT working. I searched, but no AVG appears anywhere. I wonder if something is blocking it? Norton expires in nine days.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Norton Antivirusmay be a resource hog, but the firm which offers it, Symantec, is a reputable and responsible member of the business community.

Now, as Roger points out, an erroneous "Subscription Expired" notification is not an unknown occurrence. SSometimes a simple reboot is all that is required to correct this, sometimes running "Live Update" often resolves the issue, though not in every instance. Sometimes, most often seen when dealing with upgrades to older versions of Norton AV, replacing the Live Update module with the latest version for your configuration (available at Norton's Support and Download pages) will resolve the issue. At the extreme, and assuming you have retained your valid product activation key, fully uninstalling the product and reinstalling it, carefully following the prompts presented during the install process will be necessary. Completely uninstalling NAV and/or other Norton/Symantec products can be a bit tricky; tools to accomplish that for assorted Norton/Symantec products and product bundles are available on Norton/Symantec's sSupport pages.

Now without going into detail on how to do it, as it really is not the right thing to do I will say there is a relatively simple way - for those familiar with and comfortable playing around in the Windows Registry - to uninstall a currently supported version of just about any Norton/Symantec product (and many other products as well) in such a manner that upon re-installation from the original media and input of the original valid product activation code, one's subscription period begins anew with the date of the reinstallation.

Thanks, Timber, but this new pc I have is unfamiliar to me. I guess I will have to get one of my techie friends to help.

I have Norton Internet Security that came with my laptop. It expired a couple weeks ago and I'm wondering that to do.

I used McAfee Enterprise before and liked it, but I don't have access to it any longer (site license).

Norton....
Dumped mine after problems with an update...now have TrendMicro....auto updates....no conflicts.

I think I should offer further details as I am now getting nowhere with Symantec and will probably not get my money back.

I have Norton's SystemWorks 2003. The antivirus is part of that program. I pay for a new subscription every year to the antivirus portion of the program. The antivirus part asks for a new one every year. I have an order number, confirmation number and email from Symantec confirming the new expiration date of September 2006.

Even with all of this, they can't correct it. I have been on the phone with them several times for several hours. I've tried their web based knowledge searches, faqs, etc. They had me change settings and retry LiveUpdate so many times I lost count. They changed everything they could with no results.

Finally, after determining they could not correct it and acknowledging it is their problem on their end, they told me they no longer support SystemWorks 2003. I asked for my money back. They don't give refunds after 60 days. It was 61 days to the day it showed I needed a new subscription.

This is a planned, delibrate rip off. This happened to me in the middle of summer 2005 and I just renewed then again in September 2005 but this time I got all the confirmation numbers, etc. They probably do this to 1000's of customers all the time and get away with it 90 percent of the time.

It is not me or my computer or my lack of contacting the appropriate personnel. If my company did this, we would not be in business for long. The word needs to be spread and folks need to be informed. It is now a matter of principle. The sad thing is, I love the product. It has never let me down until now.

Probably seems unfair to you, and mebbe it is unfair, but you had to click past the End User Licence Agreement, which includes the following, when you installed the product:


(Also at: http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/media/eula/08.23.05_cpd.glbl.eula.ghost10_nsw_premier_essentials.2006.pdf )

4. Sixty (60) Day Money Back Guarantee:
If You are the original licensee of this copy of the Software and are not completely satisfied with it for any reason, please contact Symantec Customer Service for a refund of the money You paid for the Software (less shipping, handling, and any applicable taxes except in certain states and countries where shipping, handling, and taxes are refundable) at any time during the sixty (60) day period following the date of purchase.
5. Limited Warranty:
Symantec warrants that the media on which the Software is distributed will be free from defects for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of delivery of the Software to You. Your sole remedy in the event of a breach of this warranty will be that Symantec will, at its option, replace any defective media returned to Symantec within the warranty period or refund the money You paid for the Software. Symantec does not warrant that the Software will meet Your requirements or that operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or that the Software will be error-free.
08.23.05_CPD.GLBL.EULA.GHOST10_NSW_Premier_Essentials.2006.doc 2

Unfair?? No. I believe it is calculated and delibrate.

Warranties are calculated and deliberate, and so are EULAs. Clicking past the EULA without reading it, then complainining when you come across an unexpected inconvenience that is explained in the EULA is calculated and deliberate, too.