Terrible Norton Experience

dareutwo · 2004-06-06, 09:52 PM

I have NO clue what the heck is wrong - but Norton is no longer on my "favorites" list.

Background - bought Norton AV about 34years ago for a win98 machine. That machine died due to a HD failure.
Transfer AV to the new (now 2 years old) XP updated machine, everything running smoothly for 1 year 11 months.. lol

Last month, I download Norton Firewall... ok, still no problems.
2 days ago, my Firewall trial runs out.
Since I actually had some time today, I go buy the Key for $53 something or other dollars, no biggy.

But Now, my AV subscription has expired. (though it should be good through October)

Spent 2+ hours trying to find out How to fix this. 2 reboots, numerous "live updates" and still nothing.
After 20 minutes of trying to find an ONLINE response, I get a web page saying for "29.95" you can get an ONLINE response.
Screw that - What's tech support phone #????

Oh wait, actual LIVE tech support is Only available Mon - Fri!

If I get billed for a single minute on Monday for a phone call |raygun|

btw- I bought AV through DigitalRiver (at that time the only way available), and not through the Symantec store

Just a heads up for those in similar situations.

dareutwo · 2004-06-06, 09:54 PM

Quote:

bought Norton AV about 34years ago

Should read
bought Norton AV about 3 OR 3 years ago.. I'm not DD - I'm not from 1896 |grin|

amber438 · 2004-06-08, 07:37 AM

Norton is a royal, invasive pain in the ass..
did you try to uninstall it totally (go to the nortons site and get instructions) and reinstall..?
It may not play nice with the new versions of any of them..it is kinda old..

ardentgent · 2004-06-10, 07:46 AM

My experience with Norton has been one royal pain in the ass after another.

DavidM · 2004-06-10, 07:57 PM

I just use two free ones. Sure they are free but they work well, and in practice usually better. Particularly with novice computer users who sometimes don't realize that when the Norton subscription runs out and the virus definitions database is out of date they are effectively no longer protected. I see this all the time, it is amazing.

Here is AVG Free (a free virus scanner that does auto updates):

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

If anyone uses it and still uses Outlook express, make sure to check the box for "use Outlook Express 5.0 Plugin" under the email scanner tab within the control panel. It works with Outlook express 6.x too. Also make sure at least all the "check incoming messages boxes" are set. Works very well.

Another free one is avast! :

http://www.avast.com/

It includes checking ICQ messages and such. I have not use it long but it appears to work well.

You might consider just using these free ones and then even paying for the professional versions if you like them.

2004-06-06, 09:52 PM	#1
dareutwo You can't disprove anything with evidence that doesn't exist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NW Minnesota - pop 865 +/- 1 Posts: 2,038	Terrible Norton Experience I have NO clue what the heck is wrong - but Norton is no longer on my "favorites" list. Background - bought Norton AV about 34years ago for a win98 machine. That machine died due to a HD failure. Transfer AV to the new (now 2 years old) XP updated machine, everything running smoothly for 1 year 11 months.. lol Last month, I download Norton Firewall... ok, still no problems. 2 days ago, my Firewall trial runs out. Since I actually had some time today, I go buy the Key for $53 something or other dollars, no biggy. But Now, my AV subscription has expired. (though it should be good through October) Spent 2+ hours trying to find out How to fix this. 2 reboots, numerous "live updates" and still nothing. After 20 minutes of trying to find an ONLINE response, I get a web page saying for "29.95" you can get an ONLINE response. Screw that - What's tech support phone #???? Oh wait, actual LIVE tech support is Only available Mon - Fri! If I get billed for a single minute on Monday for a phone call \|raygun\| btw- I bought AV through DigitalRiver (at that time the only way available), and not through the Symantec store Just a heads up for those in similar situations. __________________ This is me Mark's-Links

2004-06-08, 07:37 AM	#3
amber438 Whatever don't kill ya makes ya stronger... Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New York Posts: 820	Norton is a royal, invasive pain in the ass.. did you try to uninstall it totally (go to the nortons site and get instructions) and reinstall..? It may not play nice with the new versions of any of them..it is kinda old.. __________________ Red Hot Links Red Hot Galleries

2004-06-10, 07:46 AM	#4
ardentgent Trying is the first step towards failure Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Atlanta Ga Posts: 121	My experience with Norton has been one royal pain in the ass after another.

2004-06-10, 07:57 PM	#5
DavidM If something goes wrong at the plant, blame the guy who can't speak English Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 38	I just use two free ones. Sure they are free but they work well, and in practice usually better. Particularly with novice computer users who sometimes don't realize that when the Norton subscription runs out and the virus definitions database is out of date they are effectively no longer protected. I see this all the time, it is amazing. Here is AVG Free (a free virus scanner that does auto updates): http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php If anyone uses it and still uses Outlook express, make sure to check the box for "use Outlook Express 5.0 Plugin" under the email scanner tab within the control panel. It works with Outlook express 6.x too. Also make sure at least all the "check incoming messages boxes" are set. Works very well. Another free one is avast! : http://www.avast.com/ It includes checking ICQ messages and such. I have not use it long but it appears to work well. You might consider just using these free ones and then even paying for the professional versions if you like them.