topic Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!! in Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:58:06 GMT

EDIT by Tony_Weiss to help new customers find this workaround more easily. Please following the directions in this document to resolve the issue. Thanks.

Hi all,

I have been following the ever growing numbers of user messages about the bizzare case of the dissapearing Anit-Spam button in Outlook & Outlook Express as I am affected by this problem too! (Outlook Express in my case).

One thing which is painfully evident in all cases is that the anti-spam button is there one minute and gone the next. Most users have tried the apparent quick fix of disabling the client intergration and then re-enabling it but again this has failed to work as a permanent fix! I've tried this several times myself to no avail.

In order to assist Norton and to perhaps highlight the true numbers of people affected with this annoying problem which incidently some of us have waited almost five months for a fix, I would urge you all to please leave a reply below. You do not need to make comments, just leave your user names and tell me which email program/programs are affected on your machine.

Hopefully if I can gather enough names, Norton might actually take notice for once, hopefully! (all fingers crossed)!!

Thanks all

Tube-Rider-Dude

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

fluffy007 — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:44:43 GMT

As Tube-Rider-Dude states this has been an on going 'glitch' with Norton 2012 for months and it seems nothing apart from installing and re installing the product has been offered as a solution. I have tried this many times and wasted many hours trying to fix the problem. This is NOT a permanent fix! The Anti spam toolbar continues to disappear at will for no apparent reason, as well as the the 'right click- this is Spam option'. Well on my Outlook Express version 6 it does!

Please find a permanent solution this FAULT .

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:02:28 GMT

Hi fluffy007,

Ha ha.., finally!! I was beginning to think this problem had been solved and nobody told me. I guess I didn't make the title catchy enough or perhaps I left my posting too late?!

Thank you for letting me know, I will add you to my exclusive list of names. ;o)

All the best. :smileywink:

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Aca_Senozepanze — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:20:10 GMT

Same problem here. Gone through the procedure suggested with no result. Technical support useless ("We have to take control of your Pc" - a bit scary, isn't it? - "and we are unfamiliar with the language settings of your system") All happened after the update to ver. 2012. Any advice on how to solve the issue? Thanx in advance.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Ole_Granddad — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:36:42 GMT

Add my name to the list. I installed NIS 2012 a few weeks ago to replace my expired 2011 version. The spam facility disappeared. Norton tech support walked me through a fix - which worked for 1 or two days. I'm not sure when it poofed, but it's gone now.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

maureenstaylor — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:38:55 GMT

When I manage to fix the problem, it stays fixed maybe another day, then the button vanishes again. I've got into the habit of doing the un-check business before I shut the pc down, then re-ticking the boxes when I turn it on again the next day, to save restarting the computer all the time. It's very tedious. I only have another two months of subscription to go, and how are we to know if the next version we buy will have the same problem? Makes you very lreluctant to buy Norton again. The online help people are very good, but who wants to keep going through all that?

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:01:03 GMT

Hi ALL,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post, your input is much appreciated. Sadly it would seem there is still no permanent solution to this problem, unless of course Norton are keeping it to themselves and so I would urge you all to keep fighting for your rights.

We ALL paid good money for this product and all of us should expect it to do what the manufacturers claim it will. If it does not, then it is 'NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE' and it would be reasonable to ask for a refund. Personally I only have around 70 days left on my subscription and so I will be moving away from Norton products in the future. Like many people here, I've shown loyalty for many years now but it would seem those loyalties have been miss-placed. There are many more security solutions out there and and I'm sure some of those companies would be glad of our custom.

The sad thing about this sorry tale is that , had Norton bothered to fix the issue 5 months ago when it was first reported then undoubtedly they would have kept many more customers. Having read many of the other postings about this problem it is clear that those affected are not happy and the majority now want out and who could blame them?!

I'm a firm believer in the old saying.., 'a happy customer is a good customer' and 'an unhappy customer is the worst possible kind'!!!

Keep leaving your names folks.

Tube-Rider-Dude :smileywink:

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

ramoats — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:22:50 GMT

After many months of trouble free operation of NIS 2012, the last version update started the problem on my system..... Win XP sp3 / Outlook Express.... the antispam icon on the Outlook Express taskbar dissappears as well as the ability to right click an email and tell Norton "this is spam" I have uninstalled NIS 2012 3 times, used the removal tool prior, performed all of the suggestions of unintegrating Outlook Express, rebooting, reintegrating...and on and on and on..... it fixes the problem for at the most a day... in most cases it fixes the problem for one launch of Outlook Express and then on the next launch it is gone again .......It is as if NIS doesn't know Outlook Express is there...because if I launch Outlook Express with integration turned off NIS does NOT offer to integrate it as it should........... COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES....WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM ????? I have been a Norton customer for many years, but I am fed up..... when this subscription expires I will go shopping for new, better, faster, more reliable less buggy protection...........

Today I used the Norton Uninstall tool to remove NIS 2012 from my system and then reinstalled it , updating it to version 19.5.1.2 as before.... it has worked for a few open and closing of Outlook Express .... I expect it to fail as before...

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

CharlieWilson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:54:28 GMT

Having just been offered the free upgrade to Norton Internet Security 2012 I went for it and am suffering the problem that some of you seem to have been enduring for some time!!

For the record: the problem occurs with running Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512 in Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 3 using an AMD Duron running at 1.3GHz with 1.21 Gb of memory.

Hope that helps!

I haven't checked whether or not the same thing is happening in Outook as I don't use Outlook.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:07:11 GMT

Hi ALL,

Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply to this post, I can see that the numbers are growing albeit quite slowly. Please do ask your friends and relatives, work colleagues etc. to take part and voice their opinions. Obviously the more information we can gather here in one central post the better really. Sadly too many posts have already been created for this topic and which for the most part have been over-looked or buried under the masses of other complaints. Perhaps this is why we still have no remedy?!

I've spent quite some time today reading other posts about the spam button issue and one thing is very clear is that it only seems to affect MS Outlook or Outlook Express.

As for the OS affected, well that one remains a bit more of a mystery and so far does not seem OS specific! There are people here using XP, Vista and Windows 7 who all share the same problem.

Like I said to a community member earlier today, when you pay good money for a security solution you want it to work properly first time. None of us as paying customers should have to spend our days 'Beta Testing' the product for Norton! Beta testers get the product for free, we don't!! It all seems so unfair!

Thanks again!

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

CelebrantCrusty — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:09:57 GMT

Hey Tube-Rider-Dude, I'll add my name to this. One tends to 'clutch at straws' when the usual support channels have provided no hope or help.

After several fruitful discussions with Norton Support, (who, by the way have been very helpful for me since 1997 when I first used Norton), hours of searching Microsoft support material and innumerable attempts to contact and receiving no replies from the non - existant Microsoft support I have come to the following conclusions:

   1. This NIS problem only occurs with windows products.
   2. It is a compatability problem created by Microsoft
   3. Microsoft are refusing to acknowledge & adequately address the issue - Why?
   4. It's very simple... Microsoft have been gearing up to take on the top Internet security software providers. Evidence?

"Microsoft’s entrance into the (Internet Security) market. This move was inevitable since Microsoft acquired Romanian antivirus specialist GeCad and anti-spyware vendor Giant Software. In late 2006, Microsoft introduced its OneCare consumer security service and is currently in Beta with its commercial desktop security offering, Microsoft Forefront. With its Windows franchise, significant installed base, global reach and unprecedented marketing muscle, Microsoft’s entrance could have a profound impact on the desktop security status quo." The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. 2007 Report "Desktop Security at the Crossroads"

Read the above report for more details and more references. "Microsoft security essentials - wikipedia"

Microsoft Security Essentials is geared for consumer use - free for all genuine installations of Windows not intended for business use (with an exception for small home based businesses)

In the light of the take up by users of numeous competititve products, OS, Office type programs etc by companies other than Microsoft one could be forgiven for concluding that Microsoft has introduced specific counter measures to preserve & grow their market segment.

What better way to protect their MS product range than by:

Introducing security software exclusive to Microsoft users -'Microsoft Security Essentials' Free, for desktop consumers. (16 December 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials version 2.0. Which coincidentally preceeded the release of NIS 2012 in August 2011. (The Anti-Spam problem was first reported on this forum 2011-09-17 03:20 AM)

Intergrating in future MS platforms eg: the upcoming version of Windows, codenamed Windows 8, built-in anti-malware features & new antivirus

Progressively introducing programming in MS products that upset the functionality of other security software. Eg: NIS is incompatible with Outlook Express & MS Outlook.

As for a solution?

We could suffer the problem in the hope that NIS 2013 version release will address the issues OR Norton may resolve the incompatibility issue before then.

Compare products... and change to another security system. findthebest

http://antivirus-software.findthebest.com/compare/81-145/2012-Microsoft-Security-Essentials-vs-2012-Norton-Internet-Security

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

ramoats — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:47:14 GMT

Just opened Outlook Express this morning after yesterdays reinstall ..... Norton icon is missing again...it is unavailable in the taskbar customization menu and antispam selections are missing on right click ...... In short,,,reinstall does not work....

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

ramoats — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:54:52 GMT

I cannot agree with you CelebrantCrusty only because Outlook Express hasn't changed since Windows Live mail was introduced... you can't ebven download Outlook Express any longer ...... meaning this is a Norton issue

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:20:49 GMT

Hi CelebrantCrusty,

It's good to hear from you!

Wow.., someone has been doing some research, you've certainly provided a wealth of information for us all to look at. Most of what you've talked about is news to me and so I cannot really add very much. Certainly any personally comments on the 'in's & out's' of Microsoft Support would be rather unfair since I have never used them, although I do know plenty who have and they report much the same 'lack of support' as you do.

I am aware of the 'Microsoft Security Essentials' product which you mention and have been for some time now. I've never really considered using it myself although recent lack of support through Norton has lead me to think otherwise. Like you, I find when all else fails, clutching straws becomes something of a necessity.

Your above reply has prompted a few observational questions of my own which I feel I should ask, hopefully someone more knowledgeable can answer them for me?

1. If the disappearing Spam Button is a genuine Microsoft issue, why is it that it doesn't affect ALL users? Why only some? In fact the vast majority of NIS 2012 users have no issue with the spam button, unless of course they do not use MS Outlook/ Outlook Express. It would be a useful test if all NIS 2012 users could try using one of these mail clients and report the results here, maybe then we would have a clearer picture.?!

2. My own and several other peoples discovery of the disappearing spam button happened immediately after the installation of NIS 2012. Those people that decided to uninstall 2012 and go back to NIS 2011 reported that the spam button problem went away, how is that a Microsoft issue? It would seem a more logical assumption perhaps that the spam button issue was as a direct result of the upgrade (downgrade depending on how you see it) to NIS 2012.

Thank you once again for the info, I will look through it with interest later today.

All the best

Tube-Rider-Dude

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tony_Weiss — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:29:51 GMT

Hi folks, our team is researching this issue in greater detail. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. To make this easier, and to narrow down the cause of the problem, could you help us with some details?

1) What is the full version of Outlook or Outlook Express you're using? On which Operating System?

2) How consistently does this happen? 1/5 times? 3/5 times? 5/5 times?

3) If it's fairly consistent, what are the exact steps you take?

Also, I'll be sending you all a Private Message (yellow envelope in the upper right-hand corner of the forums) shortly with instructions on gathering and sending logs to us. If you're able to send that info, I'd appreciate it.

And to clarify a few points from Tube-Rider-Dude:

Tube-Rider-Dude wrote:

1. If the disappearing Spam Button is a genuine Microsoft issue, why is it that it doesn't affect ALL users? Why only some? In fact the vast majority of NIS 2012 users have no issue with the spam button, unless of course they do not use MS Outlook/ Outlook Express. It would be a useful test if all NIS 2012 users could try using one of these mail clients and report the results here, maybe then we would have a clearer picture.?!

Tony_Weiss: I think as any computer user will tell you, there are a near-infinite number of system configurations and it continues to expand as the number of hardware and software devices increases. We can't expect everyone to be affected, only those with the same common factors. I'm not "passing the buck" to another company for this issue, but the logic here is a bit specious. Simply because it doesn't happen to everyone doesn't mean that the OS isn't to blame. There are several issues that occur with the OS that I've never encountered, but that others have.

2. My own and several other peoples discovery of the disappearing spam button happened immediately after the installation of NIS 2012. Those people that decided to uninstall 2012 and go back to NIS 2011 reported that the spam button problem went away, how is that a Microsoft issue? It would seem a more logical assumption perhaps that the spam button issue was as a direct result of the upgrade (downgrade depending on how you see it) to NIS 2012.

Tony_Weiss: This reminds me of the "correlation does not imply causation" argument. We had an issue with the context menu a while ago, where our conformity with MS context menu rules exposed that others were not. However, since the change was only visible once NIS was installed, most assumed that NIS caused the issue. So, while the correlation between "installing" and "crazy context menu" was true, the actual cause was something different. Again, I'm not trying to shift blame, but this logical argument has some holes in it and I want to make sure we're all understanding things clearly. I'd rather gather details about the issue and find the cause rather than speculate as to which product is to blame and take drastic action based on that assumption.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

ramoats — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:25:19 GMT

Windows XP Home ver 2002 Service Pack 3 / Outlook Express 6 ver 6.00.2900.5512 / NIS ver 19.5.1.2

Problem began for me on the latest NIS version update ... only way to restore Antispam to normal is to turn off all anti spam controls in NIS , then reboot and let NIS fix the security problem . Once restored it may last 1 to 3 days .... most of the time it fails on the next closing and opening of Outlook Express during the same session. It seems to me that NIS acts like it is unaware of Outlook Express because I get no warnings when Outlook Express integration is turned off as well as the Anti Spam icon is NOT available for deselection/selection if you right click on the Outlook Express task bar and select customize.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tube-Rider-Dude — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:44:25 GMT

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your assistance.., if I may I would like to add an inline comment in relation to your opening paragraph.

Tony_Weiss wrote:

Forgive me, I do not wish to sound flippant with my remark but wasn't this brought to the attention of Norton months ago when NIS 2012 first launched? There's half a dozen postings in these forums about this issue that I'm aware of, was the issue overlooked perhaps?

That said, I am appreciative for your renewed interest and I look forward to resolving this issue with your team very soon.

As requested here are my own answers to your questions below. Again I have answered these in-line for ease of reading.

Tony_Weiss wrote:

1) What is the full version of Outlook or Outlook Express you're using? On which Operating System?

Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512 (XPSP.080413-2105) - OS Windows XP Professional SP3

2) How consistently does this happen? 1/5 times? 3/5 times? 5/5 times?

I have just opened and closed Outlook Express 5 times and the spam button was absent on each occasion (5/5 times). A restart of my machine made the button appear again on first use of Outlook Express, the second time it was missing again! This is pretty much how it is on a daily basis, the spam button is absent for the majority of the time.

3) If it's fairly consistent, what are the exact steps you take?

Question is somewhat vague! Here goes.., I notice the spam button is missing and curse ever having installed NIS 2012 and wish someone would find a fix. Next time I open Outlook Express I either get really lucky and the spam button shows or it is missing and I curse Norton some more!! I have tried the quick fix of disabling the client integration and then re-enabling it as talked about in one of the other posts but it is simply that. It is not a permanent solution. Sadly someone has marked that particular post as 'Solved' but that is not the case!

Also, I'll be sending you all a Private Message (yellow envelope in the upper right-hand corner of the forums) shortly with instructions on gathering and sending logs to us. If you're able to send that info, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks Tony, I will send you the info shortly!

I would ask that you also please check the other posts relating to this issue as I am aware someone else from your team was allegedly gathering the information requested in your email from another users machine. Perhaps they never received what they asked for?!

Thanks again

Tube-Rider-Dude

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

Tony_Weiss — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:02:03 GMT

3) If it's fairly consistent, what are the exact steps you take?

Question is somewhat vague! Here goes.., I notice the spam button is missing...

Hi Tube-Rider-Dude,

For this question, it'd be helpful to get the information on the steps you take before the button goes missing. I'm assuming there is a time when the button is showing for you, then it goes missing. What do you install? Do you perform a specific action before it goes missing? Once it's gone, the issue has already taken place. We want to identify what is happening just before that time. Thanks.

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

ramoats — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:20:57 GMT

In my case, I let the computer fully boot ... all processor activity has stopped ..... the first program I open is Outlook Express ..... the button is gone...... It's just that simple....

Re: Norton ANTI-SPAM button - READER INPUT REQUIRED PLEASE!!!

CelebrantCrusty — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:20:46 GMT

Greetings ramoats,

ramoats wrote:
I cannot agree with you CelebrantCrusty only because Outlook Express hasn't changed since Windows Live mail was introduced... you can't ebven download Outlook Express any longer ...... meaning this is a Norton issue

I take your point and it is valid to some extent. I am aware that Outlook express is no longer supported by microsoft. And I do have the problem with outlook as well. Which could validate your comment that "this is a Norton Issue". Norton's Admin Tony Weiss has been collecting data from users for some time now in an effort to ascertain the cause and remedy the issue.

I have recently consulted with a senior Microsoft Consultant " (16 Years experience) who stated that periodically some of Microsoft updates have caused or may cause incompatibility issues to arise with third party programs such as Norton. He also suggested that I might look at the links I inserted in my previous post.

Personally I have had numerous compatability issues with Microsoft in the past.

Since 1997 I have had to use totally voice operated PCs. One of my PCs has never had my voice software installed. It too has this current problem. Windows 2000 & XP gave me grief often. Particularly with the bundled Microsoft Voice dictation component. And in 2003 & 2005 I had compatability issues with Norton after some critical microsoft updates which back then, Microsoft admitted responsibility for and subsequently resolved the issues (somewhat).

I believe that both Norton and Microsoft should put their heads together on this for a resolution, if they already haven't.

Cheers