Norton 360

[LB]

Since I upgraded to Norton 360 4.0, every time I boot up my computer I get a message from Windows Defender, which says: "This program is turned off. If you are using another program that checks for harmful or unwanted software, use the Action Center to check for that program's status."

I suspect that this is simply a matter of some Norton services not starting early enough. I know there's an option for that in NIS 2010, but not in N360 4.0.

[Phil_D Norton Fighter]

Hello LB,

If you are referring to "Early Load", in 360v4 it is located in Settings > Antivirus > Automatic Protection.

[LB]

Yes, I was referring to that setting. On my system it's turned on. I will turn it off, reboot and report back here if it changed anything.

Thanks!

[LB]

I turned it off and rebooted the computer--and the Windows Defender message is still there. Bummer.

[BlitzXor]

If you want to get rid of that message, try this and let us know if it helps:

Go to the Action Center, then Change Action Center Settings. Under the Security Messages category, uncheck the spyware and related protection box. This should disable all messages regarding your spyware protection.

[LB]

That's not it either, unfortunately. This is puzzling...

[LB]

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one with this issue?

[BlitzXor]

No, you are not the only one with this issue. I confess: the solution I offered to you I actually borrowed from the following thread where somebody reported the problem after installing McAfee. The OP did not report back after the solution I offered so I assumed it worked, but that was apparently a bad assumption on my part. There is another solution offered in the thread, so I'll let you look at it for yourself:

http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/23133-windows-defender-popup-after-installing-antivirus.h...

I also found another thread reporting the problem after a virus infection on the computer, but there are no solutions offered:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t298111.html

I'm guessing that because the problem happened in a situation where Norton wasn't involved, and another situation where a Paladin infection was involved, this probably isn't a problem caused by Norton but symptomatic of other PC issues. Has anything occurred recently to lead you to believe there may be a security risk on the computer, or has there been any other odd behavior that might indicate issues with the OS?

[Calls]

Not sure if this will help you- But I know that Microsoft has stopped acknowledging older programs in its security panel. It will say that antivirus is on, but reporting itself in a way no longer recognized by Vista

Not sure if that helps you.

[LB]

Thanks for the suggestions! I turned off the service but it still pops up. My computer is clean, and everything is fully patched.

The mystery deepens.