Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[delphinium Norton Fighter]

I have upgraded to NIS2011 on my Win 7 64 bit laptop.  The installation was smooth, the logins retained, it only took about five minutes to configure things the way I prefer and to add my driver folder to scan and auto-protect exclusions

It ran a full system scan finding nothing but 22 tracking cookies, which it duly removed.  All in all, it looks very successful.  There are a few things that I don't like.

1.  I think the map is a waste of time and money in development that could probably have been better spent.

2.  The list of vulnerable programs in Vulnerability Protection is reminiscent of the list of malware that was finally removed as being a waste of space.  One can only wonder why it is back, and is it actually updated as other programs are patched.  If not, it serves no useful purpose.

3.  I don't care for the optimization software for the same reason.  If there wasn't so much stuff being downloaded and uploaded all the time, it wouldn't be necessary.  Between Community watch, reputation, pulse updates, liveupdates, error reporting, and so on, not to mention updates to the map, Norton is on the net more than I am.  I will have to leave the thing on 24 hours a day just to let it do its thing.

4.  The one thing that really irritats me is the link to the NPE with the uplifting suggestion that if you think you have more threats, click here.  That is the most irresponsible behaviour I have seen to date.  We have seen at least three people use the tool and delete what they should not have deleted.  I think two of them could no longer boot and had to be reloaded, ptlycldy, for one, and the other could no longer sign in.  I can just picture several million people rubbing that genie in the bottle. 

For what it is worth, that is what I think.  JMHO

[skypx]

If I had to describe NIS2011 with one word, awesome! The LAN file transfer slowdown is gone! G. . . O. . . N. . . E. . . I know I've been whining about this for a while, but I was pleasantly surprised after testing. Great job guys, I can honestly recommend NIS2011 to friends and family.

[AllenM Norton Fighter]

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skypx wrote:

If I had to describe NIS2011 with one word, awesome! The LAN file transfer slowdown is gone! G. . . O. . . N. . . E. . . I know I've been whining about this for a while, but I was pleasantly surprised after testing. Great job guys, I can honestly recommend NIS2011 to friends and family.

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Hi skypx,

Thanks for sharing that. I agree, I think NIS 2011 is yet another improvement over 2010. Just as 2010 as an improvement over 2009 and 2009 over 2008... Well I'm sure that makes the point.

Best wishes.

Allen

[Sea_Monster]

Glad the learning curve between 2010 & 2011 was not much.....although, there are some new terms & features in 2011 that was not in 2010.....can't remember what they were.

I am sure there will be further improvement down the road for 2011......all for the good.

Cannot imagine what will unfold for the future of NIS.

Thank you

[Sea_Monster]

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delphinium wrote:

4.  The one thing that really irritats me is the link to the NPE with the uplifting suggestion that if you think you have more threats, click here.  That is the most irresponsible behaviour I have seen to date.  We have seen at least three people use the tool and delete what they should not have deleted.  I think two of them could no longer boot and had to be reloaded, ptlycldy, for one, and the other could no longer sign in.  I can just picture several million people rubbing that genie in the bottle. 

For what it is worth, that is what I think.  JMHO

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P/S :- what does delphinium meant by the point 4.....sound really serious and frightening!!!

[AllenM Norton Fighter]

Hi Sea_Monster,

What Delphinium is referring to is what is called the Norton Power Eraser or NPE. This is a special tool but a very aggressive one to help in rooting out malware which is not found by your every day security software. But because it is aggressive, there can also be false positives associated with it.

It is not intended to be an every day on-demand scanner like MalwareBytes but can be highly effective if used correctly in rooting out difficult to detect malware. It should be used with caution and with the advice of someone who can provide guidance to ensure that false positives are not removed from your system.

The following is one of the messages which you will see when accessing the NPE for download.

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Because the Norton Power Eraser uses aggressive methods to detect these threats, there is a risk that it can select some legitimate programs for removal. You should use this tool very carefully, and only after you have exhausted other options.

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In short, when used correctly it is a valuable tool in my opinion but a certain amount of knowledge is necessary to use it safely.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes.

Allen

[brummie Regular Contributor]

Good Morning,

Well, I have been monitoring these forums this past couple of days and deciding whether to wait a while longer or not before upgrading to NIS 2011! I was convinced that all appeared to be working well and so this morning I took the plunge and have no regrets. I did my desktop pc first followed by my sons. The update went without a hitch, all my settings were saved incl. my logins, all I had to do was tweak my network map a little so I can discover the other pc. Anyone still wondering whether to upgrade now or later fear not, just do it.

I like the UI, the 'threat map' is a nice little touch which I like, found it easy to navigate around as it is similar to the previous NIS 10, haven't really had to do anything to the normal settings, will check through a bit later.

My opinion is that Symantec have produced yet again another great piece of software, you can tell a lot of hard work has gone into this by the way the auto upgrade worked without any probles. (Touch wood). Well done to all the Symantec staff and you beta testers out there who have worked hard to produce this security suite. I for one am very pleased indeed!

[Sea_Monster]

I discovered that the scanning mode (custom) the manual over shot the screen, there is supposed to be a CLOSE button but it is "hidden" under the task bar.

I had to move upwards to reveal the hidden CLOSE button.  I will provide some attachment later tonight to further explain the issue.

Thank you

[ProTruckDriver Super Spam Squasher]

The 2011 version is awesome. One of the easiest upgrades I have ever done. Job well done to the Norton Staff on an Excellent Security Product. Keep up the good work.

[Sea_Monster]

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AllenM wrote:

Hi Sea_Monster,

What Delphinium is referring to is what is called the Norton Power Eraser or NPE. This is a special tool but a very aggressive one to help in rooting out malware which is not found by your every day security software. But because it is aggressive, there can also be false positives associated with it.

---

Because the Norton Power Eraser uses aggressive methods to detect these threats, there is a risk that it can select some legitimate programs for removal. You should use this tool very carefully, and only after you have exhausted other options.

---

In short, when used correctly it is a valuable tool in my opinion but a certain amount of knowledge is necessary to use it safely.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes.

Allen

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Dear Allen.....

Where can I locate NPE?

Thank you