I have a new iMac and new Norton AntiVirus software. I installed the software and get the following message: Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect cannot run with the 64 Bit Kernel. Please restart with the 32 Bit Kernel, then re-enable Auto-Protect. What is 64/32 Bit Kernel. How do I change the setting?
If you have a new iMac, you're probably running OS X Lion.
Older versions of Norton AntiVirus were 32-bit, and can't be installed on newer operating systems.
However, you don't want to switch to the 32-bit kernel.
If you're running OS X Lion, what you need is the new version of Norton AntiVirus 12 for Mac, which is already 64-bit compatible and specifically meant for OS X Lion. Note that Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac is not compatible with OS X Lion, so don't try to use that with 10.7.
If you happen to be running Snow Leopard, and trying to install an old version of NAV for Mac, please let us know. Someone can arrange to get you a 64-bit version.
My iMac is running 10.7.2. The box says it is for Mac OS 10.4.11 or higher, but it is version11.1. I bought the iMac and Norton AntiVirus at the same time from Best Buy (12/26/2011). So how do I get a version that is compatible with my iMac?
It's likely that the box had been printed before OS X Lion came out, and they wouldn't have known to print 10.4 - 10.6 on the box, back then. Sorry for the confusing packaging!
You could exchange version NAV 11 for Mac at Best Buy for NAV 12 for Mac, or contact Symantec Customer Service and see if they'll give you a license for NAV 12 for Mac. Personally I'd try Customer Service first. They're quite helpful and understanding about the whole compatibility issue.
Enjoy your new iMac!
Thanks for your help!
How do I get the new version of Norton Antivirus that is compatible with Mac Lion?
More information on my question: I installed Norton Antivirus for mac 2012, which is supposed to be compatible with Lion OS. However, I get an error message that "Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect cannot run with the 64 Bit Kernel. Please restart with the 32 Bit Kernel, then re-enable Auto-Protect". A previous answer said to get the new version of Norton 2012 compatible with Lion. Where do I get that version and what is it called?
The version you want is Norton AntiVirus 12 for Mac. It supports (OS X Lion and) 64-bit mode, and you wouldn't have seen the "cannot run with 64-bit kernel" message if you had installed Norton AntiVirus 12 for Mac.
The version you installed is probably Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac (and is not compatible with OS X Lion).
(Norton AntiVirus 2012 is a Windows product. You wouldn't want that at all for Mac OS X.)
The only way to get Norton AntiVirus 12 for Mac is to buy it from a retail or online store. There is no free upgrade from older versions of Norton AntiVirus for Mac. If you purchased NAV 11 for Mac, you'd need to exchange it for NAV 12 for Mac.