Automatic download of new version

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
1

I'm running NIS 2011 on a Vista 64 PC. Automatic download of new version is on in settings but as of yet I have not received the update. Is this normal behavior?

 

I'm not having any other obvious problems with NIS 2011 and other automatic updates are working fine.

 

I'm also not in any hurry to update but since NIS 2012 has been out for awhile now, I thought it odd that it hadn't been automatically downloaded... or at least offered.

 

--Ron

 

2

Thanks Hugh, I appreciate it.

 

--Ron

 

3

Allow me to explain what's going on. I'll keep it simple enough that I don't give away any trade secrets, but detailed enough to hopefully answer your question.

 

The automatic download is managed by a utility we call the Norton Update Agent (NUA). Here's an article that explains what it is, and what you can do to manually install the latest version:

 

Norton Update Agent

 

NUA is downloaded silently by Automatic Live Update (ALU). It comes down silently, checks if you can be updated, and if so, it silently downloads the updated version. When the download is complete, it asks you if you would like to install the new version.

 

There are many different "flavors" of our product. We call these "layouts". It may have come with your laptop. You may have purchased it at a retail store. Your ISP may provide you a copy. We target different layouts at different times with NUA.

 

In order to test if NUA is running, you would need a tool to look at what ALU has downloaded, a tool to check the status of NUA, and the schedule of which layouts are being targeted. Unfortunately, these tools and the schedule are not available to the public.

 

For these reasons, it's not possilbe for you to be able to test or know when NIS 2011 will automatically download NIS 2012. Also, depending on which layout you have, it may never happen.

4

Hi Ken,

 

Thanks for taking the time to look into this. I appreciate it.

 

For the record, I'm using the retail USA version of NIS.

 

I take it from your message that my options are to either wait until NUA is pushed through to my machine and does it's thing or manually download and install NIS 2012 myself either by downloading the install file or perhaps clicking "New Version Check" under "Support".

 

I also take it that there would be nothing in my ALU history file (that I could access) to indicate that NUA had been pushed through and nothing in the UI indicating whether or not NIS 2012 had in fact already been downloaded at an earlier time... say, perhaps when I was away from the console.

 

Am I correct in these assumptions?

 

I think it would be a good idea to consider having the "New Version Check" under "Support" change to something like "New Version Available" once NUA has done it's thing. Assuming, of course, that the popup or whatever UI element you use to inform users that a new version is ready for installation, doesn't stay on the screen indefinitely.  

 

Thanks again,

 

--Ron

 

5
RonH wrote:

Hi Ken,

 

Thanks for taking the time to look into this. I appreciate it.

 

 

I also take it that there would be nothing in my ALU history file (that I could access) to indicate that NUA had been pushed through and nothing in the UI indicating whether or not NIS 2012 had in fact already been downloaded at an earlier time... say, perhaps when I was away from the console.

 

Thanks again,

 

--Ron

 

Hi Ron,

 

You will need to make sure Windows is configured to display hidden files/directories and system files.

 

I think NUA downloads to a directory in C:\ProgramData\Norton

 

Look for a directory which starts with NIS_prod in the name.

 

If NIS 2012 has been downloaded already I believe there will be a file there starting with "NIS-UPGRADE". There would also be a couple of other files there.

 

Best wishes.

Allen

6

HI Allen,

 

Thanks for the additional information. I give it a look-see.

 

--Ron

 

7

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, Allen. Life and all that...

 

Anyway, I can't find hide nor hair of any NUA or NIS-UPGRADE file in any of the norton folders on my HD. And, yes, I did toggle "show hidden files" on for the search.

 

So, I guess Symantec hasn't seen fit to push through the NUA file as of yet. Either that or I've got something farkled in my NIS 2011 installation although as I mentioned in another post, everything seems to be working fine and I'm not having any trouble with automatic updates.

 

I suppose I can always click on that new version check under support...

 

Thanks,

 

--Ron

 

8

Hi Ron,

 

From your information I would have to presume that the 2012 version has not been downloaded yet, otherwise that file should be there.

 

As you know you have the option of installing 2012 at any time of your choosing either through the New Version Check or downloading the full version from the link below.

 

http://www.norton.com/nis12

 

Whichever way you decide to do the upgrade, as a precaution back up your ID safe first. This is even more important prior to upgrading to NIS 2012 because there is a NEW format for the ID safe data file. It is NOT backwards compatible with 2011 and earlier. NIS 2012 will convert your ID safe information to the 2012 format automatically but if you were to want to revert back to 2011 for any reason or something else went wrong you would be able to recover easily if you back up your ID safe while still on 2011.

 

We always recommend to periodically back up your ID safe anyway because of the importance of the information it holds.

 

Please let us know what you decide to do.

 

Best wishes.

Allen

9

Considering the number of issues still in the list for NIS2012 I certainly wouldn't want an automatic download just yet anyway.

10

Hi again Allen,

 

Thanks for the additional info on backing up Identity safe. I'll keep that in mind when I do decide to upgrade. However, I think I'm going to sit on this for awhile and see how things shake out.

 

It could be my imagination but there seem to be a few more issues with NIS 2012 than there were with 2011. Installing 2011 was basically painless for me.. unless you count the damage that McAfee's removal tool did to my side bar. That took awhile to fix but wasn't Symantec's fault.

 

I'm working on a fairly big project with a tight deadline so the last thing I need is a computer problem to sort through.

 

I do thank you for your help. I appreciate it.

 

--Ron

 

11

Hi Ron

I think that is a sound strategy. Normally I would recommend the upgrade but you are correct, 2012has had more problems than 2011 did. So holding off for a bit is a good idea.

Be sure to keep an eye on the 2012 known issues thread so you will know when the core issues have been resolved.

Best wishes
Allen

12

I'm running NIS 2011 on a Vista 64 PC. Automatic download of new version is on in settings but as of yet I have not received the update. Is this normal behavior?

 

I'm not having any other obvious problems with NIS 2011 and other automatic updates are working fine.

 

I'm also not in any hurry to update but since NIS 2012 has been out for awhile now, I thought it odd that it hadn't been automatically downloaded... or at least offered.

 

--Ron