This is a vent, and hopefully Norton reads this and takes note of why a long term user is moving to a different product.
I have used Norton for about 20 years. When I started using it, there was no question that it was the best product. It did its job, and was pretty much non-intrusive unless there was an issue needing attention. In those early years, one of the great features was that it prevented unwanted pop up windows at websites.
Fast forward to today. And I have to say that Norton is now a money grabbing ANNOYANCE. It started a few years ago but is getting progressively worse. Lets go over all the very annoying things it is doing lately:
Auto renewal is about 6x more expensive than buying at BestBuy or Amazon. Every year I contact them and immediately they offer 50% off. Still way to expensive because I can buy at 1/3 that discounted cost, but they say the benefit of renewing at a higher cost is that I do not have to uninstall and reinstall under the new activation code??!!!?? Wow, I certainly feel treated right as a long term Norton user. So I bought cheap on Amazon, and will try some tricks to activate new code with my existing installed product - found some videos showing how to do it, even though Norton chat support says you can't. If it doesn't work and I have to uninstall Norton, then I will buy Bit Defender and install that instead - sick of the annual turmoil of trying not to get ripped off. I certainly do NOT feel like my business is valued.
Limited online options: I can only buy single device or 5 device packages. I need 3 device, which is not available online by Norton, but is available at a lower price online or at BestBuy. So, as a long term user, I only have limited options online. So my Amazon purchase is for 3 devices.
Pop Up Windows - while on the internet, Norton has lately decided it is ok to open a new tab with wonderful Norton features I should buy. Very annoying when this happens while I am typing in a Google search, and disorientating when I have to stop and figure out what the heck just happened. An internet security program that thinks invasive taking over browser is ok to do???!!!?? Wow, things have changed a lot in the last 20 years because it used to stop that from happening!
Scare Tactics - There are multiple pop up windows warning of impending doom if I don't spend more money and buy some of the other Norton products.
Feedback is useless - I realize that I am just a dumb user, and that Norton knows best. But wow, that feedback button leads to a black hole. It is one way, and there is no trace of any feedback once it goes in. I certainly have not seen anything that suggests they have even read it, let alone acted on any of my suggestions.
And finally, things have changed a lot over the last 20 years, and Norton is still very good but Bit Defender is equally good according to all the testing. So if you want the best protection available, then there is another option now.