For the first time since 2003, I'm not going to renew my Norton Anti-virus

I've got the 2006 version and lately, I feel like I'm almost wasting my time scanning anything with Norton.   I spend most of my time scanning things on virustotal's website.   Why is it that one of the largest anti-virus companies on the internet can't create a large enough database to catch all the viruses and trojans?   I think for the first time, I'm just going to go without anti-virus at all since I spend so much time scanning with 5 different products anyway.   I already  use two online scanners,  3 different spyware scanners and a trojan scanner aside from Norton.   Norton is the only one I pay for.    I think maybe it might be more beneficial to just clone the harddrive and restore it whenever I have a serious virus problem. 

You might want to try v2009.

It is much faster and more stable


morph99 wrote:

I've got the 2006 version and lately, I feel like I'm almost wasting my time scanning anything with Norton.   I spend most of my time scanning things on virustotal's website.   Why is it that one of the largest anti-virus companies on the internet can't create a large enough database to catch all the viruses and trojans?   I think for the first time, I'm just going to go without anti-virus at all since I spend so much time scanning with 5 different products anyway.   I already  use two online scanners,  3 different spyware scanners and a trojan scanner aside from Norton.   Norton is the only one I pay for.    I think maybe it might be more beneficial to just clone the harddrive and restore it whenever I have a serious virus problem. 


 

You have to understand that symantec may not have caught all Internet Threats out there at the same time as another Product has, which is why you need a Firewall, which Blocks Ports that Hackers use and Un-Used Port Blocking, which means that, if the Port is not being used by any Application, it will Block it when someone tries to use it; symantec's Firewall is the best out there.  Un-fortunately, it does mean to stay Fully Secure, i.e. to make sure nothing is on your computer, you may have to use one or two free, On-line Scanners, such as Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware; they are two of the best, free On-line Scannes - Malwarebytes is Rated 002 out of 230-odd Products, which I assume is free Products.  However, I have "heard" people say they have used Norton for "five years" and "not" got Infected, which is excellent; do not know if they use free, On-line Scanners, though, to make sure.

 

You can Upgrade for free to N.I.S. 2009 / N.AV. 2009, which you can use your current 2006 Subscription for (below); if you use Norton AntiVirus 2006, see this Post for important details on a N.AV. 2009 Feature: http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=18195.

 

http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/support/special/upgrade2007/vista/select_product.jsp?site=nuc

 

Upgrading instructions for Norton 2006 Products and Later:

01. Select your Product and Version, from the Web Link (above).

02. Save the Download on your Desktop.

03. Save your Product Key (www.mynortonaccount.com; http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/custserv.nsf/docid/20020610105504925?Open&src=sym).

04. Dis-connect from the Internet.

05. Go to Add/Remove.

06. Locate "Norton Internet Security (Symantec Corporation)" and click on "Remove".

07. Follow the instrctions and, when asked to, re-start your computer.

08. Locate to Add/Remove upon start-up.

09. Click on LiveUpdate and "Remove" and any other LiveUpdate.

10. If requested, re-start your computer.

11. Double-click on the Saved N.I.S./N.AV. File on your Desktop.

12. Follow the instructions.

13. Open Norton Internet Security or Norton AntiVirus and "Run [Norton] LiveUpdate" manually.

14. It is now Safe to Connect to the Internet again.

15. If you notice things not running right with N.I.S. 2009/N.AV. 2009, it may be a bug; please Post them here [in the Forum].

16. If you have Other Norton Products, then you can re-install LiveUpdate, or, if you have Used the N.R.T., you can re-install your Other Norton Product(s); if you do not have the Disc, then you can re-download it via the Trailware. Norton SystemWorks users have had a "Patch" Released so that Updates are received through Norton LiveUpdate, i.e. your Norton Internet Security 2009 Product.

17. If you have problems un-installing/installing, then use the Norton Removal Tool.

 

 

Mawarebytes' Anti-Malware: http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html.

 

SUPERAntiSpyware: http://www.download.com/SUPERAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-187228.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=559816.

 

 

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 11-21-2008 09:13 AM

Well, maybe you are partially right. I agree there are other ways to scan files for infections, and that's for free.

But what about automatic real time protection ? Online scanners do not provide such feature. The idea of virus protection software, to my understandings, is to block the threat at the point of entry, preventing the infection from spreading. Some viruses are harmless, but some of them can cause real damage (I mean, data loss). And, if the user X really cares about the files that he stores on his PC,and has enough money to spend for virus protection, why leave the computer without antivirus software? Backup tasks run on a specific schedule or manually, but a worm can infect a PC at any time, before the data is backed up. If the user X is an advanced user, and has enough computer knowledge, and does not care about what he stores on his PC, then it's ok, he can use his PC without protection software. As a whole, I think that antivirus software is good for users that:

- care about their files

- are new to computers

- use their computer for work

- store important data such as passwords, credit card numbers, telephone numbers etc.

- use the internet to bank and shop online

- exchange important files over the internet

- just want to be safe on the internet, and browse freely.

 

This is what I think. Finally, I'll quote somting I've read in a magazine: "My computer is my fortress"

 

 


morph99 wrote:

 

 I've got the 2006 version and lately, I feel like I'm almost wasting my time scanning anything with Norton.   I spend most of my time scanning things on virustotal's website.   Why is it that one of the largest anti-virus companies on the internet can't create a large enough database to catch all the viruses and trojans?   I think for the first time, I'm just going to go without anti-virus at all since I spend so much time scanning with 5 different products anyway.   I already  use two online scanners,  3 different spyware scanners and a trojan scanner aside from Norton.   Norton is the only one I pay for.    I think maybe it might be more beneficial to just clone the harddrive and restore it whenever I have a serious virus problem.

 


Hi morph99,

 

 

Any reason for delaying the try for NIS / NAV 09  which are currently free for upgradation of your product...?

 

You can upgrade your NAV / NIS 06  to 09 version for free with same number of subscription days available.

 

Perhaps you need to visit the reviews for NIS 09 .......it is the best security suite available in the market.....

 

and it is the most lightweight antivirus software .......you won't even notice that a ' NORTON PRODUCT '

 

(a resource hog according to some people a few years back ..........not me:smileywink:) is running on your system.

 

Message Edited by Shridhar on 11-21-2008 03:02 PM

A) NAV06<NAV09 in terms of performance, detection, and removal.

B) VirusTotal does not set their license of Symantec AV to the most aggressive settings. I have quite a few samples that were missed by the Symantec AV on VirusTotal, however were flagged by NIS09.

C) I use ThreatExpert

D) You can upgrade to 09 for free to try it out. =)

As a novice and a paranoid, maybe I can lend a little to this discussion. I have always been very worried about infection on my computer. But what I have really come to understand is that the main feature is not detecting a virus/maleware/etc but blocked them at point of entry. Which is what I understand Norton Nav and NIS to do. happily undertsand, I might add.


NY1986 wrote:
As a novice and a paranoid, maybe I can lend a little to this discussion. I have always been very worried about infection on my computer. But what I have really come to understand is that the main feature is not detecting a virus/maleware/etc but blocked them at point of entry. Which is what I understand Norton Nav and NIS to do. happily undertsand, I might add.

 

What NY is saying is, it is better to Block Hackers at point of Entry rather than have a Threat on your computer; however, Detection is also Critical because an Internet Threat may slip through the Firewall, Intrusion Prevention. 

 

Just remember that Norton AntiVirus 2009 does not have a Firewall; see this Post for more Details:

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=18195.

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 11-22-2008 02:32 PM
Message Edited by Floating_Red on 11-22-2008 02:36 PM

Hi morph99,

 

I just want to sum up the excellent suggestions made here.

 

"Dumping" Realtime protection is not advisable, because as NYC1986 mentioned, it is easier to catch the threats at the front door before they enter your system. Catching them after the fact using online scanners means that a removal process will be involved.

 

As far as cloning your hard drive, that may work, but what if you clone it after you have been infected - your disc image will now be compromised and the threat will be reinstalled.

 

There is no security software that will catch everything - evidenced by the fact that you use 5 different products. By the way, are any installed and running in the background as realtime protection? That could cause a conflict.

 

A number of folks have suggested upgrading to the newest version which you can do for free. The newer version uses more intuitive scanning and heuristics to help identify threats. You will probably get better results and the reviews as pointed out by TechOutsider and Shridhar are impressive.

 

Now since NAV 2009 does not contain a firewall, Floating_Red made a good suggestion that an upgrade to NIS 2009 (for a fee) would provide you the ultimate defense as it contains a two-way Smart Firewall.

 

And last but not least, Vejdin summed up the topic by stating that if your computer is important to you, then realtime protection is an important line of defense.

 

I have use Norton products for well over ten years and have never been infected. As an added bonus, I don't have to spend the extra hours running various scanners to ensure my security.

 

Just consider your decision carefully, before making your choice.

 

Thanks.

NAV09 includes a limited inbound firewall-like defense mechanisim.

 

It scans internet traffic specfically for traffic that attempts to hijack vulnerable programs. 


Tech0utsider wrote:

NAV09 includes a limited inbound firewall-like defense mechanisim.

 

It scans internet traffic specfically for traffic that attempts to hijack vulnerable programs. 


 

No, NAV 09 does not include a firewall (even a basic inbound firewall).

If my memory serves me, early versions of NIS 2006 did not have spyware detection.  There was a spyware detection version of NIS 2006 that came out in late summer of 2006.  When NIS 2007 came out, it had spyware detection built in. 

Vejdin, I think TechOutsider was referring to the IPS capability that is available in NAV 2009.


reese_anschultz wrote:
Vejdin, I think TechOutsider was referring to the IPS capability that is available in NAV 2009.

 

Still not a Firewall; it is Intrusion Prevention which Stops Attacks to your system with Signatures.

I’d like to say to the original poster to try NIS 2009, especially if you can upgrade to it free, as it’s an excellent program.
Until recently, I was using a very old version of NIS (2003) and I kept it up to date and it kept me safe. All the same, I felt it was time to get a newer version ( after 5 years) so I upgraded to NIS 2009 (not free but with a discount) and I certainly don’t regret it. I had no idea how much stuff there is in 2009 and I’m still trying to learn about it.
I do use other free scanners online occasionally just to confirm the results from Norton and they’ve never found anything Norton had missed. I also have a couple of free anti-spyware scanners which I’ve had for ages and use regularly. Between them and Norton now, I think  my PC is kept reasonably clear.
Anyway good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep your computer safe!

Now that various problems in the original version have been patched, NAV 2009 does seem to be a reasonable product. (The main issues we hit were loss of hot keys and being unable to shutdown after “idle time” processing had kicked in).

 

However, I am still running NAV 2006 on my laptop because it prevents a game from running, even if I try to temporarily stop NAV from scanning etc. (The game is Sam and Max Season One DVD version).

The other more serious gripe I have is that it seems we are now “renting” the software instead of simply licencing it. The implication of this is that if you delay renewing the subscription for any reason then NAV stops functioning completely. Older versions carried on working, but were unable to download updates - which I find perfectly reasonable.

 

The result of this is that we probably will NOT be renewing our NAV licenses once the current ones expire, UNLESS this behaviour is changed.


Judy wrote:
Now that various problems in the original version have been patched, NAV 2009 does seem to be a reasonable product. (The main issues we hit were loss of hot keys and being unable to shutdown after "idle time" processing had kicked in).

 

However, I am still running NAV 2006 on my laptop because it prevents a game from running, even if I try to temporarily stop NAV from scanning etc. (The game is Sam and Max Season One DVD version).

The other more serious gripe I have is that it seems we are now "renting" the software instead of simply licencing it. The implication of this is that if you delay renewing the subscription for any reason then NAV stops functioning completely. Older versions carried on working, but were unable to download updates - which I find perfectly reasonable.

 

The result of this is that we probably will NOT be renewing our NAV licenses once the current ones expire, UNLESS this behaviour is changed.


 

Instead of Re-newing, why not Upgrade to N.I.S. 2009?

 

N.AV. 2009 does not have a Firewall; see this Post for more Details: http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=18195.

Message Edited by Floating_Red on 11-26-2008 10:03 PM

Have you seen that there is a Gamers Edition of Norton AntiVIrus 2009 now? <s>

 

You can download a 15 day Trial from the Norton Store