I've been recently having problems with slowdowns, lockups, keyboard malfunctioning, and general weirdness. I've had Norton Security Suite installed on my computer since purchasing it, mostly because it came free with my computer, and I also get a free subscription through Comcast. I've scanned with Norton Security Suite regularly, and rarely found a problem. Today, I was thinking about it, and got tired of the slowdowns and other problems, so I downloaded and ran Malwarebytes. I had 10 instances, including 2 trojans, an adware prog, and a bunch of Potentially Unwanted Programs on my PC. How and why did Norton Security Suite allow these things on my computer?? I've even had occasions where my Norton software would mysteriously become disabled. I feel as though I've been lulled into a false sense of security by using your product. Apparently, I was not protected, even though your program says I'm "secure." Needless to say, after allowing Malwarebytes to remove the offending programs, my PC is working properly again.
I don't know if I should continue to use and to trust your product. I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium, and using Norton Security Suite 5.2.1.3 from Xfinity.
I've been recently having problems with slowdowns, lockups, keyboard malfunctioning, and general weirdness. I've had Norton Security Suite installed on my computer since purchasing it, mostly because it came free with my computer, and I also get a free subscription through Comcast. I've scanned with Norton Security Suite regularly, and rarely found a problem. Today, I was thinking about it, and got tired of the slowdowns and other problems, so I downloaded and ran Malwarebytes. I had 10 instances, including 2 trojans, an adware prog, and a bunch of Potentially Unwanted Programs on my PC. How and why did Norton Security Suite allow these things on my computer?? I've even had occasions where my Norton software would mysteriously become disabled. I feel as though I've been lulled into a false sense of security by using your product. Apparently, I was not protected, even though your program says I'm "secure." Needless to say, after allowing Malwarebytes to remove the offending programs, my PC is working properly again.
I don't know if I should continue to use and to trust your product. I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium, and using Norton Security Suite 5.2.1.3 from Xfinity.
Welcome zalloy,
Please understand that no single security product can or will ever protect you from every threat that may present itself. Norton does its best to stay as close to the bad guys and the 'nasties' they develop but the can never get ahead of them. Catching up always causes some things to slip in.
Your use of Malwarebytes free scanner was an excellent choice. It is Norton compatible and will serve you will when you feel the need for a second opinion about the state of your system. I run it every week or so just to be sure nothing slipped in before Norton found it.
The primary security tool you have is the chair/keyboard interface. Keep it fully engaged and do read all of the text in those small boxes that pop up from time to time when you are trying to get a program. Many of them will 'assume' that you also want a number of other products that can cause heartache on down the road, not to mention a serious PITA when it comes time to clean up the mess.
Malwarebytes' detects some kinds of threats that Norton intentionally ignores. Most Potentially Unwanted Programs, for example, are not detected by Norton because they are not malicious - they are programs that most people would find annoying, but some people install them for their functionality (such as a branded toolbar). Certainly, if you removed many PUPs, your system performance would likely improve, perhaps noticeably. Malwarebytes' also detects orphaned registry keys that are left over from malware that has already been removed at an earlier time - so some detections, although serious-sounding, may not be active threats at all. So, before determining if Norton missed anything important, you need to check the Malwarebytes' log to see not only the names of the threats detected, but also the locations where they were found on your system.
I did check the logs. There was one in Internet Explorer, a few in my download directory, and some in the windows registry. I removed all of them, and am re-running the Malwarebytes to see if anything else comes up. Personally, I can see how some might be annoyed if NAV kept flagging things as malware that were not, but I'd rather see the error pop up, and judge for myself if it's something that needs deleting. The trojans I found were Vundo and Dropper. Will Malwarebytes get rid of them completely, or is there something else I need to do?
I don't know if I should continue to use and to trust your product. I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium, and using Norton Security Suite 5.2.1.3 from Xfinity.
Hi zalloy,
I noticed you are running Norton Security Suite (NSS) version 5.2.1.3 which is an older version. The current version of NSS is 6.2.1.5.
You can still obtain NSS V 6 via following download link and selecting No Thanks on the CGPS popup and then the Get It Now to start the NSS download.
You can add the MBAM log as an attachment to a post. Vundo and whatever Dropper you had would be dangerous if they are active, but if they are only present as registry keys, then the active files would have been removed previously (possibly by Norton), and your machine would not be considered to be infected.
Thanks for the heads up on the old version of Norton. Here I was thinking I had the newest one. Duh! I went to the Xfinity link you provided, and got the new one. It's all installed now, and I have run both a second scan with Malwarebytes and the new Norton. Malwarebytes came up totally clean, and Norton said it found some threats, but was able to remove them. It said it found WS.Viral.1 and Suspicious.Cloud.2. Not quite sure what those are, but they're gone now. I think the trojans were taken care of by the Malwarebytes. I'd post the logs, but I think I accidentally deleted them. The dropper was just called Trojan.Dropper, and it was attached to some Craigslist ad posting software. It looked to me like the Trojan.Vundo was only registry keys in IE. I never even use IE, so I don't know where that one came from. I'm just going to have to keep my AV up to date, and be a lot more careful about where I download software from.
I think it's all straightened out now. Thank you all for your help.
I went to the Xfinity link you provided, and got the new one. It's all installed now, and I have run both a second scan with Malwarebytes and the new Norton. Malwarebytes came up totally clean, and Norton said it found some threats, but was able to remove them. It said it found WS.Viral.1 and Suspicious.Cloud.2. Not quite sure what those are, but they're gone now. I think the trojans were taken care of by the Malwarebytes. I'd post the logs, but I think I accidentally deleted them. The dropper was just called Trojan.Dropper, and it was attached to some Craigslist ad posting software. It looked to me like the Trojan.Vundo was only registry keys in IE. I never even use IE, so I don't know where that one came from. I'm just going to have to keep my AV up to date, and be a lot more careful about where I download software from. 