Like many other customers, I find it impossible to download occasional NIS LiveUpdates that are >100 MB. I can't download these without the download manager resetting or something.
Is there a way to download this from a friend's computer and then install it on my computer?
Do I have to physically take my computer to another location with faster connection and then do LiveUpdate?
How can I download the right updates using another computer?
A comment is that it seems that Norton could provide a workable download manager like Windows Update does which accumulates the download over days if necessary.
Thanks for any input here.
Hi Emusick:
As Nikhil_CV mentioned, the latest offline virus definitions are available for download here on the Symantec Security Response site - just be sure to click the 32-bit Platforms tab or 64-bit Platforms tab that matches your Windows OS. These definitions are compatible with all recent versions of NIS (2008 to present) but check the list of compatible software just to confirm. As Nikhil_CV mentioned, this offline installer will only update your virus definitions and other important security definitions like Intrusion Protection are not updated if you update your virus definitions this way, so this isn't an ideal solution even if you have access to another computer with a high speed connection and can download these large (> 300 MB) offline virus definitions on a daily basis.
Is your home computer a mobile laptop with a wireless modem? I had a dial-up connection at home up until a few months ago and my solution for updating NIS was to disable automatic LiveUpdates (Settings | Computer | Updates | Automatic LiveUpdates), run a manual LiveUpdate once a day, and cancel the LiveUpdate if a large download (over 20 MB or so) was being delivered. I would then take my laptop to a WiFi hotspot at a library or local coffee shop the next day to run another manual LiveUpdate to complete the large download.
I posted some dial-up modem settings here that might improve your modem performance but these tweaks might not be of much help if your large downloads time out and disconnect on the backend server. There are free download managers that can restart interrupted downloads due to dropped connections - I've never used one but FileHippo has a few popular programs like Internet Download Manager listed here - but it would still require several hours to download some of the larger Norton product and virus definition updates over dial-up.
NIS has a feature called Network Cost Awareness (Settings | Network | Network Security Settings | Network Cost Awareness | Configure) you might want to test. By default, this feature is turned on and set to No Limit policy (or Auto if you use Win 8), but changing the policy to Economy configures NIS to only to receive critical product updates, virus definitions, and web queries needed to protect your device.
You can also save some bandwidth by disabling the Automatic Download of New Version setting (Settings | Computer | Updates | Automatic Download of New Version). Turning off this setting will not prevent you from receiving security patches and bug fixes for your current product (e.g., you would still receive the product update for NIS v. 21.2.x to v. 21.3.x) but it would prevent NIS from downloading larger product upgrades (e.g.., from NIS v. 21.x to v. 22.x when the next major product upgrade is released).
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MS Windows 32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox 29.0.1 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. 20.4.0.40
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
CV,
Thank you for the response.
My complaint mirrors those of others I've read about LiveUpdate. I have Norton Internet Security (I don't know the version - I subscribed in 2012) and I use a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system. I do a manual LiveUpdate every day so that I can better control what my PC does when I am on-line. Normally, there are several updates totaling no more than 5 MB. However, on Friday morning I checked and a 211 MB update was available. I thought if it was several different updates, I would be able to leave my machine on long enough to download some of them before my dial-up connection was cut, but it appears to be a single update. I spent 24 hours attempting to keep the download manager working for me by disconnecting every couple of hours and then re-connecting quickly to preserve what I had downloaded. However, the update failed, and I don't see the point in trying again.
This has happened a couple of times before, and I contacted Norton Support, who indicated that I could possibly download the update to a flash drive using another computer with fast connection and then install it on my computer. But I don't know how to do that. I don't know how or where to get the appropriate virus definitions you mentioned, and after downloading them, how to transfer them to my computer in a way that NIS LiveUpdate recognizes them.
Previous times, I had smaller updates (but well over 100 MB) and I just tried multiple times until it downloaded. I think I am now beyond my limit doing this. Basically, Norton Support told me to find a friend with a fast connection and take my computer over there to do the update. I guess that is what I will have to do unless I can download the update manually to a flash drive and transfer it to my computer.
I appreciate your advice on this.
EMusick
EMusick wrote:
I have Norton Internet Security (I don't know the version - I subscribed in 2012) and I use a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system. I do a manual LiveUpdate every day so that I can better control what my PC does when I am on-line. Normally, there are several updates totaling no more than 5 MB. However, on Friday morning I checked and a 211 MB update was available.
Hi EMusick:
I also received a large update delivered to my NIS 2013 v. 20.5.0.28 yesterday morning via Automatic LiveUpdate and it was a 211 MB update for my virus definitions. You can check your own NIS version number from the main NIS interface at Support | About.
You can download the offline installer for the latest full virus definitions set as mentioned in message # 3 on another computer with a faster download speed - i.e., go here on the on the Symantec Security Response site, click on the 64-bit Platforms tab, and download the latest installer (currently 20140517-001-v5i64.exe for 64-bit systems, also known as the Intelligent Updater per the support article here) to a USB stick. Then transfer that file to the Windows desktop on your own computer, right-click and select Run as Administrator, and run the installer.
EDIT:
If you are using NIS v. 19.x (a.k..a. NIS 2012) please see my post here. The Network Cost Awareness feature I mentioned in message # 3 was called Metered Broadband Mode in earlier version of NIS. I seem to recall that it was designed for monitoring bandwidth usage on high-speed Internet connections and I'm not certain that it would be useful on a slower dial-up connection, but it might be worth investigating.
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MS Windows 32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox 29.0.1 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. 20.5.0.28
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Thanks Imacri,
My version is 19.9.1.14, so it may be NIS 2012 (?).
I will try this using the offline update method you mentioned. I hope the LiveUpdate will not continue to identify the 211 MB update afterwards, so I can continue to use it for small updates. This will be the easiest fix, if it works.
Regards,
EMusick
EMusick wrote:
My version is 19.9.1.14, so it may be NIS 2012 (?).
Hi EMusick:
Yes, NIS v. 19.x is also referred to as NIS 2012. Symantec stopped referring to the the NIS version by the year of release (i.e., NIS 2011, NIS 2012, etc.) a few years ago and now uses a version numbering system instead (i.e., v. 20.x, v. 21.x).
Just a bit off topic, but as long as you have a valid subscription to NIS that hasn't expired you can upgrade to the latest version of NIS 21.x (currently v. 21.3.0.12) any time you wish. You can do this from your NIS GUI at Support | New Version Check (not the best method over dial-up), or you can download the latest available offline NIS installer (currently NIS-ESDND-21.2.0.38-EN.exe) from www.norton.com/latestnis to a USB stick over a fast Internet connection and then run this installer on your own computer. This link is for the English version so post back if you need an alternate link to a non-English version of the latest NIS installer. Just be warned that you would likely have to run a few manual LiveUpdates to get your product fully up-to-date regardless of what upgrade method you used and this would likely involve another download of the full 200+ MB virus definitions set.
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MS Windows 32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox 29.0.1 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. v. 20.5.0.28
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Thanks for your help, Imacri. This was not a solution for me - I ended up burdening a friend to set up my desktop PC at his high-speed connection and download this for me. I'll have to repeat this process in a few months, no doubt.
It is a shame that Norton will not equip the customer with an accumulating download manager that will work for low-quality connections like mine. Other than that, I have no complaints.
Thanks,
EMusick
Hi EMusick,
Like I explained earlier, Virus definition updates are not like other program updates (like security patches in windows). These definitions changes from time to time, urging that those changes must reach users ASAP (like LiveUpdate streams).
So it will be archived at regular intervals such that it can be downloaded directly and manually, rather than using antivirus software.
Getting corrupted updates and lagging in updates are exceptions.
EMusick wrote:
It is a shame that Norton will not equip the customer with an accumulating download manager that will work for low-quality connections like mine.
Hi EMusick:
Glad to hear you found a solution, and thanks for posting back . Your feedback will be appreciated by other dial-up users who encounter the same problem.
I've used NIS for several years and the LiveUpdate feature used to be very similar to Windows Update - that is, users running a manual LiveUpdate in NIS would initially be presented with a list updates available for download (including the size) and could accept/decline individual updates before starting the download. I assume most users with high speed broadband have told Symantec they now prefer to receive their Automatic LiveUpdates silently in the background, but it's unfortunate that dial-up users have lost that level of control over delivery of large updates.
Other dial-up users have requested that Symantec implement some sort of download manager for handling interrupted downloads of large updates in the Product Suggestions board - see gyani_yajsingh's post here for one example. If you want to post your own suggestion in that board it might catch the attention of one of the Symantec employees.
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MS Windows 32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox 29.0.1 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. 20.5.0.28
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Like many other customers, I find it impossible to download occasional NIS LiveUpdates that are >100 MB. I can't download these without the download manager resetting or something.
Is there a way to download this from a friend's computer and then install it on my computer?
Do I have to physically take my computer to another location with faster connection and then do LiveUpdate?
How can I download the right updates using another computer?
A comment is that it seems that Norton could provide a workable download manager like Windows Update does which accumulates the download over days if necessary.
Thanks for any input here.