I have fallen prey to usb autorun viruses in the past..they instantly effect the system once an infected drive is plugged in due to the notorious autorun.ini script.
I was previously using avast..it did a good job of detecting the virus..but never really removed the virus rather I would get pop alerts about it and later it would show popups of the same infection originating from the root drive of the hdd partions ,thats about it..full hdd erase seemed the only way out.
Its been the same when I visited infected websites ( with js:loader) ,once a virus gets into the browser cache even after clearing it ,avast used to nag that infection still persists.
Been using a clean os with nis 2011 (1 YR subscription) for about 3 days now. Haven't come by any infection yet..(touchwood).
Just want to know whether , once NIS 2011 detects an infection whether it comes from (usb or web) it deals with it then and there and leaves no traces behind.
Can't afford to do a clean install of os every month (acutally i simply restore factory image).
Im a bit paranoid 
about security as I often do online transactions...Can't afford to use a compromised system
Hi
Norton topped the list in the virus cleaning test at AV comparitives and Norton does remove very hard to remove viruses!
But well with new virus coming up it very hard to say some viruses Require manual removal like Tidserv
rootkit Norton does not remove files Which on removal could make the system Unbootable
a lot of Antiviruses at times notify the user when a threat requires manual Removal.
Norton is good at removal but 100% Removal and cleaning the threat and repairing/ redoing the threats changes well I don`t think so!
If you want to stay protected
you could update your Softwares
Java and also may be use Firefox with the No script add on!
Keep Windows And ANtivirus Up to date
And use Second Opinion scanners like Malware Bytes Anti Malware or Super Antispyware( Both are free)
(If You need any links or help please do Post )
Also did you do a clean Avast uninstall?
If you notice any problem with Norton or any errors I would advise you to run the avast Removal tool
Which can be downloaded and run from here
http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility
Hello realmcoool
Welcome to the Norton Community Forum
One thing that helps is to keep your Java up to date. You can also set Java not to keep any temp files on your computer. To do this, open up the java applet from your control panel and click on the temporary files. Please uncheck keep temporary files on my computer. You can also clear out the java temp files that are already there. It may slow down your java programs, but it will be safer.
You can also run a couple of on demand scans to make sure that your computer is clean and also you can run it in case Norton does find a virus and cleans it up. You can safely use the free versions of Malwarebytes and the free version of SuperAntiSpyware. They won't interfere with Norton's.
You can find Malwarebytes here
http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
It is a safer location to get the program from than malwarebytes themselves because some malware creators have large lists of sites that they block. Please be careful to down load the correct program ----the FREE version of MALWAREBYTES
(Thanks to Delph for providing the alternative site)
Here is a free on demand antimalware scanner. It is safe to use on demand with your Norton product.
http://www.superantispyware.com/
Here is another site you can use to get the program.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_superantispyware/
The download button is on the right hand side. Please be careful not to download Spyware Doctor which is on the left side. Also, please don't forget to update the program each time before use of it. In fact you can update it every day just in case some malware may prevent you from updating it.
You can also get an imagining program or backup program and make an image of your hard drive and use that as a restore method if necessary so you don't have to go back to the beginning of every thing.
These are just a couple of suggestions since you are security conscious. Thanks.
Thanks for the info guys,That was swift ,I'll do as suggested.
At times I wonder my finciky for secuirty on my pc has curbed my will to use my pc more freely and do anything without fear,which I once did when I hardly knew anything about windows.
Rather I might move to mac next year
Hi realmccool,
Assuming that you are keeping Windows updated every month with the latest patches from Microsoft, either via Automatic Updates or going to Windows Update, then you are now protected from USB devices with autorun. A patch which disables that capability in WIndows was pushed out as a High-Priority Update recently. You now can scan the USB drive prior to anything contained on it launching.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9212938/Microsoft_pushes_anti_AutoRun_update_at_XP_Vista_users
Check out this posting of mine where I did a test on the stand alone version of Hitman Pro running from a USB drive:http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Internet-Security-Norton/quot-You-allowed-xxxxxxx-to-access-your-network-resources-quot/td-p/387772.
Current ver. of NIS 2011 has a problem with creating firewall rules for USB executables. To be safe if you plan on doing that, copy the app to a folder on your internal hard drive.