Like many other XP users ,no doubt, I have received the dreaded email telling me that after 28th February 2021 Norton will cease support for Windows XP. I mean to keep XP for various reasons but mainly as I use it for my correspondence (Word) and have a lot of useful programs which used to be free and now cost a fair amount of money to install again. I appreciate that a lot of these programs can be used unconnected from the Internet but if possible I would like to continue as now. I have Firefox as the default browser and in addition to Norton at present I have Spywareblaster and stand-alone scanner Malwarebytes Version 3 (Free) which still garner updates and support XP. I don't really know where all this update data is kept but I presume it is somewhere on my XP.
I am considering Avast as a replacement to Norton and note there is a free Avast download specifically available for XP on the Net which I hope is still valid. I also like XP for it's ease and speed of use compared to my Windows 10 Edge computer which can be very sluggish.
At the moment I am wondering how Norton (legacy version) will work if I leave it there. On the understanding that there will be no further updates will leaving Norton on my computer provide residual protection based on the data gathered over the years and will removing Norton delete everything?
As a practical matter, it doesn't really matter if Norton goes completely dead or only mostly dead. Without support and updates, an otherwise working Norton is essentially useless anyway since your protection will be severely limited. You'd be much better off with a different solution that still supports XP. The writing has been on the wall for seven years since EOL for XP. Seven years is a long time, and an eternity in technology. It really is time to move on, even if it means giving up some legacy programs that may still be near and dear.
As I mentioned in my initial post I already have Malwarebytes v.3 (free and suitable for XP as a stand alone scanner) which still gets update definitions and Spywareblaster which is said to fend off "nasties" but Norton will be a great loss. I appreciate Avast/AVG have form for collecting data but it seems an alternative and won't have much data to harvest from me due to my periodic and very brief use of the Internet from my XP. ITMA's thread indicated by imacri above is very interesting reading also.
I have asked for some clarification of exactly what will happen with a Norton product on an XP system on the date it goes EOL. I, or someone else will update with whatever we hear.
Someone from Norton LifeLock would have to explain in greater detail, but I'm guessing one of two things will happen on or around 28-Feb-2021 for Win XP and Vista users. Either Norton will cease to work altogether (i.e., as if your subscription ended on 28-Feb-2021 and the product is completely inactivated because you have no days remaining on your subscription), or LiveUpdate will stop working and you will stop receiving protection updates [including updates for SDS (virus) definitions, IPS (intrusion prevention) engine and definition updates, web protection definitions, etc.). If the latter occurs it will likely take about a week or so before Norton starts throwing error messages warning you that your protection definitions are out of date and at that point it probably won't be safe to use legacy Norton v22.15.x products anyway.
My Vista SP2 test machine is rarely connected to the internet these days (I also own a Win 10 laptop) but I use Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1 (the legacy version for Win XP and Vista, available at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb3) for real-time protection on my Vista machine and it still receives regular malware definition updates.
----------
32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1-1.0.365
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Thanks for starting this thread. I guess that's the question everyone is wondering: Would the client software cease to function because all valid subscriptions on those affected machines would be revoked?
If you have multiple PCs to operate which run on newer systems, great. But for anyone still hanging onto an XP/Vista machine as main machine (as in my case) then it's complete disaster.
Sure I understand what these security companies are doing, regarding deprecating XP/Vista support (to make room for software development on modern system configs). By the general consensus is that, as long as you run an older (albeit deprecated/unsupported) client software version on such machine, you should be still able to hang onto a valid subscription, with basic functionality and definitions updates. This is what many other computer forums have been debating.
Unfortunately for NLL (both company and personnel) things and attitudes have changed after the Broadcom takeover. As I've read from this Community there have been various woes regarding bad service, software bugs (in addition to the ones I've reported years ago but not fixed until late). And now, they're now even silencing those concerned XP/Vista users who simply cannot upgrade those affected machines in question (due to all circumstances). Like I said, a basic AV/firewall service which honors valid subscriptions and virus def updates would suffice -- even when those machines are to be operated offline (online for occasional subscription check and def files updates). IMO this is basic social responsibility a security company should be able to provide, without incurring additional (developmental?) costs. But now even NLL can't keep that. It's just pathetic and sad.
I am aware of the situation but mainly just wondered if Norton will remain with residual protection or clear everything out. I have been using XP for the Internet occasionally for almost seven years since 2014 when all these warnings started but my main computer is the Edge one.
Whatever product you might find is not going to be creating any new features for a Win XP compatible app. You will be lucky to find ones that still offer definition updates. And you might want to see if you can check with the company to see how long they will even do that.
I appreciate your sentiments which are very valid. As mentioned I also have a Windows 10 Edge computer for normal use and my use of Internet via Firefox (also obsolete) on XP is and would be very limited. I am curious as to whether Norton would still provide residual protection which no one seems to know. Even the Avast download which claims to protect XP that I found will only provide further definitions and no other new features.
I cannot answer your question about how your Norton product will react after it loses support. Maybe others here will know and you can always be the first to experiment and report back.
However, I guess you know that running and old OS like XP (born in 2001 and ended MS support in 2014) is risky as far as security goes and if Norton support is dropped then it is even more risky. I would probably stay off the internet for sure if I were you but of course the decision is yours.
I can understand your feelings to your OS but vulnerabilities keep occurring and black hats target old and weak systems that can be easily intruded upon. I update regularly including installing a new OS and other security software.
Now that my rant is over I wish you well and good luck. Keep us posted if you gain any more info.