NAV 2013: PC unprotected even when boot check set to "Agressive"

I have described a number of issues in http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Internet-Security-Norton/NAV-Upgrading-to-2013-brings-application-slowdown-freezes-issue/td-p/806570 however I preferred to discuss this separately, due to the critical nature of the issue.

 

Specifically, running the latest NAV 2013 on my Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium system does not protect me at all on startup/login, even when application protection for boot is set to the "aggressive" profile.

 

To test, with NAV disabled I placed eicar.com (the EICAR test virus) on my desktop. I rebooted and logged in. The NAV icon still had not loaded. I hoped that at least some service might be running that would block access. No go; I was able to "execute" eicar.com just fine.

 

Some 30"-60" later, the NAV icon decides to show up. Funny thing is that other applications appear immediately in the tray, like Acronis Drive Monitor, and my Auzen X-Fi volume control panel...

 

Is there any way apart from the forums here to open a bug case/formal technical support request for this?