Nis2007 - add blocker?

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
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The ad blocker included in earlier versions of NIS was great - it cleared out almost all ads, was easy to administer,

it had easy drag and drop of offending ads to the block list.

 

Since most ads come from a small collection of domains known for being ad houses the blocking was probably quite

easy to accomplish. The blocker also typically blocked anything coming from /ad/ /ads/ /banners/ etc.

 

All in all very good.

 

On the subject of IE7 Pro - since I started out quite suspicious I thought I at least owed a little research.

 

To save you many details I will simply offer this - the owner of ie7pro.com also owns [LINK REMOVED]

Take a look at that last site, if you still trust IE7pro then I shall post no more on the subject.

 

[edit: removed link per the Participation Guidelines and Terms of Service.]

 

 

Message Edited by Tony_Weiss on 09-18-2008 08:19 PM
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Since the other domain appears to be offensive to Symantec I'll give a quick run-through :

The owner of IE7 Pro offers, on this other domain, pirated video content and very hard core porn.

They also offer software to rip from streaming video.

 

Easily discovered using whois and google (whois on ie7pro.com and then google the email or telephone number of registrant).

 

Mr Weiss, why does Symantec not respond to my question re IE7's missing adblocker?

You claim in several posts that IE7 has this feature builtin - if you can point me to the setting in IE or download on microsoft.com

I'll be happy to shut up.

 

You have obviously read my posts yet you refuse to back up your earlier claims with evidence, even when any able body can go to Microsoft's website and verify that those claims are false?

 

I was exited to read the reviews of NIS 2009 - however without adblocking it gives me nothing I can't get for half price from other developers.

 
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Hi sergente,

 

Firstly, thank you for raising these questions. These forums are here to facilitate a dialog on security issues and features in the products. Now to the questions:

 

Norton customer service chat tells me the removal of ad blocking was security related?

- Did they? What did they say? Any information you have about this is appreciated. 

 
If Symantec was concerned about security surely it would not recommend highly intrusive adware such as Yahoo and Google toolbars?

- Yahoo! and Google toolbars are not considered to be Adware by Symantec. It is certainly your choice not to use these types of toolbars; it was only a suggestion.

 

Could it be that Google and Yahoo have pressured Symantec to drop this feature, which was loosing them both revenue?
- I'm unclear how this would take place. Could you explain? This was not the situation, though, as articulated by Matt and me.


In closing - why is Symantec not telling the truth as to why this feature was removed?

- Allow me to rephrase what Matt_Phillips wrote earlier in this thread. As you may have read from various reviews and customers, Norton Internet Security 2009 is better than ever. Fast install, improved detection, faster scanning, multi-layered protection. These are features that our team has focused on, because they are important to most people. From your emotion in this thread, it's clear that Ad Blocking is a much higher priority to you, and that is understandable. However, since there are toolbars and addons that offer this protection in your browser for free, we decided that a focus on security concerns would be better for our customers. I hope this sheds some light on this matter.

 

I'm concerned that you thought the Norton Forums were a good place to post a link to pirated video content and very hard core porn. Please refrain from doing this in the future. Additionally, please point me to the several posts where I state that the IE7 browser itself by default contains the ad blocking software. I will be sure to correct my mistake.

 

We are sorry that you are not interested in Norton Internet Security 2009 for it's lack of ad blocking software. It does have many other features that protect your system from malware. I hope you will reconsider this decision. Thanks!

Message Edited by Tony_Weiss on 09-19-2008 04:24 PM
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Strange - you mention again that there are free toolbars and addons that contain ad blocking,

while mentioning not one that actually does - I know of none from even semi-trustable sources.

It is telling that you are not able to point to one piece of free software that does what you say.

 

Symantec has decided that ad blocking it not security related - yet in the very ads for NIS 2009 on this site

there is a focus on the recent rash of banner ads used to infect people with virii.


To quote from your own product writeup at http://www.symantec.com/norton/new/features/index.jsp 

"While traditional viruses are still a threat, the bigger problems of late have been malicious or infected banner ads and infected web sites exploiting vulnerabilities in ". 

 

" Could it be that Google and Yahoo have pressured Symantec to drop this feature, which was loosing them both revenue?
- I'm unclear how this would take place. Could you explain?"

 

Google make all of their money from showing users ads - if all Symantec customers blocked ads that would have a huge impact

on Google revenues - which may cause them to casually contact Symantec and tell of how it would be best not to include such features.

 

I am not saying this happened, as it would be highly illegal.

Since all my inqueries to Symantec are met with wooly answers I have to wonder tho - what is the truth of the matter.

 

Why not simply state - "we do not want to offer this feature"?

Why claim that the functionality is out there for free for those who want it? Yes there are some apps that claim to provide this feature,

most of the good ones cost money, and the most recommended one is questionnable.

 

Google and Yahoo toolbars do not offer ad blocking - there is no such function, at least according to their respective product pages.

 

Why the runaround, in chat sessions with support initiated through this website I have been told a) ad blocking was incompatible with IE8 so it was removed ( a few months ago regarding 360), and yesterday b) it was a security issue.

I am pretty sure there will be logs if you want to check this further.

 

The free ad blocker that has been mentioned in this thread - when I point out that the people offering that software

are behind pirated content and hard core porn - something I would think was of great concern to IE7 Pro users - the link proving so

is removed.

 

Did you remove the link without reading the post it was in? The context made it clear I showed the link to highlight why the software

should not be trusted with something as important as pc security. 

 

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sergente wrote:
To quote from your own product writeup at http://www.symantec.com/norton/new/features/index.jsp 

"While traditional viruses are still a threat, the bigger problems of late have been malicious or infected banner ads and infected web sites exploiting vulnerabilities in ". 

That is an excellent point; please allow me to clarify. Browser exploits come in many different forms, and as the statement from your previous post points out, lately from malicious or infected banner ads. Our products protect you from these threats with the layered security, which you no doubt read about on the above website. This protection does not come from blocking all ads, but from precise detection and removal of threats. We do not need to remove all ads to protect you from the malicious ones. Please let me know if you need further information on this issue.

 

Why not simply state - "we do not want to offer this feature"?

- I would much rather tell you WHY this feature is no longer part of our products, as I feel our customers deserve an honest answer to questions. A statement like "we don't want to" would certainly elicit more questions as to "WHY". My answer was clear and concise; I'm curious which part of it was confusing to you.

 

Why claim that the functionality is out there for free for those who want it? Yes there are some apps that claim to provide this feature, most of the good ones cost money, and the most recommended one is questionnable. Google and Yahoo toolbars do not offer ad blocking - there is no such function, at least according to their respective product pages.

- I think you're splitting hairs, here. Matt_Phillips mentioned Google and Yahoo in passing, which may have not been accurate. However, it is accurate that there are other addons and toolbars available that provide this feature. Why make this claim? Because a simple search for Ad  Blocker will result in a comprehensive list.

 

As to the removal of your link, I certainly did evaluate the context. The removal of the link was to discontinue propagation of its use, especially through our site. While I read every post, I'm certain there are some customers who do not.

 

Thank you for your prompt reply, and I hope this has given you more information on the subject.

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In my opinion ad blocking AND popup up blocking are BOTH essential security features, because many malicious and phishing sites take advantage of them for criminal purposes. However, I would be willing to accept banner ads on opt in basis on trustworthy sites.

 

Here I don't mean security only technologically, but also what comes to privacy, and realibility of my PC (many sites have CPU&RAM intensive ads).

 

I have to say I find it rather difficult to believe ad blocking would not have been a wanted feature in Norton 360 and/or NIS software. It's well known there's been preassure from service providers to remove this features as online ads are becoming more and more important to media and service providers.

 

I personally find 3rd party add-ons for IE7 untrustworthy and what's even worse, memory consuming and unstable. And for example Google's popup up blocking is not working very well technology wise. It was a great benefit for Symantec to include this with the security client.

 

Of course I'll use my current subscription, but for me removing this feature also means ending my subscription. I have no interest to support Symantec's partnerships with telcos and other distribution channels against my personal benefit.

 

edit: typos

Message Edited by ebo on 09-27-2008 05:23 PM
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what do you hate about norton ?