Norton Antivirus 2012 turned itself off - How can I turn it back on again?

I have just had an alert from my Norton Antivirus program that the protection has been turned off. It is still under subscription.

The message on the main control panel says that my computer and connections are at risk but when I click Fix Now it runs but nothing is fixed. 

 

I have run Norton Power Eraser to remove any viruses if ther are any that could be responsible for turning the protection off but it didn't detect any.

 

Please would you let me know how I can turn my AntiVirus protection back on again?

 

Thanks

 


SimonCJones wrote:

I have just had an alert from my Norton Antivirus program that the protection has been turned off. It is still under subscription.

The message on the main control panel says that my computer and connections are at risk but when I click Fix Now it runs but nothing is fixed. 

 

I have run Norton Power Eraser to remove any viruses if ther are any that could be responsible for turning the protection off but it didn't detect any.

 

Please would you let me know how I can turn my AntiVirus protection back on again?

 

Thanks

 


A couple of things to check..

 

Check your system date and time. If this is not correct, Norton can think it has expired.

 

If you have Tortoise SVN software on your computer, make sure you get the latest version. An older version has an issue with Norton.

 

You can also try clicking on Support - Get Support to run  Autofix to check your installation and fix what it finds.

 

Thanks, have checked my system date and time but that's OK. Norton subscription status states that there are over 300 days left.

 

I don't think I have Tortoise SVN installed. I have done a search of my programs but nothing shows up. I've never heard of this - is it installed as part of Norton AntiVirus or from a different company?

 

I have run the Autofix but nothing was fixed.  

Do you now or have you ever had another security program on your computer? If so, you will have to remove it with the removal tool for that program.

 

If you have not had another security software on your system, I would suggest reinstalling your NIS. As you are still on 2012, and I assume you want to stay there for now, you should use the Norton Removal Tool.

 

Download the Norton Removal Tool from here   www.norton.com/nrt

Download a fresh copy of NIS 2012 from  here    www.norton.com/nis12
If you use Identity Safe, backup/export your data.
Uninstall your Norton product with Windows control panel.
Reboot.
Run the Norton Removal Tool.
Reboot.
Run the NIS installer.
Run LiveUpdate manually a few times, rebooting as necessary, until no updates are available.
Import your Identity Safe data.

 

To help keep you on 2012, click on Settings - Computer - Updates. Turn off the option for Automatic Download of New Version.

 

 

Thanks for your helpful reply.

 

Just to let you know that today when I turned on my PC and before I had time to read your message I found that the Noton AntiVirus program is now switched on. I don't know has happened - although yesterday I did a free online Panda virus check and it spotted a virus in one of my emails, which I then deleted.

 

 

 

 

 

Glad things seem to be working again.

 

It could have been the reboot that solved the issue. Do you reboot often?


SimonCJones wrote:

Thanks for your helpful reply.

 

Just to let you know that today when I turned on my PC and before I had time to read your message I found that the Norton AntiVirus program is now switched on. I don't know has happened - although yesterday I did a free online Panda virus check and it spotted a virus in one of my emails, which I then deleted.

 

 

 

 

 


 

Hi, SimonCJones.  Sometimes, a Live-Update will install an update to one of the components in NIS - where the installation of that component can only be completed by rebooting the computer.  When this kind of update occurs, the System Tray icon will notify you that NIS has stopped protecting your system - but it doesn't always tell you why.

 

When you get one of those messages, the first thing to try is to reboot the machine.  That will usually clear the error.

 

 

Note: Running Autofix in this situation will not solve the problem.  Only a reboot will permit the installation process to complete the changes required to implement the update.

 

I have also found  that occasionally, the update of something like Video Drivers will cause NIS to complain that it has turned itself off.  Again, the fix for this is a reboot - which allows NIS and the Video Drivers to properly synchronize with each other.

 

 

Unfortunately, I have not been able to track down exactly what causes the issue - I only know that a reboot is the "magic bullet" that fixes the problem.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 


twixt wrote

 

Hi, SimonCJones.  Sometimes, a Live-Update will install an update to one of the components in NIS - where the installation of that component can only be completed by rebooting the computer.  When this kind of update occurs, the System Tray icon will notify you that NIS has stopped protecting your system - but it doesn't always tell you why.

 .

 


Twixt

 

Small clarification.

 

When there is one of the updates that requires a reboot to complete, Norton will not stop protecting the system. The only issue is that you do not have the latest functionality until the reboot.

 

 

 


peterweb wrote:

twixt wrote

 

Hi, SimonCJones.  Sometimes, a Live-Update will install an update to one of the components in NIS - where the installation of that component can only be completed by rebooting the computer.  When this kind of update occurs, the System Tray icon will notify you that NIS has stopped protecting your system - but it doesn't always tell you why.

 .

 


Twixt

 

Small clarification.

 

When there is one of the updates that requires a reboot to complete, Norton will not stop protecting the system. The only issue is that you do not have the latest functionality until the reboot.

 

 

 


 

Hi, peterweb.  I agree that what you describe is the normal occurrence when updates are performed.

 

However, I have personally witnessed several instances over the lifespan of NIS 2012 where exactly what happened to SimonCJones happened to me as well.  And in each case, the problem was solved by a normal shutdown and restart when the dialog box came up complaining that NIS protection was disabled.

 

I have also had several frantic phone calls from users I support - noting the same situation - where again a normal shutdown and restart has resolved the problem.  Thus, I now recommend a shutdown/restart procedure whenever this particular inconsistency occurs.

 

 

I consider this one of those "theory versus reality" situations.  I know what is supposed to happen - but reality intrudes.  :smileysurprised:

 

 

Note: The first time this happened to me, I suspected a rootkit - and used Ghost to bring my machine back to the state it was in when the last Ghost was performed - including the replacement of the MBR as well.  The problem recurred shortly after my Restore was complete - and the NIS History indicated it occurred immediately after a Live Update event.

 

I then used Ghost to Restore my system yet again - and upon restart performed a series of manual Live Update procedures - as required to bring my NIS completely up-to-date.  At completion of that Live Update procedure set - before the error dialog showed up - I performed a normal shutdown/restart procedure.  All was then sweetness and light.

 

In another circumstance, I had just finished updating the Video Drivers for my ATI Video Card - and a similar situation occurred where NIS complained about being disabled.   Again, I used Ghost to Restore my system - did the Video Driver Update - allowed the Video Driver Update to complete (which forced a restart) - and then did yet another restart as soon as my Desktop stabilized.  All was sweetness and light as long as this step was performed as well.

 

 

As a result of the above occurrences -  I'm now aware of "things that go bump in the night" - that aren't supposed to "go bump in the night" - but they do anyways.  As noted in my previous post - I have not been able to determine exactly what causes the problem.

 

However, I do know that a reboot - performed at the appropriate time - solves the problem nicely.  :smileyhappy: 

 

Thanks peterweb and twixt for your thoughts and advice on this.

 

Just to let you know the problem didn't right itself after restarting the first time. I shutdown and restarted my computer several times before the Norton Antivirus protection mysteriously switched itself back on.

 

 


SimonCJones wrote:

Thanks peterweb and twixt for your thoughts and advice on this.

 

Just to let you know the problem didn't right itself after restarting the first time. I shutdown and restarted my computer several times before the Norton Antivirus protection mysteriously switched itself back on.

 

 


Hi, SimonCJones.  My guess would be that you had more than one piece of "housekeeping" that needed to be done as part of a reboot.  However, I suspect those items were arguing with each other about who's on first, what's on second, and so on.  Sometimes, the final aspects of an update occur in the background after a reboot - and there is no indication this is happening.  To the user, things just "magically" resolve - what is actually going on is the update finally completes as a background task while you are doing other things.

 

When "deadly embraces" occur (which is what happened to me when I upgraded my Video Drivers) - there is no recourse other than to reboot and see if that resolves the deadlock.  Eventually, things sort themselves out and everything starts working properly again - what changes is how much "drama" occurs before Windows "gets its brains in order" again.

 

 

There are so many variables with PCs (different hardware, different software loads, different installation order of programs) that it's almost impossible to have everything be flawlessly compatible and flawlessly stable in all circumstances.  This is especially the case during startup - when all those various "bits and pieces" of Windows are all demanding attention at the same time - and all are expecting the OS to portion things out in their favour no matter what the circumstance.

 

 

Windows actually has specific bulletproofing in its startup routines to "unblock" deadly embraces - and each of the unblock procedures requires a reboot to unblock that particular deadlock.  Also, you have to wait long enough on each restart to allow whichever piece has been unblocked to actually finish its housekeeping - or you have to reboot again - at which time that piece gets another chance to complete.

 

Note: Part of the reason I was able to do what I did to resolve the problems I mentioned in my previous post - with only one reboot cycle in each case - was because I could tell by watching the Hard Disk indicator light that a particular install process had completed.  At that time I performed a manual shutdown/restart - which allowed Windows to resolve that particular deadlock in one shutdown/restart cycle.  If I had restarted too quickly - before Windows actually "got its brains in order" for that particular startup cycle - I would have had to repeat the procedure.

 

Knowing when exactly to perform the shutdown/restart cycle is not obvious.  It comes from observing just exactly what the machine is doing during a "normal" startup.  This means keeping yer paws off the keyboard and not starting programs while Windows is initializing - so you can tell what a "normal" startup delay looks like.

 

 

BTW, it is always a good idea to avoid starting up major programs (Word, Excel, MSIE, Outlook) while Windows is initializing.  This allows "housekeeping" to occur more efficiently - and also avoids "deadly embraces" caused by interactions between updates and the startup elements of those major software packages.

 

You will quickly learn by watching the Hard Disk indicator light when Windows has actually finished initializing, because the storm of hard disk activity will slacken.  You will also be able to tell - because the startup delay before the storm of hard disk activity ceases is longer than normal - when "something" is being updated in the background that you're not being informed about.

 

 

There is no "right answer" for this stuff - it's a matter of experience - along with an understanding of what Windows is actually doing without informing you that it's doing it.

 

Note: Those mysterious "hourglass mouse cursor" events - that magically start up and go away all by themselves - are another example of background-tasks being performed without specific user notification.  Windows does lots-and-lots of this kind of "housekeeping" stuff - most of which happens "invisibly".

 

 

 

Hope this helps your understanding.

 

Thanks, twixt for your very comprehensive reply and explanation.

 

RE: My guess would be that you had more than one piece of "housekeeping" that needed to be done as part of a reboot. 

 

That sounds very probable. I'll keep all your very helpful tips in mind in future.

 

Many thanks again.

 

Simon

 

 


SimonCJones wrote:

Thanks, twixt for your very comprehensive reply and explanation.

 

RE: My guess would be that you had more than one piece of "housekeeping" that needed to be done as part of a reboot. 

 

That sounds very probable. I'll keep all your very helpful tips in mind in future.

 

Many thanks again.

 

Simon

 

 


 

Hi, Simon.  You're welcome.  Glad to help.  :smileyhappy: