Norton Power Eraser Checking for New Version

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
1

Once in awhile I use the Power Eraser with no problems.

My computer had been running a bit sluggish lately so I wanted to run it again.  I've been trying for several days, but it keeps coming up with the message 'Checking for new Version...', stays like this and doesn't go into the scanning screen.

Any ideas or any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

2

Hi angeloncall:

 

Welcome to the Norton community.

 

Instructions are posted here for downloading and using Norton Power Eraser (NPE), but I would strongly advise against using this tool for regular diagnostic scans.  It is intended to be used as a rescue tool if your system is already infected and becomes unstable.  To quote from the NPE home page here, "Be aware that, because Norton Power Eraser is an aggressive scan that looks for deeply embedded threats, it may quarantine a legitimate program."  See here for one example where NPE corrupted a user's MS Excel installation.

If you want to scan your system for low risk malware that might have been missed by your Norton product, I would suggest using the free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) scanner.  MBAM is much safer than NPE and will often detect low-risk pop-up ads and browser toolbars as PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) or PUMs (potentially unwanted modifications) if they are missed by a Norton full system scan.

If you ever suspect that your system is infected by malware that cannot be detected or properly quarantined by Norton and MBAM, delphinium has posted a list of recommended malware removal sites here when you can get free assistance from a malware removal expert to help you remove the malware without damaging your system files.
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MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * Firefox 26.0 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. 20.4.0.40
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

 

3

Hi, angeloncall. Imacri is right. The NPE is bundled with the 2014 product aka v21, but is a tool which should only be used by someone who knows what they are doing, and is able to fix any problems it may cause.

 

Malwarebytes Free can be used along with SuperantiSpyware Free as passive back up scanners only, if you wish to check your system for other malware that is not classed as a major threat.

4

Hi angeloncall:

 

huggi3s just posted here about a similar problem with NPE getting stuck at the "checking for new version" screen that you might want to follow.

 

Unfortunately, Shadowfriend also posted here yesterday about using NPE to remove some suspected malware from their system and it looks like NPE might have corrupted their Windows OS.

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MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 * Firefox 26.0 * IE 9.0 * NIS 2013 v. 20.4.0.40 * MBAM PRO 1.75.0.1300
HP Pavilion dv6835ca, Intel Core2Duo CPU T5550 @ 1.83 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS