Norton Security Suite from Comcast problems

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1

Very brief background: 40+ years in the computer industry from mainframes to mini's to micro's.  I'm considered the local computer expert but, even I know, there are 'no' computer experts. :smileyhappy:   If you disagree with that statement, then you think way too highly of your knowledge level.

 

After 4-5 months of trying to get a stable NSS installed via the Comcast installation routine which bypasses the installation of the Comcast/Xfinity Constant Guard, I've come to the conclusions that this is not a product that is entirely stable.

 

Now before you say, ok, thousands of people are using this without any problems, let me say, they might have a problem and not know it.  NSS can say that everything is green across the board and they might be satisfied that everything is working correctly and never click on their Norton toolbar.  I have been unable to get NSS to open up consistently from the tray icon.  Another major issue is how 'slow' it is to respond to anything. Oh, I've had this issue with my own desktop, my laptop, my wife's desktop and her notebook.  My version of Norton's 360 is working fine on my wife's desktop and notebook now. :)

 

I just tend to be a bit stubborn when it comes to getting things to work that 'should' work.

 

I've followed the instructions explicitedly from Comcast/Xfinity: http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Security-and-Anti-Virus/How-To-Uninstall-Reinstall-Norton-Security-Suite-after-a-problem/m-p/870735 on at least a dozen different occasions over the past 4-5 months, seems like every week!

 

All I know is I have uninstalled NSS, run the Norton Removal Tool, ran the Norton Power Eraser, edited my registry to remove 'all' entries concerning Norton and Symantec with the exception of the Legacy settings, installed NSS, did the 'manual' live update to ensure that it corrects any problems with the LiveUpdate functions of NSS and then get the message that the PC is not protected by SONAR Advanced Protection.   So I click the Fix It button and it says 'Norton Security Suite is fixing items for you' and it runs and runs.  So I go to sleep and, guess what, it is still running and I can't close it even with Task Manager as it says the program is not running.  Surprise, surprise!

 

I check the running processes under Task Manager and it shows two ccSvcHst.exe running for the Symantec Service Framework.  There are many svchost.exe processing running as follows:

 

Image Name                     PID Services                                    
========================= ======== ============================================
svchost.exe                    792 DcomLaunch, PlugPlay                        
svchost.exe                    892 RpcSs                                       
svchost.exe                    952 Audiosrv, Dhcp, Eventlog, lmhosts, wscsvc   
svchost.exe                    980 AudioEndpointBuilder, EMDMgmt, hidserv,     
                                   Netman, PcaSvc, SysMain, TrkWks, UxSms,     
                                   WdiSystemHost, WPDBusEnum, wudfsvc          
svchost.exe                    992 AeLookupSvc, BITS, Browser, CertPropSvc,    
                                   IKEEXT, iphlpsvc, LanmanServer, MMCSS,      
                                   ProfSvc, RasMan, Schedule, seclogon, SENS,  
                                   SessionEnv, ShellHWDetection, Themes,       
                                   Winmgmt, wuauserv                           
svchost.exe                   1156 gpsvc                                       
svchost.exe                   1224 EventSystem, fdPHost, FDResPub,             
                                   LanmanWorkstation, netprofm, nsi, SSDPSRV,  
                                   SstpSvc, upnphost, W32Time, WebClient       
svchost.exe                   1320 CryptSvc, Dnscache, KtmRm, NlaSvc,          
                                   TermService                                 
svchost.exe                   1548 BFE, DPS                                    
svchost.exe                   2960 Net Driver HPZ12                            
svchost.exe                   3024 Pml Driver HPZ12                            
svchost.exe                   3060 PolicyAgent                                 
svchost.exe                   3172 stisvc                                      
svchost.exe                   3216 WerSvc                                      
svchost.exe                   3224 FontCache                                   
svchost.exe                   2084 RapiMgr, WcesComm                           

 

From checking, these seem to all be valid processes and I don't believe any of them are part of NSS.  If I am incorrect, I would like to know.  I see no other processing running for Symantec or Norton.  So I try to end the two running ccSvcHst.exe processing and I get 'The operation could not be clomplted. Access is denied'.  Surprise! Surprise!

 

So the only other option is to restart the computer so it can 'force' shutdown the processes.

 

Now I am not a Norton basher as I've been a user for right at 20 years, just after the initial release, with many different flavors of NAV on both business sytems (I owned a computer company that sold networks over a three state area with hundreds of licenses) as well as home systems and I believe in the product but something is amiss with the Comcast/Xfinity - Symantec version of NSS.

 

I don't know if it is the authentication setup to ensure that valid Comcast/Xfinity customers get the 'free' version of NSS. Honestly, I don't see how this could be a problem because you simply get your Service PIN and, if requested, enter it. 

 

Now if anyone can see something that I have been missing, I would appreciate some feedback.

 

2

Hi Luke,

I noticed your original post here  http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/8504-100-Error-again/m-p/647479   and I asked a question there and it remains unanswered, so I'll try again:

 

"Before you installed Constant Guard and Norton Security Suite,  which security program(s) did you have installed?  How were they removed?"

 

You mentioned something in your other post about N 360.  Even though that is a Norton product it does need to be removed prior to installing Norton Secuirty suite from Comcast.  I am hoping that has been removed.  NSS should have uninstalled it during the NSS install - but I am just curious if perhaps some remnants remained. Of course you have run the NRT numerous times since, so unless there is something else prior to that, then it should be clean.  We have seen Zone Alarm Firewall remanents that were used with the NAV products of years ago.  Anything there?

 

 You also mentioned in your other post:

 

"One Caveat: I installed Comcast Constant Guard, installed NIS from Constant Guard and then removed Constant Guard. That was the process I was instructed to follow in order to get NIS through Comcast but not use their CG service."

 

While that may work,  I hope you have found out already, there is a link to the Norton Security Suite download and the Constant Guard Protection Suite install can be bypassed on that link by clicking No Thanks on the CGPS popup.  I am talking about the link here:  http://xfinity.comcast.net/constantguard/Products/CGPS/norton/  Once you click on the No Thanks, the Get It Now button for NSS will be revealed.

 

LukeDouglas wrote:

Very brief background: 40+ years in the computer industry from mainframes to mini's to micro's.  I'm considered the local computer expert but, even I know, there are 'no' computer experts. :smileyhappy:   If you disagree with that statement, then you think way too highly of your knowledge level.

 

After 4-5 months of trying to get a stable NSS installed via the Comcast installation routine which bypasses the installation of the Comcast/Xfinity Constant Guard, I've come to the conclusions that this is not a product that is entirely stable.

 

Now before you say, ok, thousands of people are using this without any problems, let me say, they might have a problem and not know it.  NSS can say that everything is green across the board and they might be satisfied that everything is working correctly and never click on their Norton toolbar. 

 

You lost me on that comment - exactly what do you mean by clicking the NTB? Where on the NTB and what do you expect to see by clicking where you are clicking? I am sorry, but I am at a lose as to what you may be referring to, please explain.

  

 I  have been unable to get NSS to open up consistently from the tray icon. 

 

I am running NSS on a Win 7 desktop and double clicking the Norton Icon in the System Tray opens the main page immediately. The same occurs after right clicking the icon and selecting Open Norton Security Suite.

 

Another major issue is how 'slow' it is to respond to anything. Oh, I've had this issue with my own desktop, my laptop, my wife's desktop and her notebook.  My version of Norton's 360 is working fine on my wife's desktop and notebook now. :)

 

There are some background programs that run during idle time.  Certain ones will start and stop numerous times when the system goes into/comes out of idle, but after a certain number of times will not stop when the system comes out of idle.  At this point they will continue to run until they have completed.  I have found the Idle Full System Scan and if memory serves me corrctly the Disk Optimizer to act in this manner.  The Idle Full System Scan is scheduled to run every 7 days (from the time it completes), so thatis one possibility for your system to slow down.  Also if the system never gets a chance to go into idle, it will start.  I have found that when this occurs, there is some slowness to the response of NSS.

 

As for your wife's, systems, I am thinking they are not running 10 to 12 hours a day as you say yours are - thus her's get the idle time necessary to complete those tasks in a timely manner.

 

I just tend to be a bit stubborn when it comes to getting things to work that 'should' work.

 

I've followed the instructions explicitedly from Comcast/Xfinity: http://forums.comcast.com/t5/Security-and-Anti-Virus/How-To-Uninstall-Reinstall-Norton-Security-Suite-after-a-problem/m-p/870735 on at least a dozen different occasions over the past 4-5 months, seems like every week!

 

All I know is I have uninstalled NSS, run the Norton Removal Tool, ran the Norton Power Eraser, edited my registry to remove 'all' entries concerning Norton and Symantec with the exception of the Legacy settings, installed NSS, did the 'manual' live update to ensure that it corrects any problems with the LiveUpdate functions of NSS and then get the message that the PC is not protected by SONAR Advanced Protection.   So I click the Fix It button and it says 'Norton Security Suite is fixing items for you' and it runs and runs.  So I go to sleep and, guess what, it is still running and I can't close it even with Task Manager as it says the program is not running.  Surprise, surprise!

 

I did some more reseach since I first read your post this morning and have come up with this link that I would like you to look at:

 

http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/Your-PC-is-not-protected-by-sonar-advanced-protection/m-p/624147/highlight/true#M63302

 

I would suggest you actually reinstall Constant Guard Protection Suite and then do a Control Panel uninstall via Add/Remove (Programs &Features).  Please double check and if any of the following programs are present, please uninstall them also:  ID Vault, Guarded ID, Comcast/Xfinity Toolbar and CA Pest Patrol Real-Time. They are compnents of CGPS.   IMHO the Revo uninstaller is not needed in this case.

 

If they are all removed and NSS still doesn't function correctly, please do the uninstall, run the NRT and reinstall  thru the link you have been using.

 

I check the running processes under Task Manager and it shows two ccSvcHst.exe running for the Symantec Service Framework.  There are many svchost.exe processing running as follows:

 

Image Name                     PID Services                                    
========================= ======== ============================================
svchost.exe                    792 DcomLaunch, PlugPlay                        
svchost.exe                    892 RpcSs                                       
svchost.exe                    952 Audiosrv, Dhcp, Eventlog, lmhosts, wscsvc   
svchost.exe                    980 AudioEndpointBuilder, EMDMgmt, hidserv,     
                                   Netman, PcaSvc, SysMain, TrkWks, UxSms,     
                                   WdiSystemHost, WPDBusEnum, wudfsvc          
svchost.exe                    992 AeLookupSvc, BITS, Browser, CertPropSvc,    
                                   IKEEXT, iphlpsvc, LanmanServer, MMCSS,      
                                   ProfSvc, RasMan, Schedule, seclogon, SENS,  
                                   SessionEnv, ShellHWDetection, Themes,       
                                   Winmgmt, wuauserv                           
svchost.exe                   1156 gpsvc                                       
svchost.exe                   1224 EventSystem, fdPHost, FDResPub,             
                                   LanmanWorkstation, netprofm, nsi, SSDPSRV,  
                                   SstpSvc, upnphost, W32Time, WebClient       
svchost.exe                   1320 CryptSvc, Dnscache, KtmRm, NlaSvc,          
                                   TermService                                 
svchost.exe                   1548 BFE, DPS                                    
svchost.exe                   2960 Net Driver HPZ12                            
svchost.exe                   3024 Pml Driver HPZ12                            
svchost.exe                   3060 PolicyAgent                                 
svchost.exe                   3172 stisvc                                      
svchost.exe                   3216 WerSvc                                      
svchost.exe                   3224 FontCache                                   
svchost.exe                   2084 RapiMgr, WcesComm                           

 

From checking, these seem to all be valid processes and I don't believe any of them are part of NSS.  If I am incorrect, I would like to know.  I see no other processing running for Symantec or Norton.  So I try to end the two running ccSvcHst.exe processing and I get 'The operation could not be clomplted. Access is denied'.  Surprise! Surprise!

So the only other option is to restart the computer so it can 'force' shutdown the processes.

 

The 2 instances of ccSvcHost.exe do in fact belong to Norton and Norton will not run if they are disabled, and of course the Norton Tamper Protection will not permit those from being ended.  If you think about it, that would be an easy way for malware to disable your Norton protection.  So in reality, that is functioning as designed.

 

The svchost.exe I agree with you on them being legit and not being Norton based.

  

Now I am not a Norton basher as I've been a user for right at 20 years, just after the initial release, with many different flavors of NAV on both business sytems (I owned a computer company that sold networks over a three state area with hundreds of licenses) as well as home systems and I believe in the product but something is amiss with the Comcast/Xfinity - Symantec version of NSS.

 

I don't know if it is the authentication setup to ensure that valid Comcast/Xfinity customers get the 'free' version of NSS. Honestly, I don't see how this could be a problem because you simply get your Service PIN and, if requested, enter it. 

 

Now if anyone can see something that I have been missing, I would appreciate some feedback.

 

 Hopefully, I answered all of your questions and the best I can suggest for the slowness is to check your Norton Tasks for completion dates.  You can go to  Tasks > Check Norton Task (bottom of RH column), check Last Run Date and the Status.  If any are shown with oldish last run dates and show  as cancelled/never run you can Clcik on the arrow at the beginning of the task line and run the task.  Be advised they will need time to run and shouldnot be iinterrupted until complete.  You can also check you wife's in N 360 in the same manner and see if those same ones have in fact completed.  It will hopefully let us know if we are heading in the correct direction.  Be advised, if you have disabled any tasks they may show they have not been completed.  For example, I have had the Registry Cleaner task disabled since I installed NSS, so it shows as Never/Not Run. 

 

Please let us know how the install and removal of CGPS goes and if it helps.

3

I have Comcast too and Norton Security Suite without Constant Pain.  Comcast recommends you install Constant Guard, but users on the Comcast forum recommend you don't install it.

 

http://xfinity.comcast.net/constantguard/Products/CGPS/norton/ (link to download just Norton)

4

The exact same thing is happening to me. It doesn't open up no more on my computer and it just says that there is an internal program error evrytime i try to open it..

5
flores wrote:

The exact same thing is happening to me. It doesn't open up no more on my computer and it just says that there is an internal program error evrytime i try to open it..

What does the error say? Can you post a screen shot of it?