Hello everyone.Its NKOTN1 back again with another question about Norton 360.
I have been using Norton 360 since v2.0.Wile my subscription was current with v2.0 I received a email around the end of April 2009 to upgrade to v3.0 for free so I did.I have it installed on 3 computers and so far I have had no problems with any of them or the upgrade process to get v3.0.Now I see Norton has released Norton 360 v4.0.As of yet I have not received a email from Norton or Symantec to upgrade to v4.0 like i did with v3.0 but I do know it is available to me because I have check on it thru the update center at Norton.Also I have noticed that people have been reporting that they are having a few problems with v4.0 aswell.
So my questions are these.Should I go ahead and upgrade to v4.0 even though I have not received the update email yet,or should I wait until I receive the update email that way I will know all of the bugs have been worked out of the program?Also is it possible that the reason I have not received the update email yet is because Norton and Symantec want to make sure they have fixed all of the bugs with the program?
I ask these questions because I am new to computing and anything I can do before hand to not cause a problem is a plus for me.
and this is on top of 4.0 which adopted to new engines used in NIS/NAV 2010 which are much faster and lightfooted.
At this moment I think 4.1 is still only available by LiveUpdate on top of 4.0 so I'd go to the Update Center and let that scan and point you to the download since if the 4.1 version should be available already you would get it first time; otherwise download the 4.0 and install that -- it will uninstall the earlier version and ask if you want to make a clean install or save you settings and move them over. You may be better off doing the clean install (it will still remember your KEY) but make sure you save any Identity Safe data if you use that by selecting the entry it offers -- not sure if it is Save or Export.
I hope that helps. But ask if you have more questions.
BTW You will find that V4 uses a different antispam technique, like the other 2010 products, that is based on the industrial strength Enterprise technology and a lot of it is done outside your computer (but No it does not send your email out for treatment! But the data bases are kept "in the clouds" so your existing settings will not be transferred although your address book should be imported if you have told it to whitelist any addresses in the address book.
Now I have 2 more question regarding 2 things you just said.
First why do you say I would be better off making a "clean install" as appose to just letting it transfer my current sitting over from v3.0 to v4.0?Wouldn't it be easier just to let it keep my current setting instead of me having to set everything back up again or are you saying i might have some problems with the update if i let it keep and transfer my current sitting?Please explain this in detail to me.
Secondly,what exactly do you mean about the antispam being different in v4.0?Explain this in detail to me please also.
I will answer as best I can but I am not a Norton employee but a user like you although I am a volunteer here and we get the title of "guru" -- which for me anyway is flattering since I don't know all the answers <s>
With any software, going from one version to a major upgrade, like V3 to V4, often involves a complete change in the structure and "engines" and this is true since V4 uses the more recent "engines" introduced in the 2010 engines of NIS and NAV last year, while N360 V3 was a generation behind. That is why some people prefer to do a very thorough uninstall using a special Norton Removal Tool that Norton has for downloading that digs deep into the workings of the WIndows system and removes elements that are active there and are set up to be protected from change or removal by malware activity -- one of the first things the aggressive malware does is to try to delete you security system.
However as I did say, the first thing V4 will do is to uninstall any previous version it finds and it does a good job at this because it knows what it is doing naturally.
So personally I believe in doing the installation on top unless it is being done to get around some problem say of corruption. So that is what I would suggest you do, if V3 is working fine for you. After all if something is not good after the installation on top you can always use the Norton Removal Tool then.
On V3 and previously the Norton AntiSpam was a module and it relied very heavily on what the user experienced and in particular on being told "This is Spam" -- label it in future and put it in the Norton AntiSpam folder. This is blacklisting.
In V4 the Antispam is more integrated into the Norton 360 and instead of relying so much on blacklists kept on your computer it accesses a massive database on the Norton Servers that are based on the experience of millions of Norton users worldwide -- this is sometimes referred to as "cloud computing" where the "thinking" is done away from your own computer -- rather in the same way as the Norton Insight tells the security system that XX% of your files are identical to those that have been checked by Norton and by other Norton Users and found to be clean so it only has to check a small percentage of your files -- say 8% or 10% -- in order to know that your whole computer is clean.
I hope that helps but if you want more information do a search in the forums on AntiSpam and look especially for messages posted by Norton Staffers, whose names show up in red, since I know they have posted in more detail.
Someone may be able to post here with a link but I don't have it.
Oh yes -- if you use Identity Safe then the contents are important to you and that is why I recommended that you back up the data files from it in case the transfer from V3 to V4 should fail in some way.
Ok I got you on the antispam part but I am still a little confused on which way I should upgrade to v4.0.
So could you just give me a clear and simple answer?
Are you saying I should use the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall my v3.0 first then install v4.0 or should I just go to the update center and let the upgrade process do the uninstallation of v3.0 for me like it did when I upgraded from v2.0 to v3.0?
Also if I do use the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall v3.0 will I have to enter my subscription key in after installing v4.0?If I have removed v3.0 completely I don't think my key will be transferred to v4.0.
And also if I do use the Norton Removal Tool how then do I install v4.0?I don't think I will be able to use the update center to install v4.0 because it will no longer detect that I have Norton 360 v3.0 installed on my computer.
Thanks again for your help and thanks again for you answers to these questions.
P.S. And yes you are a Guru.At least in my eyes you are.
Please make sure you do run live update to get the latest version 4 and then reboot after you get the final update.
If you are not having any problems with your current version 3, then you can try the install on top. Please do have your key handy just in case you do have to enter it again.
Please come back and let us know how you made out. Thanks.
<< So personally I believe in doing the installation on top unless it is being done to get around some problem say of corruption. So that is what I would suggest you do, if V3 is working fine for you. >>
Only you can decide what you do ... but I would not use the Norton Removal Tool. It is definitely Norton policy only to use that with problem situations or perhaps with updates from very early versions (several years old) to the latest versions.
If you use Identity Safe follow the instructions in V3 to save the information in it.
If your V3 is working fine I would suggest you download the N360 V4 that matches your V3 for the amount of OnLine storage that came with yours -- Standard has 2.5 GB and Premier has 25 GB -- to a location on your computer where you can find it again by choosing Save and then once it is downloaded Run/Open it in the usual way to install it.
If you are using VISTA or Windows 7 I would recommend that you run it by Right Mouse Clicking on the file you download and choosing Run as Administrator but if you are using XP then just start the installation by double clicking on the downloaded file.
Watch the installation screen and when it asks if you how you want to install it -- not sure of the exact wording but you'll recognize something equivalent of On Top and preserve your settings or Clean ... and choose the one that preserves/transfers your settings.
It will then proceed to uninstall V3 and install V4 and after the installation has finished -- you may have to restart the computer along the way -- chheck the version tha has installed by looking at Help / About. If it is 4.1.0.32. then you have the lastest version; if it is earlier than that then run LiveUpdate manually / restart / Run Live Update Manually again and it should be updated if you are using the English version or some other countries but not all countries have the localized version yet.
Ok thanks.I guess I was just not reading what you wrote earlier close enough or maybe it was just over thinking on my part.I'm clear on what to do now and thank you again for your time,however you just raised another question for me in your response.
I do have 1 computer running XP and 2 running Vista.Why do you say install v4.0 by double clicking on the install file in XP and right clicking on the install file to select run as administrator in Vista?Will the Vista install not work by double clicking the file like in XP or is there other reasons why you say do it this way?Please explain.
Ok thanks.I guess I was just not reading what you wrote earlier close enough or maybe it was just over thinking on my part.I'm clear on what to do now and thank you again for your time,however you just raised another question for me in your response.
I do have 1 computer running XP and 2 running Vista.Why do you say install v4.0 by double clicking on the install file in XP and right clicking on the install file to select run as administrator in Vista?Will the Vista install not work by double clicking the file like in XP or is there other reasons why you say do it this way?Please explain.
Yes you can install in any version of Windows by double clicking on the file but in XP there is not the option in the context menu that comes up when you right clic k on a file when you are running XP.
Run as Administrator gives the operation "elevated privileges" and I happen to believe that can help avoid problems when installing applications, particularly those that dig deep into the system as security programs do.
I started the update of my norton 360 v3.0 to v4.0 last night.I started my update at 11:00 p.m.Everything was going fine up until the point when it told me to restart the computer to finish the installation.After the computer restarted and the download manager came back up it did say installing but now it has been 3 hours later and it still says installing.I know there must be something wrong because it did not take this long when i upgraded from v2.0 to v3.0.When i upgraded from v2.0 to v3.0 it only took about 20 to 30 minutes to finish the whole install but as i just said my computer has been saying installing now for the last 3 hours.
I dont know whats wrong or what to do other then just throw the computer in the trash.I dont even know what to ask help with.I just know i'm stuck with a computer with no protection and no idea on what to do next.
I can't deal with this just now but how did you begin the update? If you downloaded the complete update file you would not get a download manager unless you have one of your own.
If you went to the Update Center then you probably would get the Download Manager which is why I wanted you to get the full one-piece file.
Download the correct one of those and run it as I told you using Run as Administrator if you are doing it in VISTA. It shouldl begin by uninstalling what is there but I don't know for sure how effective that is going to be after an incomplete installation. It's worth trying before using the complete Norton Removal Tool.
You did save your Identity Safe data if you use that ?
