When the Norton subscription expires, does the product continue to load and provide protection, but with an old virus definition list, or does the product NOT load and the computer is left completely open to attack? This is a key issue.
You are not protected without license. Use trial version untill renew
Hi demonpuck,
Welcome to the Norton Community. In the past Norton would continue functioning with the old definitions but this tended to lull people into a false sense of security.
However that is no longer true. As heavengod said once the subscription expires your Norton product is effectively disabled.
With real-time protection software like Norton you are not really purchasing the software but rather a subscription to keep your computer protected. One additional advantage of this is that you are always entitled to the latest version of Norton at no addtional charge as long as your subscription is kept current. E.g., the only cost is the subscription itself so when say NIS 2011 updates to NIS 2012 you will get that update for free as long as your subscription is current at the time.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes.
Allen
Whenever I can't tell the difference in Norton's tactics and that global fake anti-virus that installs itself as a virus defeater and bugs you to death every 15 minutes, this is a problem for me. Norton's will continue on a daily basis to bug you to death with scare tactics, causing you ultimately to abandon this product. It's either that or get on blood-pressure pills so you can sleep.
History tells us time and time again that whenever a company decides to become agressive to it's customers or potential customers, that company will fail. Overcharge, and you will fail. Impose on me too much, and you'll fail.
So, the customer or past customers need to be able to speak their minds so the company will listen, and act. That's why I signed up today -- to express my feelings.
Maybe Microsoft, Norton, and all the spam and virus makers can have one big orgy and celebrate the multi-billions of dollars they have pilfered from the general public, but not on my watch.
Of course, the forum says I'm a "newbie", automatically making my skill levels and knowledge mean nothing here. I'm a long-time tech who has watched the anit-virus situation become a mess over the years.
Norton saw that people were signing up by the millions to that fake anti-virus program which was an actual virus, and they said, "hey, we can triple our revenues by using the same tactics"... but what they missed is that this only works for a little while, then the bubble bursts.
You own the virus domain. Therefore you control it. THAT scares the heck out of me.
[edit: Please keep post content clean per the Participation Guidelines and Terms of Service.]
Hi cocotower,
No one is doubting your experience and you are of course entitled to your opinion but I would like to mention a couple more things. Do you realize how many people got their computer infected because of a false sense of security back in the day when Norton would continue to function but with outdated definitions? In reality, for many people a functioning product running on out of date definitions is actually more dangerous than having no security product at all because they tend to not be as careful as they should be.
In terms of warning the user that their Norton product is about to expire or worse, has expired how should they do this and how often? Symantec has to strike some sort of balance between being overly aggressive while still alerting the user to the fact that an expired subscription is a dangerous position to be in.
Best wishes.
Allen
Moved to own thread for better exposure.
Your reply is clear, but I have a hard time believing that any user is better served by having no protection for a week while they obtain a new copy of the Norton product. I can imagine the situation if MicroSoft licensed their Office products for a year at a time and they simply stopped working on their anniversary. A company (Norton) is free to pursue whatever business model they think will work. I have a small number of computers that I am responsible for - 11 at last count. As I have just purchased copies of Norton Internet Security for all, I now have a year to find an alternative product.
Hi demonpuck,
Perhaps my reply is not clear. There is no reason for your Norton software to expire on you. The software gives ample warning (starting at 1 month) that it should be renewed.
I'm not sure why you believe that the software would expire on any of your computers. The only way this happens is if the reminders to renew go unheeded for a full month.
Best wishes.
Allen
In my opinion Symantec, in the mean time, has found a reasonable balance between nagging and really warning people that subscription is about to expire.
Before 2010 versions the warnings were much more agressive. Based on reactions in this forum, Symantec has changed from really nagging to warning only.
Nowadays they are starting to warn from 30 days before expiry and repeating this warning every 3 days or so. So it's up to the user to either buy a renewal or look for a discount somewhere else.
By the way : all payed security products nowadays warn you in advance and shut down at the day the subscription expires, some even more nagging than Norton.
I always buy Norton in advance when it's cheap, so i can easily ignore the warnings untill the last day of my subscription. They are not hindering me anymore, like they did in the past.