Updates Break Scheduled Scans

I am a consultant and integrate Norton Internet Security 2009 in most configurations I support.  On every single machine I work on (including my own computers at home), (2) Norton updates over the last (4) months have broken the scheduled scan because the program path is changed as noted in the post below:

 

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=nis_feedback&thread.id=21024

 

Without searching the forum I already knew that deleting and readding a scheduled scan would "fix" the issue but this really isn't a reasonable fix since 99% of end-users don't even know what a schedule is.  While it takes me 5 seconds to fix this issue on my own machines, it will take me days to contact my customers and walk them through this process so they have the proper protection (and yes, real-time protection is enabled but a full scan should always be run once per month).  And even when I do, I have no reason to think a future update won't break the new schedule again.

 

Does Norton admit this is a design issue if not an outright bug?

 

The operating system details are irrelevant as the issue is clearly Norton changing the program path in updates and this change not being applied to the existing scheduled task syntax.  But since some may ask, I have seen this on XP SP3 and Vista SP1.

 

This is a major issue in my opinion and I would appreciate feedback from someone at Norton who monitors the forums.

 

Thanks.

Message Edited by muhombo on 05-15-2009 11:49 AM

Norton runs a full system scan weekly by default during idle time.  Is this insufficient for your clients?  It can also be set to run monthly if that is preferred, although weekly provides more security.

 

There are also quick scans running 3-4 times a day in idle time.

 

The version changes are a problem with scheduled scans.  The automatic ones have no problems although the day that the scan would normally run may change depending on what day the change occurred

Why are you not relaying on the Idle Time scans to handle this task?  Just curious.

I don't use idle time scans because this requires the software to make assumptions that are generally not correct (for example, I have a random computer use schedule so "idle time" would never be in any type of predictable pattern).  Why would I want to let Norton randomly kickoff schedules when I can set a scan to run at a specific date/time every week?  This is especially true for laptop users who don't always have their laptops on when not in use.  I can tell them to leave it on every sunday night and the scans are completed.  When configured properly, you can get all maintenance (cleanup, defrag, virus scan and MS updates) completed in a single night.

 

The idle time feature may work for some but I prefer a static maintenance schedule.  In any event, Norton provides scheduling and certainly shouldn't break existing schedules periodically due to a poor update design.

 

Does anyone from Norton browse these forums and/or reply?  I would like to see their take on this and if they plan to address in a future release.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Message Edited by muhombo on 05-16-2009 12:51 AM
Message Edited by muhombo on 05-16-2009 12:52 AM

Bump...

 

Does anyone from Norton monitor this board and provide responses?  I am not familiar with the guidelines of this forum and would appreciate some feedback if someone knows the answer to this question.

 

Thanks.

Hi muhombo -

 

I have not seen the proplem which you are speaking of.

 

All of my NIS 2009 Scheduled Scans work just fine and can be verified in the logs.

 

Norton employees do post here when they can, especially on the severity of the situation..

 

If the Scheduled Scan does not work for you, try deleting it and then enter it again (and monitor the logs.)

 

Kindly let us know.

 

TIA

 

:smileysurprised:

Muhombo:

 

While this is a user to user forum, most of the Symantec employees whose names you see are the Mods.  It will take them some time to find someone who can answer your problem.  Someone will get back to you.

Hi Muhombo:

Sorry for the delay in replying.

 

The scheduled scan uses Windows task scheduler. When you first install the program and schedule a system scan, the entry in task scheduler points to the scanner in the specific folder for the originally installed version of the program. (Original version 16.0.0.125 located C:\Program files\Norton Internet Security\Engine\16.0.0.125...)

 

Each new version of the Norton product is installed in a separate new folder under C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\Engine that is named for the newly installed product version. For example, the most recent version of Norton Internet Security is 16.5.0.135. That version is installed in the folder C:\Program files\Norton Internet Security\Engine\16.5.0.135.

 

Currently there is no way for the program to update the entry in Windows task scheduler so, after the update, the scan is still pointing to the original folder and it fails to run. This is being looked at for 2010 but there are no plans to fix it until then. 

 

Please refer to this document for help updating the Windows task scheduler to point to scanner in the correct folder:

 

20081202143408EN A scheduled scan does not run in your Norton 2009 product 

 

 

 

Hi -

 

Thank you, RichC, for the explanation.

 

Now I understand the issue much better.

 

:smileyhappy:

Rich,

 

Thanks for the reply.  I was already aware of the technical reason behind the issue but appreciate you posting details that may be helpful to others.

 

For the developers to push this off as an inability to update an existing windows schedule is a cop out (creating a new directory for the engine is non-standard and a very poor design choice).  Not only did previous versions of Norton not have this design flaw / bug, but I can't think of another product on the market that breaks existing schedules during maintenance updates.  This renders scheduling completely useless for 99% of users (most of which don't even know what a schedule is) and even for technical people who don't notice schedules stopped running. 

 

I have installed Norton on at least (50) computers over the last (6) months and many of these were converted from other AV products. I created schedules for the reasons I noted above and now I am required to go back to these users and walk them through deleting schedules and activating idle time scanning even though this is not a feasibe solution for many users (especially noteboook users).  Creating a new schedule makes no sense as there is no way to tell when the engine version will change again.

 

I'm guessing if this issue was reported by one of the high profile companies that review and rate your products there would be a greater sense of urgency for this major design flaw / bug in the product.  But since they install, review and move on to the next product they would not see this issue (unless an update occurred during the review process).

 

Please consider the effect this has on users and not underestimate how this completely breaks your scheduling capability.  For a competitive standpoint, I have never worked with another product that has this issue and have recently worked with other products such as McAfee, AVG, Trend Micro and others and only Norton cannot claim 100% functionality of the scheduling feature.

 

Is there a way to submit a formal bug report?  I have already been through the always enjoyable online support in India and also contacted installation support in the US.  India wanted me to reinstall the prodct (as always....at least they are consistent and good for a laugh) and US based support said I would need to purchase a support agreement to submit a formal bug report.

 

BTW, I co-founded and was a senior executive at a software development company and have 20 years experience in the industry.  I know how the developer / support process works, how issues are prioritized and the internal politics involved (there are many similarities in all software companies).  So when I talk about bad designs, feasible implementations for users and other items noted above, I speak from experience and I'm not just shooting from the hip.

 

Thanks again for your initial reply and I look forward to your follow-up response.

Eloquently put.  I agree.  Perhaps in 2010 version the task scheduler will be internal instead of external and then Norton would have complete control over the scheduled scans.  Unless something turns off Norton, of course.

Or stick with the built-in scheduler and have the scheduler syntax include a switch that reads a registry value or ini file that stores the current engine directory.  This value would be updated by Norton whenever a new engine version is installed and no changes would be required to schedules or any other scripts individuals may create to call the Norton engine.

 

Either solution is acceptable but I always prefer using the built-in scheduler so maintenance tasks can be centralized.

 

I'm sure the Developers know exactly what is required to address the issue....getting them to realize/admit the severity of the issue and prioritize it accordingly is the bigger problem.

 

Thanks.

RichC (or anyone else from Symantec)...

 

I would appreciate a reply to my request for more information. 


muhombo wrote:

RichC (or anyone else from Symantec)...

 

I would appreciate a reply to my request for more information. 


Hi muhombo, I apologize for not replying sooner. When RichC writes "This is being looked at for 2010 but there are no plans to fix it until then" he means that this has been formally submitted through our defect tracking system. Our team is actively reviewing the problem to see what can be done. I'm sorry this wasn't explicitly stated earlier, but I can verify that this issue is formally logged with the product team. Thanks!

Tony,

 

Any update on this?

 

Thanks.

Unfortunately, there is no update at this time. It is still something the team is looking into. I apologize for the delay in response about your issue.