My Norton is driving me nuts

April 14, 2005 | pbrown

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So I guess the Enfield gun and Enfield motorcycle were made by the same company.

I think the Enfield rifle factory closed up shop in '57.

[longjack]

but lately I've learned that the folks in the know prefer Avast or AntiVir

I use AntiVir as an on-demand scanner with AVG as my resident scanner on some machines.

If you have AVG installed, Uncheck the resident scanner option when you install AntiVir. As a note, during the AntiVir install there is a dialog box that asks you if you want AntiVir to set up an install key, or something similiar to that. I've found that checking that will sometime hose an install. I'm not sure why.

Once AntiVir is installed, open up the scheduler and set it to get an update and run a scan periodically. AntiVir is strong in its ability to scan inside archives, which makes it great as an on-demand scanner, such as after a download. It's update procedure is a little more clunky than AVG, which makes AVG more user friendly, IMHO and makes AVG easier to use as your resident scanner.

I use this combo on XP SP2 machines and Windows 2000 machines successfully. For some reason, my wife and daughter's HP laptops have a hard time with AntiVir and AVG, so I use AVAST on them. I'm very happy with Avast, as well. Set it and forget it.

With those AV's, Spyware Guard, Spyware Blaster and Microsoft Anti-Spy you can keep an XP machine pretty safe.

All free, BTW.

HTH

longjack

[JLO]

Symantec is a software company that buys other people software and then does very little to improve it, and most of the they do such a lousy job that it will screw up your computer.

You got that right! ACT! software was great before they sold out to Symantec. I still use ACT!, but it gets worse with each new version. Technical help learns along with users. Ugh.

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I don't know about spyware, but ebay, like many commercial sites, embeds a link to an ad tracking server. This is not technically spyware, but spybot reports the activity.

I used to go to Drudge all the time too. I heard complaints about them and stopped going. Why throw fuel on a fire.

[Bald Eagle777]

Funny joke, I smirked.

Good tag line too.

[CATravelAgent]

Yes it is Birmingham Small Arms. Had an '67 A65 Spitfire for a while. Sweet bike. Last bike was a '73 Commando Interstate 850, which I sold a few months ago.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I use Firefox and have it set to allow cookies while browsing but delete them whenever I close it. Basically, tracking cookies are worthless. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.</maniacal laughter heard in the background> At least I hope so........

[ChildOfThe60s]

The right-side shifter always made me worried about ever getting one of those older Brit bikes. I've been told you adjust pretty quick, but still..

Actually you adjust very quickly, then when you get on a sake rocket you have problems. Seriously, it's no big deal.

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I use Firefox and have it set to allow cookies while browsing but delete them whenever I close it. Basically, tracking cookies are worthless. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. At least I hope so........

That's an action I will practice, deleting cookies. I'll go for broke tonight trying to get this right. If I have to end up taking it to a shop...

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

...as in a '74 850, pre-electric start with a Queen-side shifter? Had one of those myself once upon a time. Lovely ride. Shame the dolts didn't engineer the heads with a steel insert in the aluminum exhaust ports. The finned clamps were steel and worked the threads loose so that the pipes were forever rattling themselves and popping out.

[backhoe]

Tonight I will shut this thing down or fix it. I've been leaning toward firefox for quiet awhile. I just haven't had the guts to try and switch over. Afraid I would destroy my computer pushing the wrong button. At this point, it's not doing me much good as it is. If I do too much damage in trying to fix it, I'll take it to a computer shop and have them set it right. So far this is a hardy machine. No matter what feeble attempts I try, I haven't destroyed it yet.

I'm more of a hardware guy than software, but if you hit a snag, ping me and I may at least know where else to point you.

You'll like Firefox- using it instead of IE is no big deal.

When you install, it will ask if you want to import cookies & bookmarks ( yes! ) and then you can resume surfing.

Remember, with Windows, left-click is "basic Windows and right-click is "advanced." When you hover the pointer over a menu item in FF, try both, as there are extra features to be found when right-clicking.

[tophat9000]

If I do that, won't I be going on the web unprotected? I think

Technically yes, but you pick up viruses and spyware parasites from the Internet from your email and websites you go to so if you limit where you go to till you get ever thing in place you will be ok... the problem is once on the Internet a preexisting virus or spy ware parasites can come active but you need to get the latest updates for your antivirus,antispyware and OS to kill and protect you from the latest threat (Note if you have a something that keeps coming back... some really nasty viruses and spyware can only be totally killed in "safe" mode and with system restore turned off and there are some the even require special fixes )

... The thing is it's not a who came first the chicken or the egg the there are alway new virus, spyware or OS security crack that come first and the antivirus,antispyware and OS patch comes after (sometimes weeks after)to fix.... that why you need check you updated(On my antivirus I sometimes get 3 or 4 new auto updates a day)

Let me add one more site http://www.grc.com/ to check your firewall at... also besides a software firewall I alway recommend a hardware firewall router (Linksys or Dlink) on any alway on DSL or Cable modem Internet connection, they NAT the IP address to your computer to private IP address that will not pass over the Internet, bottom line the only public face you show (if any) to the internet is at the public IP, WAN side of you hardware firewall router (and change the default router password!)

[JoJo Gunn]

Seriously, Norton has a few uninstallers to remove the trash left behind from its supposedly first uninstall. They obviously don't want it as public knowledge, so they're well hidden on their site.

I've got an HP, which came bundled with McAfee. You know what they say, the manufacturers bundle everything just right, right? McAfee was a crash prone mess, so I went and got NIS2002. It worked good for over a year, but one particular update gave many headaches, including me, so I dropped them.

Speaking of reinstalls, I'm a believer in formatting. Winduhs over itself is a house of cards. I had a friend who also ran NIS2002 and after a simple reinstall he couldn't install Norton, because Winduhs was still reading Norton's trash in the registry. The install would go so far and then hang. Only a complete wipe fixed the problem.

I had a run-in with someone a while back, saying I was more or less crazy about the "house of cards". Obviously he didn't understand how Norton, as one example, wraps a gazillion tentacles into every part of your machine. Why press your luck running on a half trashed registry that made you reinstall to begin with?

Hang in there….

[wolfpat]

I was using Norton Systemworks 2000, and just updated the virus definitions. That was working great until Norton decided they wouldn't support it any more.
Since I installed Norton Systemworks 2005, I've been getting lots of BSODs and my computer is slower than a TRS-80

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Thank you backhoe. I was hoping you would see this thread. I was telling my son about you this morning.

When you install, it will ask if you want to import cookies & bookmarks ( yes! ) and then you can resume surfing.

Got it. I hadn't even thought about losing all my bookmarks. It's the little things like that that will get me.

I just copied this. I'll need all the help and good luck I can find.

There are so many kind and helpfull people on FR.

I'll probably shut this down around 8:00 tonight and have at it.

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I've had a Trojan come at me twice in two days, the same one. I tracked it to Korea. It's called, Back Orifice Trojan Horse' whatever that means. It was blocked. I'm afraid when I take my firewall down it will come at on me again. I guess that's just the chance I have to take.

I'm going to go and get my spybot back and reinstall it, I have something called Defender pro. I haven't used yet. I bought it several months back.

Let me add one more site http://www.grc.com/ to check your firewall at... also besides a software firewall I alway recommend a hardware firewall router (Linksys or Dlink) on any alway on DSL or Cable modem Internet connection, they NAT the IP address to your computer to private IP address that will not pass over the Internet, bottom line the only public face you show (if any) to the internet is at the public IP, WAN side of you hardware firewall router (and change the default router password!)

Will that work on dial up?

[Eagle9]

You really like that Norton, huh. You look at that motorcycle the way my husband looks at new nailguns, stapleguns and wetsaws and air compressers.lol

See! He knows what's cool ! Not that you don't ...

LOL ! You make us sound like the guy on Home Improvement.

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Home Improvement.

That's what he does for a living. Been at it over 35 years and he loves it as much as the first time he ever picked up a hammer.

My advice to women would be, marry carpenters. He has turned our Fixer Upper House, into a beautiful home. I dream it and he builds it. What a combination we are. lol

[BJungNan]

Dump your Norton. I had the same problem. A friend that works on computers says he sees this all the time. As soon as I unloaded it - including clearing the registry - my computer went back to working.

[BJungNan]

Excuse me .. NORTON is the very best.

And we have now officially heard from a Norton employee. Thanks, but you are running against the tide here.