Producing phony virus files?? I apologize but I have trouble believing that Norton would do that. I would contact them if I were you, but I seriously doubt if a reasonably reputable company like Norton would do that.
Don't apologize. I wouldn't have believed it either prior to this experience.
But when you look at the sequence of events, I challange you to come up with a more plausible explanation.
1. I had my Norton program operating for almost a year and no viruses were ever found on my computer, and I had no problems.
2. I then had the Norton program notify my a couple of times that my subscription was about to run out and I should renew it to keep my virus protection up to date.
I ignored this.
3. I then began having Norton give me warnings that my subscription had expired and that it was important that I purchase updates to protect my computer.
These new warnings were a shocking red color and full of explanation marks etc.
I don't like these kinds of high pressure sales tactics and so I ignored these messages as well.
4. After repeatedly getting the above sort of messages almost daily....next thing I know I got a message telling me that Norton had detected a file containing a virus on my computer but could not protect my computer from it unless I purchased new updates from Norton.
OK? Are you following this?
5. I located and checked out the so-called "virus" that Norton warned me about....and it turned out to be NOTHING. It was totally empty. It's content equaled ZERO bytes. NADA. ZIP.
I had this same thing occur a few times...and each time the "viruses" not only did no damage to my computer...but they were totally empty files.
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Explain these increasingly high pressure sales pitches coming from Norton....which ultimately turned into false virus alarms.
And how Norton didn't find a single virus the entire time my subscription was paid for and up to date.
But as soon as my subscription ran out all of a sudden Norton was sounding the alarm about "viruses" on my computer which I could only kill if I purchased new Norton updates.
Give me a break. I know when I'm being conned.
Tell me...how is it that the Norton program even KNEW these files were "viruses" if it wasn't updated to handle them as it claimed?
How could it possibly identify them?
The fact is it couldn't. This is BS. Norton generates phoney virus files to try to scare people into purchasing updates.
There is no other plausible explanation. They are thieves.
I wouldn't contact Norton about this as you suggested....if anything I would contact the Better Business Bureau.
I have the origin Norton AntiVirus disk and I am certain this little deception is programed into it.
These people are freakin stupid.
And how Norton didn't find a single virus the entire time my subscription was paid for and up to date. But as soon as my subscription ran out all of a sudden Norton was sounding the alarm about "viruses" on my computer which I could only kill if I purchased new Norton updates.
Give me a break. I know when I'm being conned.
Well, I can't explain that, particularly without seeing exactly what's happening. Its just that I have never heard of this happening with Norton, McAffee, or many other reputable software companies. Doesn't mean it isn't happening. Perhaps they've changed their strategy in a desparate attempt to gain customers.
I have, however, noticed a real downturn in the functionality of Norton Utilities since I bought a version for my new XP machine. And this is after years of swearing by Norton products on my older Win 3.1 through Win-98 machines.
Tell me...how is it that the Norton program even KNEW these files were "viruses" if it wasn't updated to handle them as it claimed? How could it possibly identify them?
The fact is it couldn't. This is BS. Norton generates phoney virus files to try to scare people into purchasing updates. There is no other plausible explanation. They are thieves.
Well, maybe they are older viruses. Ones defined already. There are tens of thousands of viruses out there, and only a handful of new ones every week. At any rate, I'll be checking the newsgroups for a second opinion before I chuck Norton from my computer.
I wouldn't contact Norton about this as you suggested....if anything I would contact the Better Business Bureau.
Why not contact both? See if Norton has a satisfactory explanation first. Then, if they don't, call the BBB and explain the situation. I have the origin Norton AntiVirus disk and I am certain this little deception is programed into it. These people are freakin stupid.