There is bizarre shit going on with my computer now when I’m doing anything on the Net.
Here is the shortened version of what happened. Bought an English version of Norton at Hwan Ya. Everything worked great for about a week then all of a sudden get a message telling me there is a licensing problem, to delete Norton, then upload again. I do this and have been having problems since. I can still get on the Net, but things are hesitating (not slow but it seems like a few seconds before things kick in then it’s normal speed).
I’ve deleted Norton and am going to change to PC Cillin (sp?) since I saw that they also had an English version available.
Oh, another weird thing is I can’t get www.symantec.com (Norton’s company) to open on my computer.
Are viruses getting this sophisticated? If so, is PC Cillin any better? I noticed their package also offers a firewall. I don’t care about cost anymore, I don’t want to run into problems anymore. Any suggestions?
I use AVG by Grisoft. They have a free trial of the commercial version good for 30 days, so you can try it out without losing anything. They also have a free stripped down version that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but will be fine for those on a budget. The commercial version starts at USD33.30 for TWO years, compared to other products that charge as much for just one year. Plus they have good multi-system licenses for as few as 2 computers so you don’t have to pay full price for additional systems. I used the free version for a couple of years and recently upgraded to the commercial version so I could get updates more often that once a day.
Pick up a copy of Norton’s Internet Security (includes NAV and Firewall) on Ebay. It will cost around $20-$25 for a 2004 version. Shipping should cost $5. Yes, that is the total you will pay for a legitimate OEM (no manual or box) piece of software, never before used. with SN and 1 year of free updates.
That, and do what others have suggested by going to download.com to pick up a few spyware and adware programs. No single program (in my experience) is 100% thorough, but a combo of a few like Adaware, Sypbot, and Sypware Doctor will do you fine.
Also, make sure your XP is SP2. It has a lot of very useful new security updates.
I’ve got something that’s driving me up the wall on the computer. The Spybot S&D works like a charm. Zone Alarm threw my computer into a frenzy when I was doing the setup after installation so it’s now deleted. I’m getting a message from “180searh Assistant” asking me to download because a third party intentionally deleted this file from my computer. I’ve got Norton back on my computer by I can’t update with new definitions so it’s useless. I still can’t log on to www.symantec.com from my computer. I tried it at work because I honestly thought the company’s system was down. I would like to beat the shit out of a hacker at this moment, but the sight of his thick glasses and sunken-in chest would probably make me feel sorry for him before I landed the first punch! I’m taking my laptop to work and have the computer guy there take care of this for me. Thanks all for your input.
I’ve got something that’s driving me up the wall on the computer. The Spybot S&D works like a charm. Zone Alarm threw my computer into a frenzy when I was doing the setup after installation so it’s now deleted. I’m getting a message from “180searh Assistant” asking me to download because a third party intentionally deleted this file from my computer. I’ve got Norton back on my computer by I can’t update with new definitions so it’s useless. I still can’t log on to www.symantec.com from my computer. I tried it at work because I honestly thought the company’s system was down. I would like to beat the shit out of a hacker at this moment, but the sight of his thick glasses and sunken-in chest would probably make me feel sorry for him before I landed the first punch! I’m taking my laptop to work and have the computer guy there take care of this for me. Thanks all for your input.
Start downloading/backing-up your data now. You’re fubar. I know the message. You had that piece of crap spy/ad ware and Spybot took it off. It will ask you what will feel like a million times whether or not to re-load it and it will still eventually crash your computer. Plan on a complete re-install of your system. Remember the little X on the top left cover of pop-up windows is your friend. Either that or I right click and close from the taskbar. It avoids accidental acceptances.
I don’t know how I did it, but I got things under control again. I’m using:
Spybot S&D, NOD32 antivirus (trial version), and the Sygate firewall. There are still some minor issues to work out but the speed’s back to normal and I’m very pleased at not having to re-install the entire system. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Now, how the hell am I going to get the Norton AntiVirus returned? The customer service on Nanjing East Road doesn’t want to get anywhere near this issue, even though the guarantee on the box explicitly tells me to contact them for refund issues. Assholes!
Anyone out there interested in getting Norton, change your mind NOW! Take a look at their site and see how easy it is to get technical assistance (you’ve got to pay!). And there’s no way to prove it, but I really feel that the initial attack to my computer was directed at the Norton software.
Glad to hear you sorted things out, but I think you’re going a bit overboard trying to warn people off Norton.
I’ve been a Norton user for maybe 4-5 years (longer?) and I can’t say I’ve ever had a problem. Still, I know people who have. From what I know about those people, my take is they expect Norton to solve all their problems but never perform any system checkups or system maintenance. Often, the system is thrashed before Norton software is installed, so of course the system runs even slower afterwards.
My best advice is this: After setting up an OS, install Norton System Works immediately. DO NOT TOUCH any of the settings, and let the program run a full systems check and AV check once a week. Get yourself a firewall as well. Run defrags as well once every few months.
A computer is like a car. Perform regular maintenance and treat it well or it’s going to fall apart.
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]So what do you do if you’ve bought Norton online, but then you reformat your computer. They never sent me a subscription number or anything.
Brian[/quote]
im trying to re-new my norton subscription online(about to expire) and this year there is no option for TAIWAN as a location…only China…well…i am not certain as how to proceed as i plan to use credit card to purchase the renewal…anyway…i wrote to NAV folks and they have yet to respond…we’ll see what they say and i’ll keep y’all posted…
Brian…u can go to symantec.com and in the FAQ/Online Q&A system has an area that pertains to your question…good luck…it should be pretty easy…u just match up ur original registration details and they will send u a link to download again…
I tried to pay for the full version after trying the trial version. Got a message saying that with my computer location I would have to buy locally. So I did. Then the problems started as I explained above (freakin’ headache, but now solved). I have deleted the software and would like to get my money back. It is very clearly stated on the box that I have a 60-day money-back guarantee and to contact customer service to do this. I contacted them. Was told to go back to the store where I bought it. I went back to the store. The very helpful employee told me that opened software guarantees are handled by the source company. He finally got me in contact with a person at Symantec Taiwan that can tell me what’s going on. It boils down to this: they will send me another copy of the software by email to download myself (and risk the problems all again- no thanks!), and they will not give me my money back. I stick to my original conclusion- Norton sucks, Symantec sucks, their website with no email address sucks, the fact that you have to pay for technical service sucks, the lady that I talked to last at Symantec Taiwan sucks. Stay away from this product!
I tried to pay for the full version after trying the trial version. Got a message saying that with my computer location I would have to buy locally. So I did. Then the problems started as I explained above (freakin’ headache, but now solved). I have deleted the software and would like to get my money back. It is very clearly stated on the box that I have a 60-day money-back guarantee and to contact customer service to do this. I contacted them. Was told to go back to the store where I bought it. I went back to the store. The very helpful employee told me that opened software guarantees are handled by the source company. He finally got me in contact with a person at Symantec Taiwan that can tell me what’s going on. It boils down to this: they will send me another copy of the software by email to download myself (and risk the problems all again- no thanks!), and they will not give me my money back. I stick to my original conclusion- Norton sucks, Symantec sucks, their website with no email address sucks, the fact that you have to pay for technical service sucks, the lady that I talked to last at Symantec Taiwan sucks. Stay away from this product!
I tried to pay for the full version after trying the trial version. Got a message saying that with my computer location I would have to buy locally. So I did. Then the problems started as I explained above (freakin’ headache, but now solved). I have deleted the software and would like to get my money back. It is very clearly stated on the box that I have a 60-day money-back guarantee and to contact customer service to do this. I contacted them. Was told to go back to the store where I bought it. I went back to the store. The very helpful employee told me that opened software guarantees are handled by the source company. He finally got me in contact with a person at Symantec Taiwan that can tell me what’s going on. It boils down to this: they will send me another copy of the software by email to download myself (and risk the problems all again- no thanks!), and they will not give me my money back. I stick to my original conclusion- Norton sucks, Symantec sucks, their website with no email address sucks, the fact that you have to pay for technical service sucks, the lady that I talked to last at Symantec Taiwan sucks. Stay away from this product!
I tried to pay for the full version after trying the trial version. Got a message saying that with my computer location I would have to buy locally. So I did. Then the problems started as I explained above (freakin’ headache, but now solved). I have deleted the software and would like to get my money back. It is very clearly stated on the box that I have a 60-day money-back guarantee and to contact customer service to do this. I contacted them. Was told to go back to the store where I bought it. I went back to the store. The very helpful employee told me that opened software guarantees are handled by the source company. He finally got me in contact with a person at Symantec Taiwan that can tell me what’s going on. It boils down to this: they will send me another copy of the software by email to download myself (and risk the problems all again- no thanks!), and they will not give me my money back. I stick to my original conclusion- Norton sucks, Symantec sucks, their website with no email address sucks, the fact that you have to pay for technical service sucks, the lady that I talked to last at Symantec Taiwan sucks. Stay away from this product!
I wrote the multiple posts at work during lunch. Things were a bit slow and I got impatient. It looks like deleting is not an option. Hopefully the webmaster will get rid of the unneded posts.
I bought Norton antivirus several months ago - dowloaded it and paid by credit card. Due to non-virus (harware) problems, by hard drives were reformatted. Symantec’s customer support pages are a nightmare. I couldn’t find anywhere to re-download the software, no answers to my problems, and no way to contact the company.
In the end, I thought I’d just download the 15-day trial, while I wait to sort out the problem. Downloaded and noticed an option ‘I’ve already bought Norton Antivirus’. Clicked that, entered my reigstration key from when I’d bought it, and my subscription was resumed.
Here’s the amazing part: My one year subscription started again from scratch!
Antiviruse programs won’t remove spyware, because those aren’t viruses.
To remove those, use PestPatrol, its the bomb, it works amazingly well, much better than the other ones like Search N Destroy etc.
I don’t use firewalls and never had any problems by using the above pieces of software, although since I was a student easier for me, most Universities give discounts to students, a Univ. of Toronto student can download Norton A/V for free off the UT website after inputting their student info.