How to renew Norton Internet Security

[gplantam]

If I buy a new PC with Vista and it comes with free 60 days of updates
for Norton Internet Security 2007 including firewall, what exactly do
I have to purchase after 60 days? Do I have to purchase new Norton
Internet Security software or just buy a subscription to updates? Do I
have to purchase a new firewall, or a firewall update?
Is it true that if you already own Norton Internet Security, there are
rebates each year that allow you to renew your update subscription
basically for free?

 

[Steve Pearce]

If I buy a new PC with Vista and it comes with free 60 days of updates
for Norton Internet Security 2007 including firewall, what exactly do
I have to purchase after 60 days? Do I have to purchase new Norton
Internet Security software or just buy a subscription to updates? Do I
have to purchase a new firewall, or a firewall update?
Is it true that if you already own Norton Internet Security, there are
rebates each year that allow you to renew your update subscription
basically for free?

I renewed an NIS subscription only once; I discovered I could buy a
new copy of the retail product far cheaper (close to half the price).

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

You can purchase/renew your subscription online.
Your Norton product will make it clearly easy to do as the trial
subscription gets close to ending.
The updates subscription will be for whatever Norton products were
installed by the manufacturer.

Generally, you can get a complete package which includes the media for
about the same price or sometimes less.
The advantage is if you have to reinstall Windows, you already have
the media and will have fewer problems at installation of the Norton
products.

However, I suggest you skip Norton and go to some of the other
products that require less resources from the computer.
AVG Free, Nod32 and Avast are good option for Anti virus while Zone
Alarm is a good firewall if you want something more than the firewall
already included.


SpyBot S+D, AdAware are both good spyware removal programs if you want
to add to the included Windows Defender.

 

[gplantam]

Thanks, Steve and Jupiter. (I remember reading all the Three
Investigators books in elementary school.)
So, the free software like AVG Free and AdAware are just as good as
Norton which you'd have to pay for? I guess you just have to remember
to update them manually?

Greg

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Greg;
Just as good and free.
Without a lot of overhead so common with Symantec and McAfee.
You can schedule AVG Free to update and run automatically.
Look at "Scheduler".

 

[Kayman]

If I buy a new PC with Vista and it comes with free 60 days of updates
for Norton Internet Security 2007 including firewall, what exactly do
I have to purchase after 60 days? Do I have to purchase new Norton
Internet Security software or just buy a subscription to updates? Do I
have to purchase a new firewall, or a firewall update?
Is it true that if you already own Norton Internet Security, there are
rebates each year that allow you to renew your update subscription
basically for free?

A number of experts agree that the retail AV version of McAfee, Norton and
Trend Micro has become cumbersome and bloated for the average user.
The retail version of Norton can play havoc with your pc. Uninstall it
using Norton's own uninstall tool
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
As suggested on the site, you may wish to print out the directions before
proceeding.

While Norton's removal tool usually gets the job done, you may also want to
go to:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html
and download a copy of winsockxpfix just in case. Rarely, the removal of
NIS breakes the networking components in XP to the point where internet
access is impossible. This little utility will fix it back up.

If the Norton removal tool doesn't work satisfactory use this:
Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Remove unwanted programs and traces easily
http://www.revouninstaller.com/
and/or
RegSeeker
http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
RegSeeker will remove all associated detritus (registry keys,files and
folders) from any application. I found this application user friendly and
very effective but suggest *not* to use the 'Clean the Registry' option.
Click onto 'Find in registry' and in the 'Search for' box type *Norton*;
The pertinent registry keys can then be safely deleted (just in case,
ensure that the 'Backup before deletion' is checked). Repeat the task by
typing in the Search for' box *Symantec*. You can then go on search and
remove associated files as well.
Then use NTREGOPT to compact the registry; Follow instructions.
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt

Real-time AV applications (choose one (1) only).
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection. In
fact, most of experts (incl. Norton) believe that scanning incoming and
outgoing mail causes e-mail file corruption.

Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic - Free
http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/

On-demand AV application (add it to your arsenal and use it as a "second
opinion" av scanner).
BitDefender10 Free Edition
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

A-S applications (grab'em all).

The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss.

SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Ad-Aware - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html

Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Windows Defender - Free (build-in in Vista)
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

Some more useful applications:
Spyware Blaster - Free
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Rootkit Revealer - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Crap Cleaner - Free
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities
uncheck "Windows Defender"

CW Shredder - Free
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Popup-Ad-Spyware-Blockers/CWShredder.shtml

Stimulating thought from Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User
http://grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Forget about paid versions, free AV/A-S ware are just as efficient and
reliable!"
Question:
"Do you think that the free AV can be really as efficient that the other
ones?"
Answer:
"Absolutely. In fact, when it comes to real efficiency, the ability to scan
accurately for viruses without getting in the way of the rest of the
computer's functions, some of the free ones are more efficient than some of
the most expensive. For instance, Norton and McAfee, and even Trend Micro
in some packages, are among the most *inefficient* applications out
there,whereas Avast!, AVG, and other free offerings are among the most
efficient. After that, it's a question of the definitions used, and whether
or not they're free has absolutely no bearing on those stats.
Understand, many of the best offerings are offered to home users for free
by huge companies that make their money serving business and industry
clients,and their logic is that the more home machines they can get
protected,preventing them from becoming zombies that distribute malware,
the better off business and industry are."
[Unquote]

ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free [just in case if you're not convinved ]
http://www.eset.com/
Have you seen these "extra settings for NOD32"?
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=37509

Practice Safe-Hex
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW and Vista in
itself due to the advanced features the FW and Vista are using.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0905.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/network/WFP.mspx

Jesper's Blog
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/jesper_johansson/archive/2006/05/01/426921.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"If you try to block outbound connections from a computer that’s already
compromised, how can you be sure that the computer is really doing what you
ask? The answer: you can’t. Outbound protection is security theater—it’s a
gimmick that only gives the impression of improving your security without
doing anything that actually does improve your security. This is why
outbound protection didn’t exist in the Windows XP firewall and why it
doesn’t exist in the Windows Vista™ firewall."

Vista Firewall Control
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/

If you buy a new computer with pre-installed software:
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/removes

Good luck

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks, Steve and Jupiter. (I remember reading all the Three
Investigators books in elementary school.)
So, the free software like AVG Free and AdAware are just as good as
Norton which you'd have to pay for? I guess you just have to remember
to update them manually?

In my view, and that of many others of us here, most of the free
software is much *better* than Norton. In fact, I think Norton is the
*worst* security software on the market.

 

[gplantam]

Wow! Lots of good info. Thanks, guys! That will save me some $.

The Norton/Symantec removal website advises that I write down the
registration key # before removing NIS, "just in case" I need to
reinstall.
NIS came installed on my new computer. How do I find the registration
key #?
Is that the same as the 32-digit "End Point ID" or 15-digit "Customer
ID" or 12 digit "Serial Number" (all of which I see when I click on
"About Norton Internet Security" under "Support" in the Norton window)?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

"The Norton/Symantec removal website advises..."
Of course they do, they want you to come back, or more than likely
want your $ again.

The number you need is probably one of those.
Contact Symantec support if you want to be sure.
However if you are not planning to go back...