I've just about had it with Norton Internet Security

[MikeB]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit, but not
sure if that is just hype.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead of the
Windows firewall?

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

Thanks

 

[Alias]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit, but not
sure if that is just hype.

Do a clean install of Windows to be sure. Norton drops crap all over the
registry.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead of the
Windows firewall?

You could use Kerio.

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

Thanks

No, it isn't. Try either AVG or Avast!, both are good and both are free.

Alias

 

[Richard Urban]

You are right that it is almost impossible to get rid of everything Norton
when once it is on your system. I performed a clean install to be certain.
Then I started using ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite and couldn't be more
pleased with an application.

Both the Windows firewall and a router give you only inbound protection. A
good software firewall protects you both inbound and outbound.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Ed O'Brien]

Hi, Mike.

I unsinstalled NI from my daughter's PC without trouble going via
"Add/Remove Programs" I then installed McAfee, which I have used without
trouble for years. ZoneAlarm, I believe, is the Rolls Royce of firewalls. I
have also used that for years without trouble.

Mind you, like any security app'n make sure you configure it correctly. Not
difficult tho'.

Go for it!

Hope tis helps,

Ed

 

[Jardi]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit, but not
sure if that is just hype.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead of the
Windows firewall?

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

Thanks

This is what I would do before having to reinstall the O/S and other
programs.

If you wish to follow these tips, you do so at your own risk, this is
what "I" would do in your case.


Firstly, uninstall the Symantec/Norton program(s) you want to get rid
of.

Extremely IMPORTANT---->>> If you use any other program(s) from
Symantec, with the name of Norton or Symantec, other than the one you
want to get rid of, completely disregard the fillowing tips.


Go to:

http://www.karenware.com/cd.asp

On the left hand side, click on "Free Programs", download "Registry
Ripper" and install it and read the EULA.

(You may want to have a look a Karen's other great little programs
while there)


Restart Windows in "Safe Mode" before continuing.

In Safe Mode, start Registry Ripper and put a checkmark on all the
HKEYs-

In the "Find Registry entries containing this text", type "Symantec"
without the quotation marks and click the "Search" button.

It will find every instance of Symantec that exists in your registry
and give you the option of removing any or all of them, and saving them
to anywhere in your computer. You have to put a checkmark in "Delete
after saving" option at the bottom left.

This last saving step is great in case you removed something you should
not have from the registry, you can always just double-click the saved
file and it will all be put back in its place.

Do another search with Registry Ripper, this time type in "Norton"
without the quotation marks, save the Ripper.reg resulting from this
last search renaming it first to anything else such as Ripper2.reg.
This is so that it will not replace the first Ripper.reg file you saved
from the first search.

Done for now with Registry Ripper...
--------------------------------------------------

Go to Windows "Start", "Search", Search for Files and Folders". In
"Search for files and folders named:" type Symantec. In the results
pane, delete all instances of files and folders that may show with the
name of word of Symantec in them.

Do the same thing by using the word Norton this time.

---------------------------------------------------

Reboot your systme and let it load Windows normally. All entries
having to do with Symantec or Norton should now be gone from your
sytem.

Should there be a Symantec of Norton file in your system that you tried
to delete but could not, just rename the file and manually delete it,
then reboot the system.

 

[HeyBub]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit, but not
sure if that is just hype.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead of the
Windows firewall?

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

1. Norton is as tenacious as a barnacle. Download the Norton removal tools
from the Symantec web site and use them. Norton does not install a root-kit.

2. You should use Zone Alarm *INSTEAD* of the Windows firewall (they step on
each other).

3. McAfee's antivirus is okay, but AVG is better - and free.

4. Micros~1's anti-spyware tool is a worthwhile addition to your kit.

 

[PopS]

I'll probably be shouted down for being "blasphemous", but here
goes my two cents <g>:

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want
to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

====> You don't say "why" you feel that way. That's actually a
pretty decent product and does what it's advertised to do. Are
you sure that's the root of your problems? Or could it be
something else? It's possible you're blaming the messenger and
missing the real culprit?
Are you keeping the files updated? At least weekly?
Sometimes there are even multiple updates per day.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP
reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit,
but not
sure if that is just hype.

====> No, it's never necessary to do an XP reinstall when the
system is working right. It's a silly waste of time and extra
aggravation, actually. If it seems like the system might be
screwing up though, I might try a Repair operation. And if that
didn't fix it, then a reinstall might be in order.
It's folly to continue to use a borked os, but if everything's
working fine, it's also silly to reinstall unless you want the
experience and fun of doing so.

====> I -think- Symantec (Norton) offers a "removal tool" if you
wish to download it and use it.
There is no "rootkit" installed.
Or, you can use traditional removal methods; they'll work.
There will be a fair amount of "leftover" chaff left behind, so
I'd try the removal tool from Symantec if that bothers you. It
won't hurt anything being there, but a lot of people don't like
it, so ... . Contrary to what many will try to tell you, a
properly functioning machine will NOT have any problems after
removing ANY software, let alone Norton's.
The last choice is to manually remove the leftover stuff but
that's a long and boring process, and you could screw the
registry doing it.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be
enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead
of the
Windows firewall?

====> No, that's not enough. The MS firewall is a minimal
implementation, really only intended to protect you long enough
to get online with a new install to download the updates, etc..
It should be replaced with a more functional firewall; even MS
says that.
ZA is an excellent choice, IMO, even their freebie version.
Sygate also has a good firewall but they no longer provide a
freebie version; it's all pay now.
Turn OFF the MS firewall of course, when you install another
one. Firewalls don't like to co-exist; they argue over
resources.

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

====> For what? Antivirus?
====> I don't know why the sour grapes in other posts, but yes,
McAfee is decent but the last couple of years they've fallen down
on the job a lot. I think they're still a major player but I
don't know how much longer that'll last. Personally, Symantec is
still the best pay-for av et al available. AVG is good, as is
Avast, and a few others, from the freebie channels. Avoid
no-names though; there are plenty of names around with good
experience if you want to go the freebie route.

And, above all, constantly UPDATE ALL such software! They're
useless if they aren't up to date. Updates happen very, very
frequently!

HTH,

Pop

 

[Ron Martell]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

1. Can I clean uninstall NIS or do I have to do Win/SP reinstall? I
seem to recall reading somewhere that NIS installs a rootkit, but not
sure if that is just hype.

2. I have a NAT router. Will that and Windows firewall be enough in
terms of firewall security or should I get Zone Alarm instead of the
Windows firewall?

3. Is McAfee's antivirus considered good?

Thanks

Getting rid of a Norton infestation is usually a 4 step procedure:

1. Uninstall all Norton/Symantec items via Control Panel - Add/Remove
Programs.
2. Get the supplementary uninstaller from the Symantec website and
run it. Use RNAV2003 for older versions or SYMNRT for 2004 and later
versions.
3. Use Windows Explorer to locate residual Symantec/Norton folders
and delete them. Look in \Program Files, \Program Files\Common Files,
and \Documents and Settings\<each user name.\Application Data
4. Use a Registry Cleaner utility such as RegSeeker (free) to remove
the obsolete and invalid items left in the registry.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[MikeB]

I'll probably be shouted down for being "blasphemous", but here
goes my two cents <g>:


====> You don't say "why" you feel that way. That's actually a
pretty decent product and does what it's advertised to do. Are
you sure that's the root of your problems? Or could it be
something else? It's possible you're blaming the messenger and
missing the real culprit?
Are you keeping the files updated? At least weekly?
Sometimes there are even multiple updates per day.

I keep my files updated, as much as it wants to install and I run
liveupdate from time to time.

However, it keeps popping up to tell me that it has granted the same
program(s) access rights - time after time. If I look in the settings,
then some programs are in there 25 times.

On the other hand, it blocks my access to gmail from my gmail dektop. I
have to disable NIS to get it working.

And when I try to create customer rules, it treats me like an idiot and
obfuscates all the usual technical term in "idiot"-speak so I can't
figure out what I'm doing.

On a 2nd PC I have, I just can't get it to install, it just slows the
PC to an absolute crawl. I tried multiple times.

I've been a Norton customer for at least 8 years, but I'm not going to
be a Symantec customer any longer. The product is not what it used to
be.

====> No, it's never necessary to do an XP reinstall when the
system is working right. It's a silly waste of time and extra
aggravation, actually. If it seems like the system might be
screwing up though, I might try a Repair operation. And if that
didn't fix it, then a reinstall might be in order.
It's folly to continue to use a borked os, but if everything's
working fine, it's also silly to reinstall unless you want the
experience and fun of doing so.

====> I -think- Symantec (Norton) offers a "removal tool" if you
wish to download it and use it.
There is no "rootkit" installed.
Or, you can use traditional removal methods; they'll work.
There will be a fair amount of "leftover" chaff left behind, so
I'd try the removal tool from Symantec if that bothers you. It
won't hurt anything being there, but a lot of people don't like
it, so ... . Contrary to what many will try to tell you, a
properly functioning machine will NOT have any problems after
removing ANY software, let alone Norton's.
The last choice is to manually remove the leftover stuff but
that's a long and boring process, and you could screw the
registry doing it.
====> No, that's not enough. The MS firewall is a minimal
implementation, really only intended to protect you long enough
to get online with a new install to download the updates, etc..
It should be replaced with a more functional firewall; even MS
says that.
ZA is an excellent choice, IMO, even their freebie version.
Sygate also has a good firewall but they no longer provide a
freebie version; it's all pay now.
Turn OFF the MS firewall of course, when you install another
one. Firewalls don't like to co-exist; they argue over
resources.
====> For what? Antivirus?
====> I don't know why the sour grapes in other posts, but yes,
McAfee is decent but the last couple of years they've fallen down
on the job a lot. I think they're still a major player but I
don't know how much longer that'll last. Personally, Symantec is
still the best pay-for av et al available. AVG is good, as is
Avast, and a few others, from the freebie channels. Avoid
no-names though; there are plenty of names around with good
experience if you want to go the freebie route.

And, above all, constantly UPDATE ALL such software! They're
useless if they aren't up to date. Updates happen very, very
frequently!

HTH,

Thanks for the advice.

 

[MikeB]

Thanks to all who took time to respond to my post. Your advice is
greatly appreciated.

MikeB

 

[Plato]

I've battled long enough with Norton Internet security. I want to get
rid of it and get some replacement software.

Norton removal tools:
http://www.bootdisk.com/helpdesk.htm