Customer Reviews

Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've used Norton for many, many years and have always sworn by it as the best anti-virus protection available on the market. With the 2003 version, I switched to Norton Internet Security and loved it. It's always worked perfectly, and I've bought a new year of definitions each year. I planned to update my NIS 2003 version again this year when it expired, but about a month before the expiration, I got an offer from Symantec to buy the NIS 2005 Antispam version for a low price. I decided to go ahead and upgrade from 2003 to 2005 at the low price.

Last weekend my subscription to NIS 2003 expired, so instead of re-subscribing, I instead downloaded and installed the NIS 2005 version. That's when the problems started. After downloading and installing, I updated the virus definitions. This went fine, and I thought I was through with it. A while later I went into the NIS program and when I opened it up, only part of the screen appeared--the border, without the middle with all the buttons to click. It did this everytime I opened the program, so I decided to reinstall the program. After restalling and updating the definitions, again I thought I was through.

Little did I know my troubles were just starting. After installing the NIS 2005, I could no longer go onto the internet. My computer also started freezing up. I had to restart it numerous times and as I tried to troubleshoot it. After about an hour, I just said to myself let my computer work long enough before freezing up so I could uninstall NIS 2005. After a while, I was able to do that.

Once I uninstalled NIS 2005, I again assumed I was back to business. I would just look for another anti-virus and firewall program. But no, I could not go on the internet. I checked my wireless connections and found the IP addresses for my network were all screwed up. I worked on it for hours, checking and rechecking my network connections. I reinstalled my wireless card. I tried another wireless card. Nothing worked, after a whole day of working on it. Finally I had to admit that NIS 2005 had completely hosed my computer and my network connection.

So after many wasted hours, and many more curses at Symantec for its product, I had to use Windows XP System Restore to roll my computer back to how it existed prior to the NIS fiasco. I decided to use the free McAfee anti-virus and firewall available to me from AOL. However, McAfee couldn't install because it detected an existing anti-virus program on my computer, even though I had deleted Norton NIS 2005. I had to go to the Symantec website and download 3 different programs, and run them, along with deleting various files and registry entries, in order to finally get rid of all the various pieces of NIS 2005 and my prior NIS 2003.

So after being a good Norton customer for many years, I've now gone to the other side of another good customer who has now been hosed by Norton software that screwed up my computer and internet connection! I hate to say it, but now I'll never be a Norton customer again, and cannot recommend the program to anybody. The risks aren't worth it.

Raleigh1208

Norton Internet Security 2005 will completely take over your system processing time bringing your computer to its knees!!. NIS will protect your PC, but it will also convert a P4 2.66 GHz with 768MB RAM in to a lethargic computer. For NIS to run it uses more than 21 processes that take almost 40MB of your valuable system RAM, it is absurd.

Worst of all, try to access their inexistent support... you don't have the right for even one call. They only take calls from corporate customers/products.

Go for some other product, RUN AWAY! don't use this one!. I did not followed others reviews, what a big mistake!!

(.,..)

I have used Norton AntiVirus for many years, and thought I would dutifully upgrade. After many hours of struggling, hitting about 1/2 of the first two depth levels of installation problems for WinXP in their online installation help pages, I gave up. I read the little installation guide, I did what it asked, and I got nothing for my money. And my operating system had to be re-installed in the end.

NIS 2004 was installed, but had to be removed... manually after the "removal of [co-branded product]" failed. I did NOT appreciate having to manually hack my registry as they recommend at one point, nor to download and run an MS windows installation repair tool to clean up all the Norton install failure garbage, nor to have to install a Verisign cert into my Internet Explorer (required for downloaded ActiveX automated installation assistant, netscape not allowed) so that another piece of their software can start running on my computer. Get real! They should be paying us to debug their installation software! NIS 2005-ase did not install for me, and my OS was left trashed.

Thanks to Amazon, though, for a prompt friendly refund of my unopened second NIS package.

Addendum: The only way TIKO to reliably remove the old product (2004, which you must do before installing 2005) without seriously compromising your WinXP operating system is to use the NIS CD Install menu to uninstall it. Seriously. Forget the Symantec help site methods or Add/Remove programs. Even the CD Install/Uninstall leaves some processes about, but they are harmless and can be turned off in services control. Traditional methods may leave your OS in a state where it will slowly begin to fail until COMPLETELY unusable. That's my experience... YMMV.

I've recently been reading a ton of complaints around the web about the Symantec Norton Antivirus and Internet Security Suite of software. The following little review has been written in response to those complaints:

One of the biggest complaints that I read about Norton Antivirus and Norton Internet Security is the cost. For me, however, the annual upgrade on Norton Products always ends up free--at least it has since the turn of the millenium. Inevitably if you wait long enough their rebates come out that make the upgrade to the new product absolutely cost free. This holds true even with their full suite which may retail at $70, but I've managed to get 5 copies for various computers I manage at a final cost to me of $0. Actually, with Amazon.com because I get a discount because of the A9 search engine, I think I've managed to earn a couple of bucks by installing Norton Internet Security. Next year, I'll use the rebates to do the same.

With Internet Security, the concerns of many people who are against Norton and Symantec (especially firewall) with the exception of the resource hog issue (Symantec really needs to address this issue) are handled.

Symantec needs to fix their technical service side of things by offering free help of at least some sort. They need to tone down the issues of resource hogging. But as long as they offer me free upgrades every year and consistently maintain virus-free computers (6 years virus free on all on the computers I've managed: usually 5-7 at one time) I'll stick with Symantec. Nevertheless, despite these pitfalls, as long as I can keep upgrading for free and my systems remain virus-free, Norton is my source for internet security.

(...)

I have uninstalled this software, which came on my new Dell Computer. The problem with the firewall is that it is heavy handed and blocks many things that it shouldn't. For example, Musicmatch super-tagging can't connect (and I certainly tried to configure NIS to allow Musicmatch to connect); blogger.com's click-to-edit function vanished; Diskeeper 9 could not install; and so on. Once I went back to Windows XP firewall, all these functions resumed working. I went to Webroot's Spy Sweeper 4.0, and it immediately found 6 spyware cookies that NIS had allowed. I tried turning off the anti-spam function because I use the uncannily accurate Cloudmark (www.cloudmark.com), but the Norton anti-spam toolbar kept returning every time I restarted Outlook. I tried to get on-line help from Symantec, but it was useless. I would avoid this product totally.

Although the product worked well, (easy installation, good protection) the promised rebate by Symantec was rejected; it seems they have a policy of nitpicking in order to not to honor the rebate... interesting business practices.

I have used Norton Utilities programs for years and had upgraded to Internet Security 2005 a few months before this came on the market. When a scan alerted me that my computer wasn't fully protected because my version lacked spyware detection, of course I upgraded immediately. My computer hasn't worked properly since. My email started filling up with spam, the computer started losing internet connections, reading errors, and slowing way down. I kept checking Norton's status and running scans and updates, but to no avail. I tried online diagnostics, online help suggestions and finally live online help, but no one even understood what I was talking about. "If everything has a green check mark then it's working fine - don't worry about a thing." Except that it wasn't working at all. I finally purchased MacAfee last week and it immediately detected 3 viruses and a Trojan horse that the "working perfectly" Norton hadn't. Symantec can't explain themselves and is giving me the runaround on a refund, so I'll never trust them again.

After installing this product yesterday, having my computer repeatedly crash whenever outlook is open, calling long distance and speaking to someone who does not know English, and learning that it will take 6 to 8 weeks to get a refund from Symantec directly after I pay to send everything back to them-I want to warn everyone not to get this product. I have had norton antivirus 2003 and it worked great. My subscription ran out, I decided to upgrade and caused myself nothing but trouble!! If you don't use Microsoft Outlook for e-mail, you might not have problems, but literally my computer continuously freezes when retrieving e-mail. I had "i-hate-spam" and "i-hate-pop-ups" and I highly recommend that product along with a virus program, maybe AVG. I read the negative reviews and ignored them because of previous positive experiences with Norton. This product is BAD!! Don't ignore the warnings!!

- NIS 2005 is not smart enough to install over and earlier version of internet security
- NIS 2004 (yes, 2004) was not uninstalling itself completely (it still kept it's CD deep in the registry) and I followed all uninstalltion steps, including Windows Utility cleanup
- NIS 2005 is not smart enough to remove any REMAINING old components of earlier versions of internet security
- NIS 2005, now confused with 2 CD-keys deep in the resgistry, will no longer go beyond the install link on the setup disk

In other words, NIS 2005 is by far the dumbest program as far as installation and uninstalltion goes. When a user tells the computer to install/uninstall, is needs to do exactly that, and no other bullshlock. But for some ineptitude reason, Norton just has to be an ass.

It gets worse. Because the spyware edition would now, no longer even attempt to install, I decided to reinstall NIS 2004. According to the installation process, everything installed fine. Yeah right! It did not even re-ask me for the CD-key, that's why I knew it was still embedded in my system!! After I opened up NIS 2004 for the first time (after reinstallation do to failure of NIS 2005), two major problems occurred: 1) reinstallation did not go full, IT FORGOT TO INSTALL THE FIREWALL PROGRAM!! 2) I reactivated, it said activation was successful, yet when I attempted to enable the settings, it says the program would not allow permission to enable because it was not activated. Then beyond that, it had the nerve not allowing me to gain access to the activation settings, the options menu was locked out! Argh!!

Now I do realize that maybe I could have possibly messed up somewhere on installation/uninstallation/reinstalltion. But lets face it folks, ANY PROGRAM this difficult to install after being an avid computer user since the days of the Commodore 64, I highly doubt most of these issues were my fault. Norton products have just become FUBAR, and that's all there is to it. Tonight, I purchase Microtrend Internet Security and will never allow Norton trash to touch my primary PC again (because I am on my secondary PC, my primary has no security, thanks to Norton's almighty intelligence).

I am a long-time fan of Norton, and have used it for many, many years. Hence my extreme disappointment that when I installed this Spyware version as an upgrade to NIS 2004, it refused to do a System Scan, or to scan my incoming or outgoing email.

I spent a full day with their tech reps, priority/work job # 23218850, who were completely unable to solve the problem: "certain Norton Antivirus components were not installed. [Error] 3019,6."

Initially I was unable to unload WORD attachments until I had unplugged the plug-in for Microsoft Office XP.

The Tech Rep conclusion was that I had debris from NIS 2004 which prevented the Antivirus portion of this package from becoming operational. I scanned my stand alone WIN XP from the Norton home site and have NO Security issues and NO virii.

Caveat emptor to the max.