Customer Reviews

Norton Systemworks 3.0 Mac [AntiVirus, Utilities, Backup, Spring Cleaning]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Symantec had tons of problems with Norton Utilities 8, which is part of Systemwroks 3. It isn't compatible with OS X 10.3 and has many problems with earlier systems. See Macfixit, Macintouch, or other news sources for evidence. Now Symantec announced that they are discontinuing development of everything but antivirus and network security products for the Mac. Don't buy broken software from a company who refuses to fix it. Buy DiskWarrior instead.

This product doesn't work with OS X 10.4 (Tiger), and Norton states at their website that they won't be updating it. Unfortunately, the only indication that the thing doesn't work with Tiger is in the fine print on the box stating that it requires OS X 10.1 to 10.3. Since people often don't check the system requirements unless they're concerned with backward compatibility (not current compatibility), many Tiger users, like me, will probably buy this without realizing it won't work. I found out the hard way when I installed it and experienced a ton of problems. I didn't realize there was a compatibility issue until I went to the Symantec support website, where the compatibility and upgrade issues are prominently displayed. Too bad they couldn't mention those on the box. Now I'm stuck with a $140 white elephant since the store won't accept returns of opened software.

Norton really should have pulled this product IMHO. People who currently use OS X 10.1 to 10.3 are likely to upgrade to Tiger at some point - probably sooner rather than later - and when they do they'll be stuck with a useless product. When you consider that this dog is roughly twice the price of the PC version, you'll really feel ripped off.

I've been using Symantec products, including SystemWorks, on my PC's for years, but this marks the end of my relationship with them.

DO NOT buy Norton Utilities. It used to be the best file management software for the mac. NO MORE. Not only did I have trouble loading, but after I used the program and optimized the hard drive (to make it faster) it trashed my hard drive and I had to re-initialize... Stay away from this program. The guys at the apple store near me, reccomends Disk Warrior. I repeat..... DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was not able to boot my G4 Laptop from my Norton System Works 3.0. According to the company website I had to get a new disk. I called for the first time this past Wednesday. After better than 30 minutes on hold I finally got a customer service person who told me I needed permission from TECH SUPPORT and that they were closing early sorry. On Thursday I called Tech Support and after 3 rude Tech People finally someone gave me an order number to give to the Customer Service people. Tech doesn't accept orders. It is now Friday and I have yet to get a Customer Service person on again.

There is no prompt for people who need a disk shipped. There isnt a Mac area promt so I have to go through the General Help menu. NO ONE COMES TO THE PHONE! I pity those that have to deal with this company.

They should turn their anti-virus scan on themselves and eliminate the management structure of this company.

I have a Macintosh G5 running OSX Panther. This software does not work with my machine. You cannot boot from the CD. None of the features are usable, optimization, wipe, etc. It was a complete waste of money.

Please Note: Norton is no longer supporting the Macintosh OS and has gotten out of the Macintosh utilities software business.

the utilities portion of this software package will not work on 10.4 and Norton said it won't be updating it. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. Go with one of the many other programs that can actually do the work. Norton has hit the skids!

Norton should have taken this product off the market. They had decided not to continue development for OS X 10.4 Tiger but didn't tell the coustomers leaving many like me to find out by tragic experiencce that their once great software is now dangerous to install and and difficult to uninstall. If you are running OS X 10.4 DO NOT INSTALL this program.

Is Norton Antivirus reliable? I think that can be answered with a yes. Well, there are not so many Mac viruses around, so that statement is not validated in my own experience. What neither Amazon nor Symantec really tell you on first glance is that Antivirus 9.0 is NOT compatible with OSX 10.4. So I ended up buying Systemworks (for a steeper price then the Windows products no less) and it did not work. Two lengthy conversations with Symantec's service center in India later I knew that I had to dish otu another $40 for the upgrade to Antivirus 10.0 - you can get reimbuirsed for your purchase but it seems to take a lifetime. The Utilities package was unable to repair one of my disks wken I needed it... who knows why. Otherwise it seems to function OK under 10.4. Overall, my recommendation is if you have OSX 10.4 or plan to upgrade soon, look for another product.

Don't waste your money on Systemworks 3. I never got a chance to try most of its features because the first thing you need to do is back up your files before performing the various maintenance tasks. Well, surprise surprise, it turns out the "free" Dantz Retrospect Express that ships with Systemworks 3 is INCOMPATIBLE with the internal cd drive that COMES STANDARD with my eMac (OS X 10.2) despite the claim on the product that Systemworks 3 IS compatible with OS X 10.2. So I called Norton. Not our problem, they said--call Dantz or buy an upgrade from us for $75. So I called Dantz. Not our problem, they said--call Norton or buy the upgrade from us for $50. Well, I wound up contacting Toshiba, the maker of the internal CD drive. Unlike Norton or Dantz, the folks at Toshiba actually cared about my dilemma and were also quite unhappy with the bait-and-switch scam that Norton and Dantz pulled on a lot of folks who purchased Systemworks 3

So the moral of the story is stay away from Norton and Dantz--much better products made by far more ethical companies are available. Not surprisingly, both companies used to make really excellent products, but now that the quality has gone south, they have to rely on dirty tricks to continue selling their second-rate products.

I had an older version on my Mac computer that worked with an older version of OSX. When I bought my new iMac it had Tiger installed, and all of the sudden my Norton would not work. I tried to upgrade since what I read on the website said it would work, but I was wrong. The web site was very confusing, maybe I should have called first. Norton needs to come clean and put disclaimers everywhere. Waste of money.