Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a disapointment, November 6, 2005
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
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
NIS will let your computer lethargic, June 7, 2005
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!!
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Before you buy... (I give it a 0 start rating), June 17, 2005
(.,..)
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.
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