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Norton Antivirus 2004

Norton Antivirus 2004

List Price: $49.95
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Absolutely No Product Support
Review: I had a problem with installation even though my computer far exceeded the product's requirements. There is absolutely NO PRODUCT SUPPORT (online or otherwise). It makes no sense to buy from a company that does not stand behind their product.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Too much of a comprimise ...
Review: When I heard the 2004 release of the worlds most famous anti-virus software was upon us, a strange feeling of excitement hit me. I had always loved the software and although it had down sides, I could always trust them, with the reassurance of popularity somehow proving this. The protection which came with the software had always been amazing, and when installed, I felt pretty much 100% safe against any nasty viruses or trojans which could creep on to my computer.

Sadly though, having a lower end pc at the time meant performance was great, but terribly slow and I had to disable it every time I wanted to do anything else my computer that never made use the net. Start times were effected badly and I seriously was able to go toilet and return to still find Microsoft office still loading up. Although this may seem irrelevant, just bear with me. So with the new version quickly approaching, I was hoping that performance speed would be much faster and it really would become the best, as up to now, I had always thought the speed was too much of a compromise, but being new to computers, I wanted to play things safe.

So just before the new version was released, I went out and bought a new pc, though not for the reason of speed or to coincide but I thought this would make my computing much easier and not so much of a chore. The selling point this time round, was the fact that Norton Anti-virus could now hunt out all spy ware related files such as dialers and had an expanded searching system. This seems a great addition, and on paper is ... but this is where things turn sour.

Installation was quick and simple, and after registration I updated successfully and everything seemed to be working well. Though upon restart, I noticed how long it took to load and that was an immediate blow to what I thought of this new version. To be honest, the speed hadn't improved and in fact got worse, at least for me anyway and I obviously wasn't happy, and new it wasn't the computers fault as I had just shelled out for something a lot better, and expected performance to be reflected. To test the new spy ware searching technology, I performed why weekly scan of ad-aware which found a few files, but I left them there and ran a Norton scan. Sadly, the spy ware went unnoticed which shows the software effectiveness .....

So it seems the virus protection is still there and still as strong, but the new features are pretty poor, the software still uses the same resources and if you have a previous version, I do not recommend an update and if you don't have a previous, I suggest you look as well for everyday virus protection. Lets hope the resource problem issue is resolved in an upcoming version .....

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Do Not Even Try
Review: Do not even try to use this product. I had many problems trying to get it to work. I followed all recomendations on their website. It still did not work correctly so instead of calling a 900 number and paying per minute to have them fix their problems I called my credit card company to reverse the recent charge to buy the software.

If a company wants to automate their processes so much that they no longer give one the option to talk to a human being without paying for it, they better $%^&$#^ well sell products that work well.

DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE AND DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NAV good / Symantec bad !!
Review: I've read many reviews for NAV going right back to NAV 2002. The general concensus was that the product was okay without being exceptional but that Symantec has turned into an greedy, arrogant ogre that only wants your money. I'd agree entirely.

NAV has protected me well for years and I keep the virus definitions regularly updated. However, last week it let me down. It couldn't remove a virus that it had let through and recommended manual removal. I followed the instructions on Symantec's web site but they didn't work. The virus kept reinfecting my computer and it took me days to figure out how to remove it properly (which I had to do by visiting McAfee's site and other rival sites). I wanted to flag this up to Symantec but (unbelievably!) they now offer no online support whatsoever! Just on an offchance, I tried sending an email to support@symantec.com. It got bounced back!! The only way to report this problem would be to pay for telephone support - but why should I pay them to report errors in their own documentation?

On top of that, when your subscription runs out, it also pesters the life out of you until you finally submit and pay them more money. I won't be renewing my license again. Next time it expires, I'll buy something else!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Beware!
Review: I still haven't been able to load the software. I meet all the hardware requirements, but the setup program will not launch at all. Not even an error message. Just the splash screen that lets you browse, etc. Click on install, and nothing.

Best of all, there is no way to get answers from symantec without paying more @#$%&* money! Unless you are lucky enough to find your problem in their "knowledge base."

You might be able to figure it out on your own if you are computer literate enough, but I am not that fortunate.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This is *the* virus
Review: First of all you can only install one copy of this bloated program on one PC, and they keep bugging you about updates and otehr subscriptions. Then, it doesn't stop the latest viruses, plus it wreaks havoc on your system. I think this is the biggest virus of all time. Symantec is the most shameless company in teh world. I feel sorry for the legendary Norton name.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Junk Software from Company that Use to be the Best
Review: Norton is Slow - when it's scanning, you can't do anything on your computer -- even on a fast computer. The ability to schedule scans is terrible. You can pick scans on Monday and Tuesday etc. But whatever you do, it will still scan every Friday evening -- which is a night when some people may actually want to use the computer. Haven't found any way to turn off this nuisance.
The worst is that when it came to blocking viruses, Norton let me down big time. Even though virus definitions were fully up to date, W32netsky virus came in and wreaked havec, installing itself in over 5,000 files. Nice Job Symantec! Then once it knew the virus was there, it couldn't eradicate it. Each time I scanned the program would freeze after about killing off 300 virus files. You really expect better performance than this. If I could I would give it NO STARS.
Finally, I got Viruscan, which wiped out the software quikly and easily. Guess I'm moving to Viruscan.

The Activation process is not a big deal -- not terrible like Quickens Turbo Tax from last year.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Norton used to be the best
Review: You can summarize the newest Norton 2004 products with these words: bulky, slow, bloatware, and activation hassles.

The Norton 2003 Antivirus and System Works products have worked very well for me and Norton Antivirus has been known to be the premium antivirus solution for computers for many years. If you have the latest updates Norton 2003 is almost the same as Norton 2004 but there is no activation requirement for version 2003. Also, the newer 2004 versions have a few extra features that are suppose to enhance antivirus protection but the software just tries to do way too much.

The result of the bloatware is a huge program running constantly in the background, soaking up your computer resources and slowing your system to a crawl. Then there is the hassle of the required activation along with its annoyances and you may wonder if this "new 2004 version" is worth it.

I have concluded that Norton AV 2004 is absolutely NOT worth it and instead recommend you find a copy of Norton 2003 Antivirus or System Works Pro. Many online sites sell version 2003 OEM copies for around $20 or less and this version will allow for one year of free updates from the time of your installation. Install a copy of Zone Alarm Pro 4.0 or 4.5 if you want added firewall protection with pop-up blocking and enhanced privacy while web surfing and you have yourself excellent overall protection and acceptable system speed for most newer computers.

An excellent option for those older systems or if you want more efficient protection without bogging down you computer speed is using the new McAfee Antivirus 2004 version with the option of also using Zone Alarm Pro 4.0 or 4.5 . I have found this to be a really fast solution to my slower notebook computer. Norton System Works and Antivirus 2003 updates had made my notebook (Pentium 3 1Ghz w/256k RAM) almost non-working because of its impact on system speed. Uninstalling Norton System Works 2003 and installing McAfee Antivirus 2004 allowed my computer run at least twice as fast. The only drawback to using McAfee was that you have to shut down the Zone Alarm Pro firewall temporarily to do the occasional McAfee AV program updates (not necessary for just the virus definition updates). The pop-up blocker in Zone Alarm effects the browser required web site update feature of McAfee. However the antivirus definitions for both McAfee AV and Norton AV can be allowed to fully update automatically if you allow full program access in the Zone Alarm Pro program firewall configuration.

In summary your solutions are Norton 2003 Antivirus or the more efficient McAfee 2004 Antivirus. Either program combined with Zone Alarm Pro 4.0 or 4.5 provides excellent overall protection and privacy. If you have a newer or faster system (at least 1.5 Ghz CPU and at least 512k RAM ) then for sure go with Norton 2003. If you are running a slower computer with less memory then use McAfee 2004.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Software is OK, rebate stinks !
Review: Buyers beware.......Symantec is notoriously growing to be one of the worst rebate scam artists of the 21st century. If you don't care about not getting back any rebates that you are entiltled to, then go ahead and buy the product. Otherwise, get ready for the road to frustration.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NAV 2004 is a dog
Review: This version slows down everything. Even the hard drive scans are slow. Avoid this version!


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