Norton 2006 AV anti-spyware functions

My girlfriend's subscription for Norton AV has expired and Symantec no longer supports the older version of Norton AV she has on her system. She'd like to purchase Norton AV 2006 but is worried because, unlike her older version, 2006 includes anti-spyware software. She has already purchased and is using Spyware Doctor and doesn't want to buy and install NAV 2006 unless we can choose not to install the anti-spyware component or, at least, turn off any realtime anti-spyware functions so there is no conflict between NAV 2006 and Spyware Doctor (which includes a realtime spyware/malware blocker).

I would assume that it is possible to disable/turn off any real time anti-spyware functions in NAV 2006, but does anyone know for certain about this?

Thanks for any info.

 

While you should almost certainly be able to disable these features in NAV 2006, I would recommend that you don't bother with that program at all!

If you were to read Major Geek's how to protect yourself from malware thread, you would learn how to set up an excellent, redundant antivirus and antispyware defense for free. Chances are that this will do a better job than NAV, too, while taking up fewer system resources.

 

I have NAV 2006 and various anti-spyware programs including Windows Defender and there hasn't been any conflict between these. The picture shows you the spyware option that can be turned off. You can customise what you want to detect.

 

Mada-Milty -- I myself use the free ZoneAlarm firewall, free AVG anti-virus and several free anti-spyware programs. However my girlfriend has used Norton AV for several years and I've yet to convince her to change to one of the free programs. Her point of view is that she's familiar with Norton and it has protected her system quite well in the past and so she's reluctant to change unless she has a compelling reason to. As she recently purchased the pay version of Spyware Doctor and likes it, she doesn't want to purchase the 2006 version of NAV unless she is certain there won't be any conflict with Spyware Doctor that would necessitate shutting down SD's real-time anti-spyware function.

Thanks for your comments.

 

Maxwell -- Hmm, interesting as my girlfriend emailed Symantec today with her question about shutting off the anti-spyware functions of NAV 2006 and received a reply saying that the anti-spyware functions were tightly integrated with the anti-virus and could not be turned off separately!

Looking at the two attachments to your post I noted that there clearly are boxes that can be unchecked on the What to scan for page (but scanning isn't the same as realtime protection which is the sort of conflict we're concerned about). But the "check marks" on your Status page attachment appear to be graphics images showing what the program does -- but can the items on that Status page actually be unchecked? Specifically, can the real-time anti-spyware protection actually be turned off???

May I ask if you've actually tried turning off the anti-spyware real-time protection and running another real-time anti-spyware program and has that worked OK? Or does NAV 2006 really have any realtime anti-spyware protection (see next paragraph below) to conflict with a non-Norton realtime anti-spyware program?

I ask this because I found a review of the complete Norton Internet Security Suite 2006 on page 84 in the March 2006 issue of Computer Shopper. (I assume that the anti-virus/anti-spyware function in the complete Internet Security Suite operates identically to the same products in the NAV 2006 package, which is all my gf is considering buying. She has no interest in the pricier Norton Internet Security Suite.) That review says that the anti-spyware function of Norton Internet Security Suite 2006 does not prevent spyware from installing but only detects it once it has already installed and then offers the user the option of uninstalling it! Given how "sticky" some spyware can be this hardly seems like adequate protection. Then again, perhaps this type of weak "protection" wouldn't conflict with a more robust realtime anti-spyware program like Spyware Doctor that is often able to prevent spyware from installing in the first place?

Thanks for your reply and comments Maxwell and any additional info you care to provide.

Can anyone else shed some light on what NAV 2006 actually does and doesn't do regarding spyware and whether NAV's realtime anti-spyware (if it actually has any -- as opposed to scan and remove on demand) can be turned off to prevent conflicts with another realtime anti-spyware program such as Spyware Doctor?

At this point my gf has just about decided to give the free AVG AV a try at least. I've told her several times that if she's unhappy with it she can still purchase NAV, McAfee, Bit Defender or whatever. But she'd still prefer to stick with Norton if we can confirm that it's not likely to interfere with the realtime anti-spyware blocking functions of Spyware Doctor.

 

I have Norton Internet securtiy 2006. When I installed it, it made me uninstall spybot search and destroy (fyi) it does scan your system first for any conflicts with programs, that you already have installed.

I have a-squared installed in addition NIS 2006 and it has no conflicts, so I am sure other programs that provide realtime spyware protection should be fine too.

 

You may want to consider this. Norton 2006 has caused a lot of computers to crash. Several of my friends purchased it and their computers crashed. I was also informed that included in the upgrade version from Norton 2005 to the 2006 version was a feature that peeved many Norton customers. It seems that Norton included a little feature in their software that requires the customer with an out of date subscription to subscribe before the newer versions will allow you to uninstall their program.

My brother had 2005 on his computer, updated it and with one month left on his subscription, they cut off his automatic updates and told him he would have to pay a new subscription before he could remove Norton from his computer. He played their game, updated his subscription, then called his credit card company, told them what Norton had did to him and filed a dispute to stop payment. He removed Norton before doing this and received a nasty letter from Norton telling him that they didn't appreciate what he did.

Of course, he told Norton that he wasn't about to have money extorted from him and sent a copy of the screen shot and letter Norton sent to him to the US Attorney General. He has never been contacted again by Norton and they never attempted to charge his card again. May want to consider a different anti-virus than Norton.

 

Yes you can, go into the Norton Protection Centre and click on Web Browsing and then left click on Spyware Protection and you have the option to turn off the Spyware Protection completely – see screen snapshot (note I was unable to capture the pop-up menu when you click on the Spyware Protection link). In doing so the Norton Protection Centre then warns you that your web browsing protection and performance is at risk and provides you with an option to automatically fix this, if you should so choose.

Yes, I have a number of Spyware detection/prevention and scanning products:

Windows Defender
SpywareBlaster
Spybot Search & Destroy
LavaSoft AdAware

Using a different browser other than Internet Explorer also helps.

Contrary to what MellowMan observed the Norton did not object to Spybot Search & Destroy. Nor, as observed by Puremagix has my machine crashed or locked up at all.

NAV 2006 does have realtime protection before you install products, see under new features at: http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/features.jsp?pcid=vp&pvid=nav2006

 

Thanks to everyone for all the information, responses to my questions and suggestions. My best guess is that while NAV 2006 does provide some spyware blocking it's not very robust yet, judging from the review I cited above that appeared in the March issue of Computer Shopper which clearly stated that NAV 2006 allowed at least some spyware to install and only then notified the user of it's presence and asked if they wanted to uninstall it. Given that alone (and the Editor's Choice rating that PC Mag gave recently to Spyware Doctor) and the fact that no other major security suite I've seen reviewd over the past few months incorporates anti-spyware features as robust as the best current "stand alone" anti-spyware software...And given that Symantec's own email response to us regarding the conflict question says that disabling the antispyware function in NAV 2006 "is not possible because its integrated in the Norton program" -- given all those factors I think my gf will give AVG AV a try. If, as appears from Maxwell's screen shots and descriptions, it actually is possible to opt out of the anti-spyware features in NAV 2006 it's hardly reassuring that their tech support would responds to a question about that and give an incorrect answer to what is a very basic and simple question. But to be fair, apparently good tech support is in very short supply and Symantec isn't the only company open to criticism in that department.

If my gf isn't satisfied with AVG AV and does wind up purchasing NAV 2006 I'll report back here to let you know how it worked out for her and what, if any, problems we encountered.

Thanks also for the info from PureMagix and Mellowman. Can't help but wonder, of course, if NAV required you to uninstall Spybot S&D Mellowman, if it might not also require Spyware Doctor to be removed which is what my gf would like to avoid. And PureMagix, the info about your friend's billing dispute and computer's crashing that have installed Norton is also interesting. I have used, several times in the past, NAV with good results and few if any problems on my systems. But mostly since Win98SE days I've used AVG free and been quite satisfied with it.

Thanks again to everyone for their responses.

 

Most of the problems I had with Norton were start-up issues. I quickly learned that if I had a problem getting my computer to start or if it was sluggish starting, it was usually Norton that was causing it. Once I determined that it was Norton, I could reinstall it and it would work fine for a while, but eventually it went bonkers again.

After a few distressing incidents, I went to AVG and had no more problems. As for being required to uninstall Spybot and SD, I never had to do that. In fact, I have most of PC Tools software. Spyware Doctor, Registry Mechanic and Privacy Guardian are all very good programs. In fact, Registry Mechanic is the only program I have found that will keep Windows ME up and running. A feat that is not easy with ME. Good luck with your problems.

 

Thought I'd post a final follow up to this thread. My girlfriend has been using the free version of AVG AV for several weeks now and has been quite satisfied with it and sees no reason to pay for Norton AV currently. Thanks again to everyone who responded.